Pickup The Planet ~ Environmentalism & Kids

I hope you won't mind a little side step into environmentalism today.  I want to share my son's new project.  He has just started a facebook page called Pickup The Planet.  In his words, "I'm planning to pickup at least one piece of trash a day, everyday. I'm hoping that people will like this idea and join me. Just imagine if everyone in the world did this. The earth would be much cleaner! This is something kids and adults can do to help the planet. I'll share my efforts along the way."

When I was helping him choose a name for his project, we were playing around with a lot of words and phrases.  When we thought of Pickup The Planet, I looked up pickup in the dictionary.  I wasn't sure if it was properly spelled as two separate words or as a hyphenate.  What I learned is that it can be spelled either way or as one word.  We thought the one word spelling was catchy and made a good title.  Also, it's nice to think of pickup, not just as the act of picking up something, but as improving or elevated its state.  When we clean our earth, we make it a better place for us and all of the inhabitants. 

Our family lives in a nice suburb close to our local school.  Many of the kids in our neighborhood walk to school cutting through an alley that passes behind our house.  This is what that alley typically looks like.  It's sad that so many kids don't give a second thought to dropping trash on the ground.  I look at this picture and think that it's time to start setting an example and I'm proud of my son for taking a leadership role in doing just that!

Earth Day is this Friday and many of us go out and clean up our neighborhoods or try to do something special for the environment.  It would be hard to do these larger efforts everyday, but picking up one piece of litter a day is something we can all do, kids and grown-ups.  Won't you join us in becoming more mindful about taking care of our planet?  Come on over to facebook and click the "Like" button to show your support.  It would mean a lot to my son, but more importantly, it would mean a lot to the Planet.  Thanks!