Saturday 7/18/20 was a busy day at Sharon Woods Metro Park, almost as busy as July Fourth. While on patrol, I noticed a large amount of litter on the playground in our Maple Grove picnic area while numerous children used the play equipment. Litter is a pet peeve of mine. There really isn't a reason for it at Sharon Woods (or any Metro Park) as there are a bazillion trash cans scattered throughout the picnic areas. A small amount of litter really makes the area appear unkept. Besides, who wants their children playing in a playground covered in litter.
Now I understand it was probably a lot of these young kids who littered in the first place. They are young, and don't know any better. And adults tend to think, well, that's not the area we are picnicking in, so it must be from some other group. Since there are no elephants in Sharon Woods to take care of the problem we end up picking up the litter.
I grabbed my bucket and my grabbers and started to pick up the litter in the playground. A little boy approached and asked, "Whatcha doin?"
"Picking up this trash," I replied.
"Why you doin that?"
"Because it belongs in a trash can, not on the ground. Don't want you kids to have to play on a playground covered in trash."
"Oh. Ok. I'll help."
The next thing I know, I have 5 kids following me around helping to pick up the litter on the playground. Some of their parents were annoyed, probably thinking I was punishing the kids by telling them to pick up the trash. Other parents thought it was cute. Me, I have to say it was pretty cool. They didn't care they were picking up trash, something most adults seemingly think is beneath them. Nope. Just started helping. And were proud to do it. When we were done, I made sure all of our little volunteers got a sticker for their assistance.
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