We’ve all seen it - the shine of a discarded granola bar wrapper half buried on the trail, a smattering of sunflower seeds sprayed across a campsite, a toilet paper “flower” blowing in the wind from the branches of a bush. Wherever humans flock to nature, there tends to be evidence left behind in the form of trash. This Earth Week, we’ve teamed up with our friends at Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics to make a difference for our outdoor spaces.
Leave No Trace is continuing the #LeaveNoTrash movement this year - and we encourage all outdoors people to spend a moment on their Earth Day weekend picking up trash in the outdoors. Together we can use social media to share conservation, stewardship, and the importance of Leave No Trace to leave the outdoors better than the way we found it.
How Can I Get Involved?
Participating in #LeaveNoTrash is easy:
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Gather your friends and choose a local trail or camping area
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Bring trash bags, gloves, and a ski pole if you’d like
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Pick up all the trash you can find
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Snap a photo of your trash haul and share on social media with #LeaveNoTrash
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Enjoy your Earth Day knowing you helped clean up our planet!
If that’s not enough, here are a few challenge ideas to make your #LeaveNoTrash party a little more fun:
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Easter Egg Hunt: race your friends to see how many individual pieces of trash you can find in a set amount of time
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Heavy Lifter: bring your bathroom scale and weigh your trash haul. The heaviest bag wins (just make sure no one is cheating and filling their bag with rocks)
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Get Weird: have your trash picking party choose one trash item they think is the most unique - use your social media following to vote on the weirdest piece of trash your group collected
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Art It Up: choose a set amount of time for trash collection. When the timer is out, each participant must use their collected trash to build a trash sculpture - the most artistic (or the biggest) wins
Of course, don’t forget to store a cold beverage at the trailhead for the winner to enjoy.
Taking care of the planet can be fun and as easy as hauling out some trash on your next hike. Enjoy your Earth Day cleanup, and remember - pack it in, pack it out!
