Summary:
Looking for an inexpensive way to make a huge contribution to the lives of countless children? Help restore their safe access to the great outdoors by making litter collection a part of your daily walk. You´ll brighten a child´s day, improve their health, and help them appreciate the importance of being a good neighbor.

Details or Sample:
Spring is here. The birds are singing. The trees are budding. Soon, the sounds of children playing and laughing will again fill the sweet summer air. For kids, joy is not the only benefit of outdoor play. Summer is a time for fun, but children also benefit from exploring their environments, exercising, and socializing. Unfortunately, the great outdoors can also offer peril.

Both rural and urban communities face a common enemy: litter. Take an early spring stroll through any city or town and you are sure to see an abundance of weathered trash, orphaned cans and bottles, and abandoned dog messes. Litter has long been considered a serious environmental issue, but the immediate danger it poses to children is often ignored. The trash that collects on our sidewalks and in our parks can expose children to injury, disease, and even death.

Raising healthy kids benefits the community as a whole. It is inevitable that the toddler who takes her first steps in our city park will someday be our neighbor. Providing that child with a safe place to run, play, and eventually meet people is essential to her healthy development. Understandably, faced with the option of staying indoors or exposing their children to environmental hazards many mothers choose remain trapped in the safety of a controlled and safe home. The results of this decision may be seen in the epidemics of childhood obesity and adolescent social dysfunction.

Because the consequences of isolating children are felt by all members of the community, it benefits everyone when we work to provide safe access to sidewalks and parks. It cannot be the responsibility of a mother, already dutifully supervising her children, to collect the garbage left behind by other adults. Still, many mothers make an effort by carrying plastic grocery bags and picking up litter here and there as they walk. We should all join in.

You can help ensure safe access to the same play areas you enjoyed as a child just by carrying a bag with you on walks. Gather up bits of waste and dispose of the bag in an appropriate trash receptacle. Not only will you be beautifying your own environment, but you will also offer families a safe place to enjoy. Your small effort will open a child’s eyes to the wonder of nature, the benefits of exercise, and the importance of being a good neighbor.

In a few years, you may even see that child walking with their own bag, helping to give the same gift of summer to another generation.

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Written by: Kate Downs
Available File Types:Text
Words: 424