Hi guys! Welcome back to my second last blog post for this project! I have to say I definitely feel like I’ve grown a lot throughout this project. It’s been really fun doing something I actually enjoy as a school project.
Where I’m at with my action:
I’ve been cleaning the park about once per week, or sometimes if I forget, sometimes once every two weeks. I’ve started to bring gloves and trash bags with me. Every time i go, I now make a full loop around the park, especially along the play area since I’ve noticed that wehre the trash tends to collect. I also started separating recyclables instead of just pilling them all into the same garbage bag then dumping it into the my garbage bin. Some of my neighbors who have dogs have noticed or heard what I’ve been doing and have thanked me, and that encouragement really motivated me to keep moving forward.
Some successes:
The biggest success I’ve had is definitely consistency. Although I’m not exactly consistent to be doing it every single week, I have noticed that certain areas of the park are now cleaner every time I head there. Maybe it’s because the people have notice me cleaning after them, or I just did too good of a cleaning job. There was this particular week right after winter break when I was cleaning up, then another person offered to help me for a bit, which I gladly accepted. That action made me realize how I can set examples for others to follow.
Some challenges:
One challenge is that trash keeps coming back. It can be discouraging to clean an area and see new litter the next day. The time and weather have also made it harder to stay consistent. 1) I’ve noticed that there’s many overgrown weeds as well. To add to that, whenever it rains, the trash often muddles in with its surroundings, especially the plastic bags used to clean up dog litter, and wind often blows trash away, which makes it even harder to locate and remove the trash. To help this situation, I’m thinking about making a sign to remind visitors to clean up after themselves and maybe even ask the parks department for an extra trash can if I really wanted to take it a step further.
What I’m doing next:
Next, I’m thinking of organizing a meetup with my friends on certain days so that we’d all be able to collect more trash and potentially not just at this one park, but at other locations as well. I’m continously doing this because I think the park is an important shared space, and keeping it neat and tidy helps it create a more respectful and stronger community.
Website used.
1)https://masterscoopers.com/blog/2024/07/clean-yard-for-dog-owners/
Hey Bernice,
I really find it inspirational that you consider your consistency your biggest success. At the same time, I would agree. With an action project, finding the motivation and time to be consistent with your goal can definitely be challenging. So, I’m happy that you got to be able to stay consistent. I also agree with a point you made for your challenge. It can be quite discouraging in general, to see people not care enough about the environment to make an effort to clean up after themselves.