Growing up Green: Shoreline Cleanup Garbage – an article from Thrifty and Green

Read below for an excerpt from her piece on Thrifty and Green’s website.
We’re getting ready for the Great Canadian Shoreline Clean Up. Picking up litter has actually become a bit of a family staple, so it’s fun to be a part of a group of like-minded trash collectors.
Discuss Garbage Dos and Don’ts

©Tovah Paglaro
There are precautions that need to be taken if you are going to start encouraging your kids to pick up garbage from the side of the road. It’s a slippery path, and one that requires a little help navigating when you are a little person. Why, for example, is it good to pick up the potato chip bag on the river-bank, but does it send mom into a panicked frenzy when you reach for the band-aid in the gutter? If you’re family is going to join the ranks of obsessive, or even occasional street cleaners – and we think you should – be ready to discuss a whole realm of topics that might not have been on your immediate agenda.
With proper preparation, however, street and shoreline clean ups are both rewarding and fun. On days when I’m having a hard time convincing the kids a hike in the woods is a good idea, I’ll dangle the garbage-picker-uppers tantalizingly from my fingertips while I sing “we can pick up garbage…” and then smile as they leap into action.
You can read the rest of the article here.
If you’d like to let Tovah know how much you liked it, she can be reached on Twitter at @tovahp.
 
Oh, and don’t forget to refer four of your friends (or kids) to the Shoreline Cleanup for a chance to win an iPad2 with wi-fi!