Hi! I'm Abby, and I’m an intentional trash picker! Trash picking is my therapy. I get to experience all of mother nature's beauty, learn about the flora and fauna, exercise my body, refresh my soul, AND leave the planet a little better than when I found it - all in one!
With every piece of trash, you get instant results and gratification of a job well done, especially knowing that no one else will have their nature experience dampened by unsightly trash in an otherwise pristine environment.
I've been a nature lover all my life, it runs in my family, but my trash picking started about 5 years ago when my son, David, was little. I'd pull him in a wagon while picking up trash in our neighborhood. He'd get so excited to point out pieces he'd found, and was a very helpful spotter. In our tiny neighborhood, we would collect almost an entire bag every day, and that's when I started really noticing our pollution problem.
On my birthday in 2019, David and I went to a local park, and I was immediately disgusted by the abundance of trash EVERYWHERE. This was my son's experience of nature, and it was definitely not okay with this mama bear. I started cleaning, hardly made a dent, but left knowing I made a difference. That's when the trash pickups really started.
David and I on my birthday, when he inspired it all.
My partner, Jarrod, and I went back to the park and finished the job, it was quite the haul! We have removed hundreds of pounds of trash from 10 of our state parks, and we even placed in the top 15 on the TedED Litterati World Cleanup Challenge! We picked up (and took home, sorted, and recycled) over 3500 pieces of trash from Eagle Creek Park alone, and documented everything for citizen science research.
A small part of our haul from the TedEd World Cleanup Challenge.
We have found some very interesting items (and gross ones)!
I shudder to think how many poop bags I've picked up... and I don't have a dog.
Wherever we hike, we pick up all the trash we can find, and believe me...you can always find it. It's everywhere. Through posting our hauls on Instagram, we have inspired others to help pick up trash, and hope to continue inspiring others. Our kids love the little “scavenger hunts," other family members started picking up trash, friends and acquaintances messaged saying, "I picked up trash and thought of you," which is the best compliment ever! My love for my family and nature inspired me to take action and clean up our little piece of the planet, one microplastic piece at a time.
Jarrod carrying out a super heavy load from Shades State Park.
He has literally carried hundreds of pounds of trash for me, and I couldn’t do it without him and his support.
From the one and only Jane Goodall, "What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” Luckily, there are endless ways to make a difference and it all adds up! If you’re in the Indianapolis area, I highly suggest Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. They have really fun plogging events where you pick up trash for an hour, and then meet at Black Acre Brewing for a complimentary beer afterwards. Getting to meet other passionate pickers and environmentalists helps reenergize and remind me that I'm not alone in this battle.
If you’re a music lover, volunteering for Reverb is definitely a good time. They are leading the “green music movement” by partnering with musicians to have more sustainable tours. You sell reusable water bottles, help spread awareness and educate others on various environmental issues, and then get to see the concert FOR FREE! I volunteer every year for the Dave Matthews Band, and this year got to hand out biodegradable guitar picks to people that actually cared!
I am also an ambassador/trash picker on Instagram for Keep Nature Wild, a company that plant trees and picks up trash for every product sold. They're always looking for more #wildkeepers, and you get a discount on their nature-themed products. A few other ideas are getting involved with a cleanup or starting your own, educating yourself on the climate crisis and plastic pollution, or just by being mindful of your every day decisions and the impact they have on our planet and the future generations.
Every piece truly counts, you WILL make a difference, and our planet thanks you. Thank you for your time, I hope you’ll think of me when you see trash.
Instagram: @animalcrossingwithabby