I spend a lot of time in my car. I travel throughout our county to visit clients in their homes. I usually have my camera with me. If I have extra time to walk around a park or sit on a bench, I take my camera.

Yesterday I noticed a park that I had heard about last spring but had not had an opportunity to explore. It’s a park that was highlighted on a local radio show. According to the show this park had acres of beautiful flowers during the spring.

Unfortunately I learned this park has not been well cared for. It is in a “sketchy” part of town and by all appearances people set up camp back in the trees. I am not opposed to people setting up residence in the woods. I’m an advocate for the homeless and understand the layers of issues that would need to be resolved to get people out of the woods. What I am opposed to is our city not taking care of land that is its responsibility.

The trash I saw was repulsive. Much of it gathered in a dry creek bed. It appeared to have been washed “down stream” by heavy rains. Since we haven’t had significant rain since May, this trash has remained stagnate for 4 months. This is an accumulation of trash that was washed through the gutters and sewers until it finally landed in this dry creek.

Yesterday, Joanne at My Life Lived Full, posted pictures of trash she noticed in her neighborhood during her morning walk. She posted a total of 4 pieces of trash. I think most people see that one piece of trash, or maybe drop that one piece of trash and think…no big deal…its just one cup. The reality is, each cup, each piece of paper, each nasty diaper (that really sends me over the edge when I see a dirty diaper on the ground.) they add up. Those items get blown to the curb, washed into the sewer system and eventually end up stagnate in a dry creek bed.

Once a friend told me if she accidentally drops a piece of paper and it blows out of her reach, she picks up 2 pieces of paper to make up for it. After visiting the park…I may have to pick up a few dumpsters full!

If we all looked at our world and thought “Leave it better than I found it.” this planet would have a much better chance at surviving us.