Community service and a fun outdoor play event in one. The 365 day nature play challenge embraces the joy of litter picking and finds other distractions along the way.
Tuesday 21 January, cloud and sun, 5°C
I’m on a hunt for some new ideas. The last few weeks have been lots of fun but I’m feeling like we’ve got a bit fixated on trees and tree related challenges. So this week, I’m determined that we avoid them. The trouble is, there’s a definite tendency to want to do what you have done already. B and I are both feeling it. We’ve had some really good fun and there’s an instinct to just pick up where you left off. I rack my brains…
The weather is not helping. When struggling for ideas before, I’ve used the weather forecast, or things like a full moon (not that that worked – see challenge 353 – searching for the wolf moon) but the weather is dull and cloudy as it has been for the last few days. I’m feeling thoroughly stuck.
Then I remember the litter picker. Its been ages since we’ve done litter picking. Our old grabber disappeared ages ago and I invested in a new one before Christmas which is still stuck in it’s plastic wrap in the cupboard. B hasn’t got to play with it yet. Idea sorted. Feeling brave I suggest we walk over to my mum’s flat, about 40 minutes away, for dinner and litter pick on the way.
We hit the issue straightaway. For the first few minutes, with a new grabber, litter picking can be the most exciting thing in the world. We get out the front door and spend five minutes finding things in the front garden. We progress to the street and inch our way up the road. It was rubbish collection in the morning which always leaves a fair bit behind. B’s not short of options. Ten minutes goes by and we’ve progressed about thirty metres and already have a large collection of rubbish. I try and speed her up but she’s still seeing too many things. We get to the top of the road, then the top of the next road. “I’m bored now. Can we go home?” Classic mummy error. I idly wonder what I could have done to prevent that. Maybe not let her have it till we got ten minutes away?
Luckily we are closer to the shops than home, so I distract and we head on.
Me: Come on, or we won’t get there in time for dinner.
B: Fine, you do the litter picking.
We pick up pace a bit more with me picking up occasional big bits that B notices. We meet some neighbours, then come across a bigger distraction. In the path is a kitten, newly out of the house by the look of it and having a lot of fun exploring. It’s very friendly. B is besotted and kit surprisingly tolerant. We spend a good twenty minutes following it. Then we meet a puppy who jumps up for cuddles. Bess chases him for more and owner is glad of the distraction. Its getting late. I warn my mum we’re definitely not going to arrive on schedule.
Puppy disappearing into the distance we pick up the pace but it’s beginning to get a bit darker and I realise we’re losing the light. We stop again, this time to make our 345 picture before it gets too dark. I empty the bag out carefully, arranging rubbish with gloves on and B helps take the photos (she’s not touching the rubbish – it’s yucky!). Then I spend about ten minutes meticulously picking all the bits back up again and cursing myself for my clever ideas. The suns setting on the horizon and I’m getting cross and tired now. B’s lost interest in litter picking completely by this time but is enjoying it getting dark. She finds a stone to kick along the ground while I stagger along with the rubbish bags.
Me: I’m tired. I think this is taking to long.
B: Really. I’m enjoying it.
She is too. She’s bouncy and full of energy. I’m making some notes now for next attempts. First off, I need to find a way of disposing of the rubbish as we go in bins – I’d decided to take it all to the end destination and dispose there. Big mistake. It wasn’t so much that it was heavy but it was quite yucky and it sort of mentally weighed me down. Secondly, I need to get B to a destination and then give her the litter picker I think. I had visions of us clearing parkland or wandering over the beach but we ended up just doing the gutters and pavements near us which wasn’t as much fun (though still helpful). On the upside it’s the first time I’ve got tired before she has and, while she didn’t litter pick for long, it led her into lots of other adventures. I’m pondering again why the word ‘walk’ brings such horror to kids when they get so much fun out of actually doing it!
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