NATURE NOTES FROM A NOVICE

~ By Leigh Anne Geiter

With the July 4^th Holiday approaching and tens of thousands of families heading outdoors and specifically in our area, to the beach, please consider how what you use and consume affects everything around you…the beaches, lakes, rivers, streams, parks, forests, camping grounds, and in general the great outdoors.

All plastic should be disposed of properly; preferably into a recycling container.  Remember to cut through all 6-pack rings.  Tie plastic shopping bags in knots.  These types of plastics, as you know, take thousands of years to breakdown and in actuality, if they are hidden from the sunlight (i.e., buried), they will take even longer to dissipate.  These types of plastics are only broken down by the sun’s rays.  This means that ocean life and birds are more susceptible to ingesting or being ensnared in plastics than most other species.  And the effects are more than disturbing.  They are tragic!  Surely we can be better stewards of our planet and its inhabitants than this:

THINK when you plan your outdoor activities this summer!  Avoid nuisance plastics like 6-pack rings and plastic shopping bags.  If you MUST use them, please dispose of them properly, so that they don’t end up being left to destroy nature where you just had a great time…  The death of our oceans will be the death of our planet!!