Student Views: Small changes can add up to a better earth

I've spent my whole life growing up in the countryside and getting the chance to try many outdoor activities. I understand that most people have never gotten the chance to experience the outdoors like I have and the thought of that crushes me because that often leaves people to take advantage of nature like littering and treating beautiful places like campgrounds like dumps.

When I say campgrounds I mean the ones near Holyoke, Moose Lake, and Barnum that are filled with lush wildlife. I've noticed more each year that many people from the city like to visit and experience nature but seem to leave it in horrible condition. It seems like they don't care as much because they get to leave whenever they want and don't have to deal with it afterwards. Every year it's been getting worse and I want to help change that.

I want more people to do something about it before it's too late. Yes, it'll get worse if we don't choose to clean up after ourselves and other people. To make nature last as long as we can, we must change our habits for the better. The planet is a gift and not our forever home to mess up, we are the guests for a short amount of time and no guest should ever treat someone else's home like trash. To understand, think of someone who went into your room, took pictures of everything and then dumped their garbage all over the place. Wouldn't you be upset? That is in a way of how it is for wildlife and people who live there.

What I have been trying to do about this issue is changing my ways of thinking by making small habits for myself, for example, whenever I go to a campground, a lake, or even in the city to pick up at least one piece of trash. This might not sound like a huge change like cleaning up an oil spill, but during the summer I went fishing a lot and everytime I would fish I would pick up handfuls of trash leaving only footprints. Picking up trash can be gross, but I've tried new methods like carrying a plastic bag in the car wherever I go just in case. Also this year has gotten more people using sanitizer so that should help reduce any spread.

A change is going to be made regardless of how big or small it is, and if other people could start doing this then it will become a large one. Soon one day we will be gone and the way you treated someone else's home will show what kinda person you were. Shouldn't you leave knowing that you are not part of the issue but a part of the change to make it better? What you do matters and it affects everyone, so please be smart and make the right change.

Breanna Vanguilder is a senior at Wrenshall High School. She hopes to inspire more people to make a change in themselves by paying a little back to the planet.