Why?

“No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent.” – John Donne

Every time I see litter, graffiti, or any other type of destroyed space, I ask myself why? I feel like I sound like some old complaining person, but it bothers me when some trash an outdoor space that many people use. I don’t understand the point of doing it. It frustrates me when I take a photo, and a plastic bag, a wrapper, a can or cup just pops up in my photo. Everything will be perfect about that shot, but that one piece of trash. Sometimes I can Photoshop it out, and other times I can’t. To me, it seems like it is done because the person doing it does not care about the space they are in. They only care about themselves at the moment.

I am going to use this space to give some advice to those who like to enjoy shared outdoor spaces.

1. If you have to bring a wrapper, a cup, or anything that goes in the trash when you finish, be willing to carry it the entire way. Also do your best to keep it on your person, and don’t let it get away from you.
2. “Leave no trace” should be your number one goal while out enjoying a space. Take care of the place you are at.
3. The best way to document yourself being at a location is to take a photo of yourself there. There is no need to carve out a tree or leave some creative art behind.

We can all take a moment and do our part to take care of the places we share together for generations to come.

I took these photos at different locations across North Carolina.

• The Jesus Saves poster in the lake was taken at Marshall Park in Charlotte, North Carolina.
• The love graffiti shot was taken on the Little Sugar Creek Greenway in Charlotte, North Carolina.
• The no drugs graffiti photo was taken at Jump Off Rock near Hendersonville, North Carolina.