Picking Up Trash in the Forest and Turning it Into Art
If you’ve ever doubted that kids are a product of their environment, let me share this story.
Last week on a sunny spring day, I forced my kids to play outside. I’m a mean mom that way.
Thankfully, we live in a neighborhood where I feel okay with our kids riding bikes and going out exploring. On this particular day, the kids took their bikes and rode around the corner to their “ninja camp.” It’s what they call the patch of forest next to a municipal building on a dead end street. They were gone for about an hour and they rode home when they got hungry. In my mind, that’s how childhood should be.
That night as we were going through the bedtime routine my son hands me a red metal tag. He said, “I found this at the ninja camp and I thought you could hang it on my wall.”
Guys. My heart exploded!
First, he picked up trash in the forest. That’s always a good thing.
Second, he realized that trash was actually kind of cool and could be repurposed as art!
Kids see and hear what we are doing. Admittedly, there are many things I do and say that I would be happy if they never repeated. However, this is not one of those things!
All the times I have found junk on the side of the road or in a trash dumpster and repurposed it for art – it made an impact on this one.
We Googled what the metal tag meant. It’s a ‘do not climb’ tag that goes on utility poles. You can buy 100 of them for $45 if you want. I added the piece of leather cording to the metal tag and will add it to his new gallery wall.
I’m kind of hoping I get an invitation to this ninja camp so I can pick up trash in the forest and hopefully find some trash I can turn into art too!
Thanks for sharing part of your day with me! If you’re reluctant to leave, here are a few other posts you might enjoy, including some that involve me turning trash into art!
That Time I Picked a Book Off a Trash Can
Wrap a Basket Handle with Leather Cording
