Pirates of bottles and cans

August 04, 2009

Need a fun activity for the kids that is environmentally friendly? Then unleash the green pirates, the protectors of the neighborhood parks.

Never heard of them? They're a ragged group, outfitted with newspaper hats and armed with paper towel tubes they use as a telescope, that storms various parks looking for pieces of trash to claim as their new-found treasure.

And afterwards they take their findings and place them in a plastic sack, which will then be placed in the trash and recycling containers. Garrrg!

That's right, combining the elements of being a pirate with the public service of picking up trash can be a fun way for the kids to spend the day.

However, be careful when the pirates are let loose onto a park. You may want to give them gloves or, at the very least, warn them about picking up their "treasure" carefully. You don't want the fun activity to be sidetracked by Neosporin and Band-Aids.

As a prize for finding the "treasure" in the park, consider providing your scalawags with the sugary reward of candy or cupcakes. Not only will it be a tasty treat, but the pirates will learn the benefits of doing good deeds.