Earth Day Recap - Knockaround Style

Disclaimer: I received a Knockaround Sunglasses to promote Plogging and Earth Day as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!”

So yesterday was Earth Day, and I thought a great way to celebrate was to go on another plogging adventure. I had gone for a 6 mile run around my neighborhood and noticed a few places had trash again since my first plog 2 weeks ago. You can read about that here: https://runnerdgirl.blogspot.com/2020/04/plogging-around-neighborhood.html

After my run, I stopped back at my house to grab some bags, some gloves and this time, my little one. I was already wearing my awesome No Signal Knockarounds to protect my eyes from UV Rays. 

So we set up to tidy up. There was much less trash this time, but there was more at the playground than there had been before (it looked like someone had a picnic lunch and didn't bother to clean up) and there were some of the same offenders, like cigarette butts and straws scattered about. This time it went much more quickly as I walked one side of the street and my little walked the other. We were able to clean up the 1.7 miles of our neighborhood in about 40 minutes. And after, the streets were looking great again.

Later that evening, after getting cleaned up, the little and I again took to the outside to spend some quality time in the back yard. She's been working on climbing our tree out back and dared me to try it as well. Since there's nothing wrong with a bit of tree hugging, especially on Earth Day, I figured, why not and hopped up into the tree as best as I could. It was loads of fun. 

A special thank you to Knockaround and BibRave for issuing the Plogging challenge and motivating me to get out there and get cleaning! Also for challenging us to become tree huggers to celebrate Earth Day. I swear I am happiest, especially these days when I am outside. I think I must be partially solar powered.

If you are interested in getting a pair of Knockaround shades like mine, or one of their other cool designs (seriously, you can even custom design a pair, I have and they are on the way) check out their website here: https://knockaround.com/ and use discount code BibRaveKnocks4 for 20% off your entire order.

Plogging around the Neighborhood

Disclaimer: I received a Knockaround Sunglasses to promote Plogging and Earth Day as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!”

So since I have been temporarily furloughed due to the ongoing Covid 19 Pandemic, I have had a bit of extra time on my hands, especially since last week was "Spring Break" for my daughter, so I didn't even have to do home school lessons with her. So, to fill the time, last week I went on a Plogging Adventure. 

What exactly is Plogging? 

It’s when you pick up trash while going for a walk/jog. And it’s a great way to keep active and also to help keep your neighborhood to be clean. And it is super easy to do, both for a group activity (you know, in different times) and by yourself. 

First, I gathered my supplies:

Bags, gloves and since I was doing it on a bright, sunny, beautiful day, a bottle of water and my Knockaround Sunglasses. I've been a Knockaround fan for awhile, and these new No Signal Special Edition Frames have quickly become my favorites. 

I set out, walking up each street in my neighborhood scanning for trash. I was really impressed to see that there was actually not too terribly much litter strewn about. Still, I was able to fill 2 bags full of trash in the 1.7 miles that span my neighborhood (I run it a lot, especially lately, so trust me, I know the exact mileage). 

It was a beautiful day out and I spent about 45 minutes or so collecting trash. Halfway through I dropped my first full bag off at my house, which is conveniently located on the middle street of the 154 house subdivision. 

Random Observations About What I Collected:

• Most frequent thing I collected: Cigarette butts. Some (not all) smokers seem to think that throwing their butts out the window is not littering. I am here to tell you that if you think that, you are WRONG!

• Largest thing I collected: A bag that was full with other trash just sitting on the side of the road.

• Most dangerous thing I collected: Broken glass, yikes!

• Most expensive thing I collected: An AirPods Charging Case! Technically, I didn't actually collect this. It looked a bit scratched up, but otherwise in good shape so I just placed it on the sidewalk right where I found it and left it hoping the owner would see it and claim it. I went for a walk a few hours later and it was gone, so hopefully it was reunited with the right person.

• Most surprising thing about my plogging: The neighborhood playground was a lot cleaner than I expected it to be. Go kids! Though I did find a hoodie that was left behind. Again, I didn't collect this, but laid it over the playground bench hoping for it to be reunited with it's owner. It's been a week and it is still there unfortunately. 

After I finished, I was so excited to check out my hard work, I went for a run right after on the same streets... twice plus a little for 4 miles! And it was awesome to see the streets looking so clean. I plan on doing a quick maintenance Plog once a month to keep everything looking nice and safe. 

A special thank you to Knockaround and BibRave for issuing the Plogging challenge and motivating me to get out there and get cleaning! And now I’m challenging you! See what you can accomplish out on a Plog this week, post your photos on either Insta or Twitter and tag me - I'm @runnerdgirl on both. Stay tuned for other ways that I will be celebrating Earth Day this month with BibRave and Knockaround! 


And happy PLOGGING!!