Gaming with Litter
A New Twist for Earth Day
While collecting litter during my walks through the neighborhood, I find that trash never ceases to amuse me. Sometimes, I save my findings and tape them into my Walking Journal. This week I found a Kids Meal bag with a picture of a cow fixing a split rail fence. The “Cow tech scramble” clue printed on the bag that was pretty lame: Unscramble the letters below to reveal the best gadget to use for this mission.
The answer was printed on the bottom of the bag. TRACTOR. ??? A tractor is NOT a “gadget,” unless maybe we’re talking about a remote control toy tractor. That IS a gadget! If the mission is to fix a split rail fence, tell me, how is a tractor going to help with that?
I remembered helping my husband fixing our split rail fence last year. I held the two pieces of the rail together firmly, while he splinted them back together with two steel plates, screws, and a cordless power drill. Now, THAT’s a cool gadget!
Arriving home after my walk, I went over to check the repair job on our fence. That’s when I spotted another interesting piece of litter. The mysterious image of a magnifying glass was visible through the thin paper, however, the paper’s message was sealed with ice.
I had to take the paper indoors, gently rinse it with warm water, and thaw it out. That is how I found what was hidden inside. The Case of the Secret Message? The Case of the Zoo Clue?
I went back out to the fence, sensing I had missed something. There it was! Bright red! Beyond the fence and to the right!
A yogurt drink that had been well-chewed by a squirrel. The picture on the package showed a gamer… a character with all the gadgets… monkeying around. A Zoo Clue? The character reminded me of my son Neil… the bright brown eyes… one arch eyebrow… the brown hair… the widow’s peak… the determined look on his face… the turquoise shirt. Neil loved turquoise.
Neil passed away nine years ago, at the age of 20, with a diagnosis of terminal DIPG brain stem cancer. This day’s walk brought back memories of his fun spirit. When I feel his joyful presence, like this, it soothes my grief.
Neil was a gamer! We remember him at the precocious age of 6, creating his own game - Gameopoly. We still have his construction paper game board. It’s a keeper! Still makes me smile! Check it out!
Games were “properties.” “Properties earned money. He included every game he knew how to play on his Gameopoly board… from Mario, Bingo, and Candy Land… to Chess, Soccer, and Age of Empires.
Neil handwrote deeds, made play money, and created special cards. He loved all forms of games, and this pulled it all together. He seemed to enjoy inventing the game more than actually playing it.
If you like games, I invite you to visit the “Eco-Detective & Explorers” Path on the Story Walking website. Listen to some story podcasts of other litter walks. Earth Week 2026 will take place from April 18 to April 24, culminating in Earth Day on April 22. These podcasts may inspire you to make a game out of a community cleanup event. You might want to start keeping a Story Walking Journal. Check out the journals on the Story Walking Merchandise page.