When you recall the best friends and family times of your life, many of them involve just the pure pleasures found in these full of love and respect gatherings where you are important and those around you make you feel that way. For most of us, the best friends and family gatherings are those spent outside in the fresh air where our spirits can soar. These wonderful outdoor events include one special guest and that is Mother Nature.



The best place to gather with friends and family is somewhere that you don't need to fly to, take a train to, or drive to. Yeah, your own front porch or backyard or deck is a great gathering place for friends and family gatherings. Next to these fine locations are your local parks - part of your green space provided by your community or for those fortunate enough to live near a state or national park these are indeed wonderful places of green space where you can enjoy Nature. There are usually bike paths and trails to traverse that can create family and friends' new journeys of adventure with very little effort. Check with your town or city hall, they may have little treasures all over your community that you go past everyday and are not aware that there is a walking path tucked in somewhere because you busy lifestyle has blinded you to this valuable resource. Once you find one of these treasures take the time to walk in and explore it with your friends.

Always remember when you are enjoying yourself outdoors that the other people around are trying to enjoy themselves too, so do everything possible to remember to leave the beautiful green spaces as beautiful as they were when you arrived or even better. Today, with trash cans everywhere you look, there is no excuse for leaving trash behind and that means cigarette butts, fast food take out containers, beverage containers and the like. Take a few minutes before leaving the area you have been enjoying and be sure that all of your trash goes with you, so it won't become a burden for the next person to deal with. If you see where others have dumped old mattresses in this area, get on the phone and let local authorities know this and the exact location.

Spending a day in a park or at a beach enjoying Mother Nature while connecting and inter-acting with friends and family helps brighten your world and has the added benefit of fresh air and exercise not just for yourself - for all who join you. Walking the beach or a trail and picking up after yourself will only encourage the those around you to do the same. Properly reporting mattress dumps makes you a good citizen and should make your next visit and others next visit to this green space even more enjoyable. Your power to make choices about what you do with your leisure time is a wonderful freedom - chose wisely.

If a mode of transportation is needed to arrive at the spot you're headed to, help Mother Nature by using the least air pollutant-adding means possible. Your riding a bike adds less air pollution than driving a car, if you have to drive, be sure to pack as many people into one vehicle as is possible. If mass transportation is available - mass transportation adds less air pollution to the atmosphere than everyone driving individual cars. So, depending on the distance that is needed to be traveled, make the best transportation choices that you can.

Making choices to help our great outdoors is not difficult, but there is some thought involved and don't we owe it to the planet to take the time necessary to make the choices that will benefit it in the long run? Don't we need to be good citizens by reporting mattress dumps to those who can clean them up?

You may well think that all mattresses just go to the landfill - so who cares? That thought is so yesterday - today mattress recycling is working and can work in your community. Spread the news. Then enjoy your friends and family's next gathering adventure in a mattress dump free green space. Some day, that friends and family gathering may well become you most cherished memory.