Recreation?...  What’s that have to do with conserving natural resources and environmental responsibility? 
Plenty!
For many of us recreation means enjoying the pristine beauty of a small river high in the mountains of Utah, walking the Appalachian Trail in the rugged hill country of North Carolina, or searching for that perfect shell on the beach at Sanibel Island. 
The ugly truth is that in our quest for beauty and solitude we human beings have brought our trash, chemicals, and careless nature right smack dab into the middle of the very thing we’re trying to protect.
How many forest fires have we started? Rivers have we polluted? How many nests containing sea turtle eggs have we destroyed through careless disregard of these helpless creatures?
Eco-friendly recreation means making sure that what you are doing to have fun isn’t harming the environment.   
How about some common sense in a world where common sense is uncommon.

1. Make sure the Fire is OUT.  Hundreds of thousands of acres of trees are lost each year because of campfires that are not extinguished. 
2. Do not dump your waste.  Take your garbage and your trash with you when you leave the park, the beach, the hiking trail.
3. Do not waste resources.  Leave the 4 wheeler in the garage, don’t fire up the snowmobile.  The engines on these kinds of vehicles tend to produce even more pollutants than automobile engines, not to mention their poor gasoline mileage performance. 

For a lot more good information on eco-friendly recreation and how you can get fit and help the environment click here.

And here’s another on-line resource for how to make the best of the great outdoors while doing our best to make sure our children will be able to walk the same path we’re on. Click here.

For more information on eco-friendly recreation, check out the Pinellas Living Green Expo, coming May 3 and 4th to the Harborview Center in Clearwater.  Click here.