Plogging? Paching or Pooming is way more fun!

Its kind of shocking to me that people need to be encouraged to take care of their own environment by not littering in the first place. However, things happen that somehow the trash ends up somewhere far from its source. And some people are actually inspired (like myself) to do something about it. The term ‘Plogging” comes from the Swedes (Plocka uppa) for picking up trash while they jog starting back in 2016 and it seems to have caught on even here in Prague.

I hate to tell you folks, but I’ve been ‘Paching’ for years (picking up trash while geocaching).  In fact, we’ve officially been geocaching for 17 years and we, just this past weekend, finished the required 100 caches per year.  Someone asked if that is a real requirement for geocaching. Obviously! Also they don’t know my husband and how he creates these self-imposed rules on us to stay busy.  The only thing I can say is I am much happier participating in his healthier hoarding tendencies by finding caches, than allowing him to collect the crappy swag inside the containers!

I could also tell you we invented ‘Pooming’ (picking up trash and while hunting mushrooms as is also required by some other Czech obsessive). Either way, we are quite happy with finding 40 caches, a basket of mushrooms, and a backpack full of trash not to mention a gnarly stick and very cool rock that are now resting in our garden. The mushroom harvest was just the right amount for a huge delicious pot of mushroom potato soup.  The photos go from inedible to edible. Of course the prettiest is always the most poisonous.

 

I owe my passion for keeping nature free of trash from my father when I was very young. Trash does stick out on the beautiful pristine Montanan land. Hard fast rule: If you see trash, you pick it up, PERIOD. It didn’t matter whose it was, or who dropped it or why. Just do it!  If you need to make up a catchy name for doing the right thing, I’m cool with that.

A gorgeous day for a hike in the Czech forest.

Photo Creds to Michal Lebl. Paching and Pooming are terms I made up.

Mushroom Tip: In the past you might take your basket of mushrooms to the village mushroom expert where he would sort out whether you live or die. But now you can use a Czech App for seeing which mushrooms are edible called  Aplikaci na houby.

Geocaching Tip: Bring a pen and go with people that aren’t so obsessed like us. For more info go to https://www.geocaching.com/play

Trash Tip: Always carry an extra bag for those times when you see it.