Finley says “Lend A Hand, Clean The Sand” – Dr. Plastic Picker
 

Finley says “Lend A Hand, Clean The Sand”

| Posted in Climate Advocacy (AAP/Climate Reality/ClimateHealthNOW), Trash Art

Thank you Troop 3936.
Thank you Chloe from Troop 3936.

June 7, 2021

by drplasticpicker

Finley is really neat. Finley is from the imagination of about eight third-graders from Girl Scout Troop 3936 based up in Carmel Valley. Finley tells the world and all who walk by “Lend A Hand, Clean The Sand.” Finley only exists because we all decided to take a risk, and become connected as a community.

Finley’s body is a found boogie-board on Pacific Beach that has been sitting in our house for a long time. Finley’s hair and most of the plastic that makes his happy face are recovered ocean plastic pollution from Mission Beach recovered by our local celebrity environmentalist Cathy. Finley’s arms and eyes are from one of my street litter picking walks in Pacific Beach and was a Michael Bloomberg election sign. That sign was so interesting that I didn’t just throw it away. I honestly find some plastic pollution fascinating. How wasteful our lives are. But the sign after sitting in my house for over 6 months, I realized is made out of plastic 5 and can be recycled. So I cut some parts to use, the two Os from Bloomberg’s name to make the eyes for the trash art piece and two longer pieces I thought for some signage. Troop 3936 decided to use them as arms instead. Those arms are inspired.

I think trash art is really fascinating. As I was telling the girls during the meeting I ran, that trash art is great because it’s trash and you can’t mess up. Also it tells you a lot about the minds and hearts of those that make it. I would say looking at this trash art piece, the minds and hearts of these third-grade Brownie Troop are open and loving. Finley has his arms open and he is trying to embrace the world. His environmental message is positive and upbeat and hopeful. He does not say STOP nor DON’T. He says LEND. He does not tell you to think about the abstract existential crisis. He is very present and reminds us to be in the present, jand he simply says look at the SAND and you will see what needs to be done.

So Finley is my friend now, but is part of Troop 3936. After stopping by virtually at one meeting and now meeting to do a litter pick, a round robin “trash reflections” together and making this trash art advocacy piece together – I told the girls “I’ll keep Finley at my house and he’ll come with me when I do group beach cleans. But if you need him back, just let me know. I’ll bring him in whatever shape he is in and I’ll fix him if something falls off.” And with that I made a committment to these young eco warriors that I would care for their art piece just like they cared for the earth yesterday by picking up plastic pollution. I told them that pediatricians from the American Academy of Pediatrics really care about them and the earth.

Yesterday was a really fun morning. I’m a pediatrician and I really do like kids. I’d rather spend time with children than adults sometimes. They just get it. They really do.

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