The main goal of the California State Parks Litter Getter program is to encourage children to keep the parks crumb clean, wild, and healthy, and continue this behavior in their communities. Through the fun-filled and informative activity folder, they discover how litter hurts the wildlife and plants in our parks and at home, and how they can help by keeping litter in trash cans and out of reach of animals.
You can make a difference by helping to keep California’s state parks clean, and at the same time you’ll be helping to protect wildlife.
How Does My Child Participate?
Not all parks offer the Litter Getter program, so please check with your State Park before heading out.
Tell a park employee at the entrance station or visitor center that your child wants to participate in Litter Getters. Participants receive a Litter Getter activity folder that also contains instructions on picking up litter in the park. Special Litter Getter recycled paper bags are available, or you can help us do more by bringing bags to reuse to collect litter! Most parks also give out plastic gloves as extra protection for children. Remind your child to not touch sharp objects or animals. The park employee may give other park-specific instructions about where to pick up litter and what to avoid, too.
When participants turn in their first bag of litter, they receive six state animal and plant stickers. There is a special spot for each sticker in the activity folder. When they turn in a second bag and show their Litter Getter folder with the stickers placed on it, they get a special award, and a State Parks staff member signs the certificate on the folder to proclaim that the participant is now a Litter Getter.
If you can’t get to a state park, you can teach your children how to be Litter Getters at home.
Download the activity booklet and take your children outside to pick up litter in your neighborhood.
Want to Become a Litter Getter? Here’s how:
- Bring a bag you can reuse to collect litter, if you can.
- Visit the park and ask a ranger or other park person for an activity folder, and a litter bag if you didn’t bring one.
- Take the Litter Getter pledge
- Collect loose trash that you find in the park, such as food scraps, pieces of plastic and paper, and cigarette butts. Don’t pick up anything sharp, and use a glove if the park person gave you one. Use the checklist on your folder to keep track of the kinds of trash you pick up, and you can report it later.
- Show a park person your filled litter bag, and receive six stickers for helping to keep our state parks clean! Place your stickers in the spots for them in the activity folder, and keep it to show to a park person the next time you participate in Litter Getters.
- To become a true Litter Getter, fill a second trash bag, either at the same park or a different park that offers the Litter Getter program. Show the full bag and your activity folder to a park person, and you will receive a special Litter Getter prize. The park person will also sign your activity folder certificate, saying that you are now a Litter Getter!
Be sure to play the games and activities on your Litter Getter folder. They’re fun, and you will discover more about how cleaning up can help wildlife.
Already collected litter? You can help us track what Litter Getters are collecting across California, and get a special Litter Getter activity.
Report what litter you collected by clicking here.
At the end of your survey you can print out a special Litter Getter activity!
To learn what Litter Getters are collecting across California, click here.