Author: I like taking my kids for a leisurely nature walk to the nearby park at the end of a busy day. It is also an opportunity to check on our neighborhood park making sure it looks clean. Occasionally I do some volunteering with my kids by picking up after what others forgot behind. I like to have a clean environment whether I go a park or any other vacation sites.
Audience: The people of Peoria that enjoy nature and outdoor activities at the park and those who like to travel to different vacation sites are my audience.
Purpose: I like to show the difference between two groups of vacationers: those who leave the parks or vacation sites messy and those who leave them clean. This consequently leads to two different kinds of parks or vacation sites messy or clean.
Content: Maintaining the parks and vacation sites environmentally clean and nature’s ecological balance is the goal.
Context: Nature is an environmental treasure that needs to be taking care of so we all can enjoy. Nature is a good retreat for many people that enjoy the outdoors.



As a mother I enjoy taking my family on nature walks to the nearby Apache Park and on occasional vacations. I like to admire the beauty of nature, hear the singing birds in a clean park making sure that I always leave the park or the vacation site cleaner than I found it. Everyone needs a good vacation sometimes. Although we all need a clean environment to enjoy the outdoors, the other day at Apache Park a group of party people left a big mess behind. There were birds digging through empty bottles, pop cans, candy wrappers, papers, basically litter scattered everywhere. Do I want to live in this kind of messy world? Well because I can’t stand that mess I clean up after others if necessary. I also encourage others to maintain a clean environment as well. The point is that we need to do what it takes to keep our parks and vacation sites clean not only for people to enjoy but also for the animals maintaining their ecological balance as well.

After working hard all year I like to plan a family vacation. I need a getaway from the business of city Phoenix life to help me relax by connecting with nature. For example in 2001 we went to visit Willamette Park in Oregon. The abundant vegetation dressed in gorgeous beautiful green coat looked so fresh in its amazingly clean environment. We enjoyed the view and fresh air. In 2003 we took a vacation to Yellowstone Park in Wyoming. When we got there I found the place contaminated with litter everywhere. Is this the kind of world we want to live in? Most people like myself, would like to have a healthy, environmentally clean and enjoyable place to go on vacation. What can we do to prevent pollution in our natural environment? One sure answer is to clean up like I do.

I imagine tomorrow we are going on another family vacation to our traditional getaway place, Palm Beach. We remember the beach water being so clean and transparent that we could see the bottom and feel the soft sand between our toes. The air was alive with songs of beautiful sea birds. There also was a perfect scuba diving place to experience the colorful unpolluted aquatic life. We remember the nearby park and the relaxing walk up the trail we took to see the beauty of nature before. As far as we could see, everything around us was green. The forest was alive and full of many kinds of trees, flowers, birds and animals for our view to enjoy. I went to bed excited and dreaming about the next day’s trip. In my dream that night we got to the destination vacation and what we saw was devastating. There was trash everywhere. The beach water was dirty, and many of the animals were dead. I went to the beach receptionist to inquire some explanation. The answer I got was “Sorry mam, we had a large group of people that basically trashed the place and killed some animals. We are working on this case but in the mean time try to enjoy what is available.” What a nightmare. I woke up glad that it was only a dream. The point is that it can happen if we do not take care of our parks and beaches.

It’s sad to see that some people act so irresponsible by throwing trash everywhere or like those recreational hunters who kill animals for fun leaving animals’ dead bodies behind. Killing animals for other reasons than food necessity, along with littering disturbs the wild life and their habitat. The people who lived one or two hundred years ago like the Native Americans were hunting only for food they needed not for fun. They had more respect for nature and the common sense not to waste it. The popular children’s author, Laura Ingalls Wilder, who lived in the1800s, talks about her father hunting only for food also. We must think practically and decide what kind of world we want for ourselves and for our children. The reality is that many species of plants and animals are almost extinct. Something must be done about it.

Today, global population is growing at a very fast rate compared to years ago. According to the National Wildlife Federation’s statistics, the human population growth reached one billion by the 1800s. Nowadays, it takes only fourteen years to reach another billion. At this rate we might run out of food, clean water, and other natural resources. Ultimately, the resources we all depend on are running low.

We must join the scientists to raise awareness for a healthy environment by using all our resources wisely. We must stop unnecessary animal killings and reinforce recycling and throwing the trash in the right place. Some beaches are closing because of trash water contamination. America observes National Clean Beaches Week from June 29th through July 5th to promote healthy environmental awareness. Communities across the country celebrate this week event by cleaning up after the 4th of July, the trashiest day of the year.

Even though today there are 6.5 billion people sharing the same planet, it is still possible to have a healthy environment that we can all enjoy. If everybody leaves the parks and beaches cleaner than they found them, like I do we will have environmentally clean places to retreat to on occasional vacations and a better place to live in overall.



Outline:

Motivator: Nature is a great outdoors experience.
Thesis: I have to do what is necessary to keep our parks and vacation sites environmentally clean.
Blueprint: There are two kinds of vacationers: messy ones who leave the place messy and clean ones who leave the place clean.
Body:
I. Topic Sentence 1: I talk about taking my family for a nature walk to the nearby park.

A. Explanation: There we have two different kinds of experiences: the messy park and clean park.
B. Example 1: We enjoy the time when the park was clean. We had more playtimes.
C. Example 2: When the park was messy we volunteer to clean up first. It took some time off playtime.

II. Topic Sentence 2: I talk about two family vacations.

A. Explanation: There are two kinds of vacation sites: messy ones and clean ones.
B. Example 1: The one in Oregon was enjoyable because it was clean.
C. Example 2: The one in Yellowstone was not pleasant because it was messy.

III. Topic Sentence 3: Here I’m describing my thinking about other future vacations.

A. Explanation: Actually I’m describing the two kinds of vacations I have from my memory.
B. Example 1: I mention one that I remember from past experience at the clean beach.
C. Example 2: I talk about the dreadful one that I dreamed about the night before.

IV. Topic Sentence 4: Then I compare some aspects of people that lived long ago with those living nowadays.

A. Explanation: The people from past centuries took better care of their environment than people today.

Conclusion: Environmentally clean places are more likely to give people a good vacation experience.
Reworded Thesis: If I want to have a clean vacation for myself I need to do the mature thing and leave the place cleaner than I found it.
Summary of Main Points: The points are everybody should clean their mess.
Clincher: The more responsible we act when it comes to clean our environment the better places will have to retreat to for our vacations.

Personal Reflection for Essay #2