Help Clean Up your Travel Destination

Any responsible traveller will do their very best not to leave a negative impact on their travel destination, but Google Maps has launched an International Cleanup Weekend that aims to do one better.

During the weekend, which runs from 13-14 October 2007, Google is encouraging all of us to go out and clean up our local area, but if you are travelling that weekend, why not join one of the clean-ups planned for you travel destination?

Google Maps is encouraging anyone who is organising a clean-up to publish a map with details of where to meet, etc. All of the clean-up maps have been plotted on to a map of the world by Google Maps. So you can use these handy maps to see what is planned for your travel destination.

If nothing has been planned for wherever you are going, then you can easily organise your own clean-up by picking a spot (e.g. the area around your hotel) and publishing a map along with details, so that other travellers or locals can join you.

I’ll be on a walk in West Sussex, UK on 14 October and I plan to participate in the International Cleanup Weekend by picking up as much litter as I can carry on the walk. The exact route has yet to be confirmed, so I won’t be sharing a map with you, but I will publish photographic evidence on 15 October on this blog. Check back then if you want to see what litter West Sussex had to offer.

You can read all about the project on Google Maps’ International Cleanup Weekend website. Don’t forget to check out the world map of all the clean-ups planned so far and Google maps has even created an easy-to-follow guide to organising your own clean-up.

So happy litter hunting and do let me know how it went!

TAGS: Google Maps, International Cleanup Weekend, travel

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