MONROE — Eric Justiniano not only improves his own health while out for a walk, but also the health of the environment and his community by picking up litter. 

But he decided one day it wasn’t enough to simply pick up garbage himself, instead creating a program where anyone can get involved, called “Get PLactive.”

“It’s a simple thing we can all help out and take part in,” Justiniano said. 

Justiniano, a physical education teacher at Parkside Elementary School, has lived in Monroe for almost three years. He wanted to create a lesson for his students that not only encouraged them to get active, but to care about environmental health as well. 

He was originally inspired by two surfers Andrew Cooper and Alex Schulze, who started removing trash from the ocean and turned it into a movement called 4ocean. Justiniano wanted to get Midwesterners involved by allowing participants to pick up litter either before, during or after their normal physical activity, whether it be biking, running, rollerblading or other exercise.

Justiniano also turned Get PLactive into a lesson for his students. They spent 15 minutes being active and then took 15 minutes to clean up trash from the playground. Justiniano said he was surprised by how well it went over with his students. 

“For some of them, it was the first time they had heard about environmental health,” Justiniano said. “I thought, ‘This could really be something.’”

Justiniano knew he wanted it to be more than just a one-time lesson — he wanted it to be a program outside of school. For the last year, he’s been spreading the word through Facebook and Instagram, trying to get more volunteers on board. 

He had shirts made with the logo he created and wears one while picking up litter with his wife Ali during their walks. Justiniano said he hopes wearing the logo will spark interest. 

“It’s really eye-opening when you start looking around and notice all the litter that’s out there,” Justiniano said. 

Justiniano estimated he has picked up more than 60 pounds of litter since he started; the most common tossed items being cigarette cartons and plastic bottles.

After collaborating with his former professor at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Lisa Emmendorfer, Justiniano has had several Get PLactive events at Platteville. He recently held one with Platteville Public Schools. All grade levels took part and collected a total of 160 pounds of litter.

Justiniano held his first Monroe event at Parkside on Wednesday. There were 19 participants who collected 30 pounds, 3 ounces of litter. 

Parkside teacher Jill Leuzinger didn’t hesitate to participate. She collected five pounds of trash. 

“I think it’s an awesome program,” Leuzinger said. “The kids here really like it. It makes being active more fun and our school has never been cleaner.”

Within the next two weeks, Justiniano will be selling shirts with the Get PLactive logo and hopes to plan another event in Monroe for the summer. For every shirt sold, he wants to pledge to pick up a pound of litter. Justiniano hopes the program will continue to grow so other schools can host events and potentially use it as a fundraiser.

Justiniano attributes his passion for environmental health to his grandmother Barbara Haugen. He would spend his summers at her home in Highlandville, Iowa throughout his childhood, away from his hometown of Bensenville, Illinois. With her, he spent a lot of time playing outdoors and learned to appreciate nature. 

“I love nature and I love the outdoors and I think we need to take care of it,” Justiniano said. “At the end of the day, if we weren’t here, everything would be running pretty smooth.”