Earth Day Project 2015 – Make a Screen Door Food Filter

The Earth Day events going on this week are exciting opportunities to meet other nature lovers in your community.  Wildlife researchers give lectures and naturalists lead hikes to explore local areas.  It is a great time to meet new friends, learn about nature, and discover local resources available all year long.  If you can, you should participate in these local events. 

It is also a chance to undertake projects of our own.  We can make things, do conservation work, or change our behavior for the rest of the year.  We can try to leave our world a little better than we find it.

Below is a simple, fun Earth Day Project that children can do easily.  I call it the “Screen Door Food Filter.” 

Background

In 2009, I spent four days backpacking through beautiful Glacier National Park.  The breathtaking scenery included swift flowing streams, dazzling wildflowers, and of course, glaciated peaks.

Meadows full of wildflowers, Glacier National Park

Looking down on the Belly River, Glacier National Park

Beautiful lakes tantalize fishermen, Glacier National Park

I had a magical time backpacking in Glacier National Park, one of our nation’s wild Edens.

Allison the guide

I traveled with a “Glacier Guide,” from Glacier Guides Inc.  They are the park concessionaire that leads day hikes and backpacking trips into Glacier’s backcountry.  I had a magical time and will always remember seeing my first wild moose.

As the official park concessionaire, Glacier Guides practices Leave No Trace (LNT) ethics on all their trips.  Allison, my guide, showed me several LNT techniques including the Screen Door Food Filter that I still use today.

I Hate Washing Dishes

When I backpack or camp I hate doing chores.  Not very mature, I know.  But I can’t help it!  And the chore I detest the most:  washing dirty dishes after dinner.  I rinse, I wash, I scrub, and when all is done I’m left with a bucket (or pot) of dirty water.

The oily water conceals scummy food particles suspended in its murky depths.  And here lies the problem:  if you dump the water, there will be small food particles scattered on the ground near camp.  You can pour the water into a hole and fill it.  But the scent can still draw small critters (or worse) into your camp.

In Glacier this is no joke.  There are grizzly bears roaming the wilderness.  If they begin to associate humans with food, bad things happen! But Glacier Park also wants to minimize the “human footprint” on their stunning backcountry.  In fact, some of the most beautiful wild places in our nation now insist that you pack out all your trash, including food scraps.  

The Screen Door Food Filter helps you do this.

A grizzly track above my foot. The track is much larger. Glacier National Park

The Screen Door Food Filter

When confronted by scummy dish water, you want to separate the food particles so you can dump them in your trash bag.  I do this using the Screen Door Food Filter.  Like it sounds, it is a roughly 6.5-inch square of mesh material cut from an old screen door or window.  You should be able to find a free source of this material easily (window installers or big box stores).  Although there are “patch kits” on the market you can buy.  They only include 3-inch mesh squares.  These squares are too small to keep your hands dry when you use them.  Another possibility is “pet screen wire.”  I have seen it advertised but never tried it.

Pour water through this filter to capture suspended food particles

Materials

• screen door or window mesh material (old material is available for free from window installers, big box stores, hardware stores)

Tools

• Heavy scissors or wire cutters

Instructions for Making:

1. Using the wire cutters, cut a 6.5 inch square from the mesh material.
2. That’s it! You’re done.

I roll the filter and store it in one of my pots or billycans.  You can also lay it flat inside a frying pan.

The rolled screen slips easily inside a pot or billycan

When you finish with the dishes, unroll the mesh.  It is best to have an assistant hold it with two hands.  Or you can hold it yourself with one.  Then pour the scummy water through the mesh.  When the mesh accumulates the loose food particles, dump them into your garbage bag.  I usually carry a dry-bag for this purpose.

Happy Earth Day and have fun with your Screen Door Food Filter!  What other uses can you find for it?

Other Earth Day Articles on NatureOutside

Earth Day Project 2014 – The Bottle Bag

If you enjoyed this article you may like others in the Gear Section or the Parent’s Corner.