Clean, Green Superhero Dog Fights Garbage in Chile
2022-06-10
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1Sam may not look like most superheroes.
2After all, he is a dog.
3He has four legs and fur.
4But, like all superheroes, Sam has a superpower.
5His special skill is collecting waste, or garbage, to set a good example for visitors.
6Sam uses his superpower to help clean a large park in Chile's capital city, Santiago.
7He even wears a green cape - a piece of clothing that many superheroes wear.
8Sam's superpower started with walks in Santiago's Metropolitan Park with his owner, Gonzalo Chiang.
9Chiang said he and the dog would find and pick up a lot of garbage along the way - from plastic bottles to face coverings.
10Chiang said, "From that, the need to come prepared to take away the garbage that we found on each visit arose."
11In just one month, Sam and Chiang collected 602 face coverings, 585 bottles and 304 cans.
12Chiang said, "The walk is a good opportunity to clean, rather than litter."
13To litter means to throw or leave garbage on the ground in a public place.
14Park officials were pleased with Sam and Chiang's effort.
15In fact, they decided to use Sam's image for their campaign urging visitors to take better care of the park.
16Artist Catalina Aravena turned Sam into a cartoon character.
17A cartoon is a series of designs, or drawings, that tell a story.
18Sam's story is called "Sam: The Parquemet Superhero."
19Parquemet is what most locals call Santiago's Metropolitan Park.
20Aravena said the cartoon "became much more widespread than expected."
21She added, "It reached different schools and it has been spread very well on social media."
22Park officials launched anti-littering campaigns last year.
23They urged food and drink sellers within the park to use glass containers instead of plastic and to sort garbage into separate containers.
24Eduardo Villalobos is the park's acting director.
25He said Sam and Gonzalo have "inspired" park leaders to strengthen their efforts related to educating the public and collecting waste.
26I'm Gregory Stachel.
1Sam may not look like most superheroes. After all, he is a dog. He has four legs and fur. But, like all superheroes, Sam has a superpower. His special skill is collecting waste, or garbage, to set a good example for visitors. 2Sam uses his superpower to help clean a large park in Chile's capital city, Santiago. He even wears a green cape - a piece of clothing that many superheroes wear. 3Sam's superpower started with walks in Santiago's Metropolitan Park with his owner, Gonzalo Chiang. Chiang said he and the dog would find and pick up a lot of garbage along the way - from plastic bottles to face coverings. 4Chiang said, "From that, the need to come prepared to take away the garbage that we found on each visit arose." 5In just one month, Sam and Chiang collected 602 face coverings, 585 bottles and 304 cans. 6Chiang said, "The walk is a good opportunity to clean, rather than litter." To litter means to throw or leave garbage on the ground in a public place. 7Park officials were pleased with Sam and Chiang's effort. In fact, they decided to use Sam's image for their campaign urging visitors to take better care of the park. 8Artist Catalina Aravena turned Sam into a cartoon character. A cartoon is a series of designs, or drawings, that tell a story. Sam's story is called "Sam: The Parquemet Superhero." Parquemet is what most locals call Santiago's Metropolitan Park. 9Aravena said the cartoon "became much more widespread than expected." She added, "It reached different schools and it has been spread very well on social media." 10Park officials launched anti-littering campaigns last year. They urged food and drink sellers within the park to use glass containers instead of plastic and to sort garbage into separate containers. 11Eduardo Villalobos is the park's acting director. He said Sam and Gonzalo have "inspired" park leaders to strengthen their efforts related to educating the public and collecting waste. 12I'm Gregory Stachel. 13Rodrigo Gutierrez reported this story for Reuters. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 14_______________________________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16park - n. a piece of public land in or near a city that is kept free of houses and other buildings and can be used for pleasure and exercise 17arise - v. to begin to occur or to exist 18inspire - v. to make (someone) want to do something: to give (someone) an idea about what to do or create 19We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.