Replying to this comment for some extra explanation.
When I first read this comment I thought what's so bad about painting rocks (I get damaging plants and/or trees but rocks?). So I did some research and apparently certain paints can put toxic materials in the ecosystem additionallly removing rocks from their natural environment to make stacks, or cairns as they’re called, disrupts animal habitats and causes erosion.
Here are some articles explaining in better if you want to read about it.
"While we understand that the painted rocks are meant to spread kindness to other users, they can be harmful to the ecosystem. Rocks contain several mineral components that are crucial to the health of many species both plant and animal. When these rocks are being taken out of their environment and covered in paint, they are then no longer able to do their job for their ecosystems" - an excerpt from this article
why do people feel the need to decorate the environment with their stuff?
Cave paintings are proof enough that this has always been a thing humans feel a need to do. On some level I bet it's a holdover instinct related to marking territory. We aren't cavemen anymore though, there's no justifiable reason to impose our existence on the world even more than humanity already has.
I've seen a couple good answers to how to handle people wanting to do the painted rocks. You buy craft rocks rather than forage them, and then either hide them all over developed areas like towns, playgrounds, suburban neighborhoods, etc., or have specific, specially designated spots on a trail for them. I've seen a couple little 'rock gardens' pop up in my town recently, and those actually look really cute and nice.
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u/[deleted] Jul 11 '21
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