Most 4-year-olds have to be dragged out of bed in the morning. Rohan McDonnell is the one doing the dragging.
One week into a 100-day challenge, Rohan and his dad, Kyle McDonnell, are working to pick up 1,000 pounds of trash between Whitecap and the pier on Padre Island. They have already pulled about 65 pounds off the sand.
Kyle set the goal, but it was Rohan who spotted the trash first and jumped down to grab it. Keeping a 4-year-old motivated every single day takes a little strategy.
"You tell him it's a, it's a treasure hunt. Uh, we're trying to find treasure that other people left behind, so you make it fun for him, you try to race him to the trash, and, uh, hopefully he finds some cool things to keep on going," Kyle said.
The haul so far includes a little robot, a $5 bill, and a message in a bottle stuffed with nothing but more trash.
Every morning starts the same way — on the Gulf with his dad — and Rohan is the one setting the alarm.
"He wakes me up in the morning sometimes, so he's excited about it... he likes to find interesting things," Kyle said.
When Kyle is not on the beach, he is at Fire Station 11. His crew has taken notice of what the father and son are doing.
"A lot of the guys in the department, you know, uh, coming out if, if he's coming to see me at Station 11, they'll come outside, give him a high five, and congratulate him for doing a good job," Kyle said.
Beyond the pounds, Kyle says the experience means something more.
"It makes me feel good to be out here with him. It's a father-son bonding experience, even if it's just picking up trash," Kyle said.
He also hopes Rohan carries a bigger lesson forward.
"I hope he takes away the fact that cleaning up your city, cleaning up for nature is, is the biggest goal here. You want to keep the beaches as clean as possible for the environment and then also just to take away as far as keeping the environment clean is gonna benefit everybody on Earth," Kyle said.
With more than 90 days and more than 900 pounds still to go, Kyle hopes the challenge inspires others to join in.
"Hopefully, hey, it's an easy thing to do. Just grab a yellow bag and, and, uh, fill it up," Kyle said.
Kyle posts every day of the challenge on TikTok and Facebook. He says he hopes what started with one 4-year-old eventually catches on nationally.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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