World Environment Day (WED) is an international day of environmental awareness and action that happens on 5th June each year.
The focus of World Environment Day in 2021 is:
REIMAGINE. RECREATE. RESTORE.
This is our moment.
We cannot turn back time. But we can grow trees, green our cities, rewild our gardens, change our diets and clean up rivers and coasts. We are the generation that can make peace with nature.
Let’s get active, not anxious. Let’s be bold, not timid.
We are the generation that can make peace with nature.
Ever since its creation, the United Nations has emphasised that WED should be seen as the "people's day" for doing something to take care of the Earth. Local school and community events like clean-up campaigns, tree-planting drives and trail walks are organised all over the country.
Because of the unusual situation all of Australia (not to mention the rest of the world) finds itself in 2021, the community events of previous years may not be running this year. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t take part. Read on for some fun suggestions of ways that you can mark World Environment Day 2021 no matter where you are.
-
Plant native Australian flora for the bees: bee populations are dwindling all over the world, and ensuring that native Australian bee species have plenty of their favourite flowers and plants on which to feed goes a long way towards helping those populations build back up.
-
Plant native trees
-
Walk or bike ride: start the day in a sustainable way!
-
Make compost: composting is an amazing and entirely natural way to create nutrient-rich soil for any land that is being gardened or farmed.
-
Change your behaviour: the best way to start with ecosystem restoration is to look inside yourself. Change your behaviour and start making environmentally friendly choices. Buy sustainable products that support the environment instead of harm it. Encourage yourself and others around you to do the same.
Read more from our collection:
No-Waste Composting: Small-Space Waste Recycling, Indoors and Out by Michelle Balz
Use It All: the Cornersmith Guide to a More Sustainable Kitchen by Alex Elliot-Howery & Jaimee Edwards
Is it Really Green?: Everyday Eco-Dilemmas Answered by Georgina Wilson-Powell