Need an incentive to get out there and take action this World Environment Day?
Grab your diary because World Environment Day is June 5th. It's the United Nations day for encouraging worldwide awareness and action to protect our environment which is something we should definitely all get behind!
Its main aim is to raise awareness to protect our nature and look at various environmental issues that are growing day by day.
What can you do?
Here are five ways you can help reverse the trends of biodiversity loss and reimagine our relationship with nature.
1. CYCLE, OR TAKE PUBLIC TRANSPORT
As restrictions begin to ease, many of us will be getting back into our cars to go back to work or study. To reduce our carbon emissions, it might be a better option to cycle or take public transport.
If taking the car is the only way to get to where you need to go on time, think about car-pooling with fellow workers or friends to help reduce the number of cars on the road.
2. GO REUSABLE
Landfills piled high with single-use items have a negative impact on the environment. Go reusable instead. We’re already doing it with coconut bowls, shopping bags, and we can do it with coffee cups, straws and much more.
Plastic that ends up in nature as waste often gets mistaken for food by animals, causing injury or death.
Choosing to purchase reusable goods sends a message to businesses that single-use items, especially those made from plastic, cannot be the norm anymore. Australia is already banning plastic single-use items, so the momentum is already there!
3. GROW A GARDEN OR PLANT A TREE
Gardens help the environment in many ways. They reduce air and noise pollution, erosion, and energy costs. They also minimise the carbon footprint and provide a food and home source for various animals and insects.
If you can’t build your own garden, find community garden projects you can join in your neighbourhood or local area. Check out out upcycled garden pots made from coconut shells.
4. SOURCE LOCAL FOOD
Explore where to buy local produce. It’s an important factor in sustainable business practice.
Purchasing goods and produce from local vendors and manufacturers cuts down on fuel emissions. This is because it takes less fuel to transport goods locally than transporting them from overseas or interstate.
Going local encourages biodiversity, as nearby farms growing varied crops will benefit. It also helps to maintain healthy soil and prevent plant and crop disease.
And as an added bonus, shopping for local goods supports your region's community and economy.
5. Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Renew, Recycle
If you're not already into this habit, it's a good day of the year to start. These 5R's are magic mantras when it comes to environmental conservation and sustainable usage.
The concept is already taught to students at school. The problem is that elders have forgotten about it. Take time on World Environment Day to learn about this concept. There are many things that you can do on a personal level, if you just keep these 5R's in your mind.
Help close the loop by recycling natural resources.
To truly close the loop and create a circular economy, we need to create a market for the material we recycle. How can you help, you ask? Easy!
Vote with your wallet and use your purchasing power to choose products and packaging made from recycled content. That ensures you are extending the life of resources we have already used and reducing the need to extract new ones from our precious planet.
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.
Here's some extra tips we also wanted to include.
- 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
- Make compost: composting is an amazing and entirely natural way to create nutrient-rich soil for any land that is being gardened or farmed.
2022 Theme: Only One Earth
The World Environment Day 2022 global campaign #OnlyOneEarth calls for transformative changes to policies and choices to enable cleaner, greener, and sustainable living in harmony with nature.
It will focus on the need to live sustainably in harmony with nature, and our possibilities for shifting to a greener lifestyle through both policies and individual choices.
You can register your interest here.