What first started as community event in Australia - 'Clean Up Australia,' quickly inspired a global movement across the world, with an estimated 35 million volunteers across 133 countries getting involved in 'World Clean Up Day'.
In this blog we will be sharing what our team did for World Clean Up Day! This included cleaning our local area, attending an education field trip and setting our own personal goals to better help the enviornment. Read on to find out more!
Image: Clean Up The World
What Is World Clean Up Day?
World Clean Up Day was first established in 1993 with the aim of bringing about a permanent and positive change to our environment, through information and education sharing. Fast forward nearly 30 years on, and this campaign has spread to almost every region across the world. An amazing achievement!
Clean Up The World, doesn't stop with just education, they put it into practice. They support local groups and organisations to plan and conduct various activities to clean up, fix up and conserve the environment. They have plenty of planning tools and event resources for you to use. So far, they have supported activities like, rubbish removal & clean up, tree planting & habitat restoration, care of marine environments, urban recycling projects and the list goes on. Pretty amazing right?
Image: F&F
How Our Team Got Involved | Local Cleanup
This World Clean Up Day, our team started by getting into the thick of it. We put on some Gloves, grabbed some Compostable Bin Bags and headed for our local park, to clean up the area.
On arrival, we were stunned to see how much rubbish was left floating around. We picked up things like tobacco buds, dog poop bags, single-use coffee cups, plastic wrappers and lots more!
Doing activities like this, really brings about a sense of awareness to our surroundings! We didn't realise how much rubbish was around in the streets, until we really started looking and now that we have that awareness we can be more mindful and participate in clean ups more often!
Image: F&F
How Our Team Got Involved | Education
Whilst we aim to educate, we never stop learning ourselves. Our team visited the The Australian National Maritime Museum, Ghost Nets Of The Ocean Exhibition.
What's a ghost net? Ghost nets are fishing nets that have been lost at sea, abandoned or discarded when they have become damaged. They are part of the the problem when it comes to plastic pollution. Not only does it impact our planet, but much of our marine life get entangled in those nets.
Artists associated with the Ghost Net Art Movement, are turning abandoned fishing nets, recycled plastic and rope into works of art. These artworks show people's connections to the sea and inspire awareness of ocean pollution, recycling and promote conservation of the marine environment. We're all for it!
Image: F&F
How Our Team Got Involved | I Pledge To...
See what our team at F&F have pledged to do this year:
- Alina - I pledge to recycle soft plastics and shop second hand first.
- Gabby - I pledge to carry a Reusable Water Bottle with me everywhere.
- Emma - I pledge to refuse single-use items to make sure I bring my reusables.
- Mathieu - I pledge to never carry my shopping in plastic bags and buy fewer packaged products.
- Kat - I pledge to be a more conscious shopper and only buy what I really need. Also, to buy second hand, buy quality over quantity and mend before throwing out.
Needless to say, every small change has the ability to make a huge difference and as Australians, who started the movement, we could not be prouder to see the whole world get involved and help our environment!
Together, we're better! Our team was absolutely thrilled to participate in this years clean up the world activities to help make a positive difference to our environment. What did you do for World Clean Up Day? Let us know in the comments.
Interested in learning about what other clean ups you can get involved in throughout the year? Check out the blogs below:
