When it comes to community-based action for the environment, Clean Up Australia Day is the pick of the litter.
The first weekend in March typically sees hundreds of shire volunteers help clean up Eurobodalla’s streets, beaches, parks and waterways.
Online registrations are now open, and Eurobodalla Council is calling on volunteers to get involved, remove rubbish, and treasure the national event on Sunday 3 March.
Eurobodalla’s Clean Up coordinator Maree Cadman said that worldwide, over eight million tonnes of plastic entered the ocean each year, with more than 80 per cent originating from land.
“It's the bottle caps down the stormwater drain, the plastic packet left in the park, the straw discarded at the bus stop – these are what travel through our waterways damaging our wildlife and ecosystems,” she said
“We can help by collecting the trash before it ends up in our rivers or in the ocean.”
Ms Cadman said any location in the shire could be registered as a site for Clean Up Australia Day.
“Anyone of any age can pitch in and clear a carpark of empty bottles and cigarette butts before they wash down the drain,” she said.
The Clean Up campaign has run in Eurobodalla for 29 years, with tonnes of litter removed from the shire’s streets, beaches and bushland.
“Last year, over 200 volunteers, and thousands students from 12 shire schools, participated in the event, collecting 40 cubic metres of rubbish,” she said.
“For those who can’t make it on Sunday, we can register individuals and groups to help clean up on a day that suits them better.”
For more information and to register visit www.cleanup.org.au. For help with registering and finding sites to join near you, contact Maree Cadman on 4474 1343.
Narooma: Thea Yates, Kathy Bunyan, Sally Davey, Phyllis Jost, Allison Steele, Libby Shortridge, Carol Meindl, Heather McMillan, Jenny Troy, Ed Proudfoot, Diana Morgan, Jo Moxon of the Narooma Bluewater Dragons worked to clean up Quota Park for Clean Up Australia Day in 2018.
Moruya: Nature Coast Dragon Boat Club members Nev and Dianne Britton, Therese and John Holgate, and Ann and John Stowar cleaned up Riverside Park, Moruya last year for Clean Up Australia Day.
Batemans Bay: Batemans Bay Bay High School’s student environmental council organised the schools’ Clean Up Australia Day participation in 2018, with all year 7 and some special education students getting involved. Pictured are Allyssa Jolly, Chelsea Brown, Connel McCormack and Isabelle Maguire.
