Eurobodalla Council is encouraging residents to take stock and think about how they can play a role in improving the environment ahead of World Environment Day next week.
An initiative of the United Nations, World Environment Day on Wednesday 5 June encourages worldwide awareness and action for the protection of our environment.
Council’s natural resource officer Courtney Fink-Downes said that for many, the scale of challenges facing the planet can seem daunting.
“Caring for the environment can be overwhelming and it can be difficult to know where to start or what more each of us can do,” she said.
“World Environment Day is a good excuse to take a short pause to look at your everyday life and see where you could make slight changes that make a positive impact on the environment.”
Courtney says there are many simple but significant ways everyone can do their bit.
“For example, going to the local shop or supermarket with reusable shopping bags is now becoming the norm. But have you considered taking re-usable mesh or cloth bags for your fruit and vegetables? These are now readily available and are very easy to take along with you when getting your groceries,” she said.
Courtney said another super simple change was selecting toilet paper made from recycled paper.
“Thousands of trees are used to make toilet paper,” she said.
“Using recycled toilet paper keeps precious trees in the ground and makes a significant positive contribution to caring for the environment.”
Cat owners too can take advantage of Eurobodalla Council’s free CatBib program and help protect local wildlife.
“Cat owners can put a bib on their cat to stop it from hunting local wildlife,” she said.
“CatBibs are free from your local vet or Council and they don’t change anything for your cat other than preventing it from being able to catch birds, gliders, lizards or frogs.”
For more information about Council’s environmental programs – and to get involved – visit www.esc.nsw.gov.au/living-in/natural-environment
Above: Eight-year-old Elijah Downes does his bit for the environment by re-using mesh fruit and vegetables bags. You can too!
