Sustainability & The Environment

 
We are full of enthusiasm as this recently added Area of Focus - Supporting the Environment - underlies all six of Rotary’s established Areas of Focus:
 
Promoting Peace, Providing Clean Water and Sanitation, Fighting Disease, Saving Mothers and Children, Growing Local economies and Supporting Education.
 
This new Area also aligns with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. And issues relating to the environment feature every day in the media and are an important focus for all levels of government in Australia. It is essential for Rotary to remain relevant and this Area will assist this and hopefully broaden Rotary’s appeal.
 
To begin with, our committee conducted  a survey of our members to learn how concerned they are about environmental sustainability issues generally, and what specific ones are of most concern. The data collected will help shape our future courses of action.
 
Projects we are currently considering are:
 

  • reducing the Club and individual members’ carbon footprint

  • engaging in clean-ups such as Clean-up Australia Day

  • Sycamore Blitz with Friends of Emerald Lake Park (FELP)

  • helping the Lions Club rehabilitate the Telopea Steps

  • adopting a road

  • assisting with feral rabbit management

Current Activities

This was a new avenue of service that will roll out during the 2021-2022 Rotary year and will be built on in the 2022-2023 year.
 
National Threatened Species Day 7 September 2022 - click HERE for more details
 
Page News
Update on Activities Oct 2022
Environment & Sustainability Committee Survey – October 2022
Committee member Sangeeta Bajaj prepared an analysis of the responses in our recent survey and put it in a PowerPoint presentation, which the Committee delivered to the Club meeting on Tuesday 27th Sept.
Key findings were:
  • No respondent said they were not interested, and over half of the respondents said they were very interested in environmental issues, an extremely pleasing result.
  • Climate Change and Responsible Consumption and Waste Disposal were the most concerning issues but maintaining biodiversity and ecological balance were not far behind.
  • Local community-based issues were clearly the most popular. These could involve working alongside the Youth Committee and our local schools, and other groups such as The Men’s Shed, EVA, ECH and FELP etc.
  • Hands-on activities and fundraising were the most popular. We have a budget but the Committee is yet to decide what to spend it on. A stand at the Emerald Rotary Market is an option for some of the funds .
  • To receive information about environmental issues and events, Guest speakers were the most preferred followed by Attachments to Sparkle, our Club Newsletter.
 
NOTE: Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG) has a Memorandum of Understanding with Project Drawdown to educate Rotarians to implement Drawdown Solutions and reverse climate change as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible. Their YouTube videos are easily accessible and contain a wealth of information for the layperson.
 

District Initiatives

Sustainability is seen as having several wide-ranging, yet connected meanings. These include something that is self-sustaining or self-efficient, something planned for long-term use or something ‘good for the environment’. These multiple meanings of sustainability are relevant to Rotary in many ways.
 
Our Rotary District which have an environmentally sustainable focus. This includes projects which aim to protect or restore the local environment and ecosystems, those which make use of sustainable technologies or those promoting the uptake of everyday sustainable practices.
Vicki Van Den Bergen
Chair 2022-2023
PP PHF Russell Marnock
Chair 2021-2022