World Environment Day was created by the United Nations as a day to protect and raise awareness of our environment.
The theme for World Environment Day 2021 is “Ecosystem Restoration” and sees the launch of the UN’s Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. Ecosystem restoration can take many forms: growing trees, greening cities, rewilding gardens, changing diets or cleaning up rivers and coasts.
We’ve suggested some sustainable places to eat and tips you can implement to honour the theme of “Ecosystem Restoration” and to tread more lightly.
How you can make a difference
Help clean the air
Why not walk, ride or take transport when you might’ve chosen to drive
Reduce your meat and dairy consumption to help cut methane emissions
Composting organic food or getting chooks and feeding them your scraps and recycling non-organic trash
Turning off lights and electronics when not in use.
Do something for your community or workplace
Organise your own beach or park clean up
Challenge your office to go one day or week paper-free
Start a community or rooftop garden or plant trees
Create a team to work on reducing your business's carbon footprint.
Even the little things count
Instead of after work drinks why not arrange a walk or some yoga
Arrange a clothes swap party for your unwanted clothes or donate them to a local charity
Next time you buy a toothbrush why not pick up an eco toothbrush to save on plastics
Donate a few hours of your time to a worthy organisation doing good for the environment. Take a look at this link for volunteering positions available.
Visit an environmentally conscious café
1. Cornersmith, Marrickville and Annandale. This sustainable café is all about sustainable and ethical food production and business practices, which include sourcing products from small-scale growers in the local community and surrounds. Their menus are seasonal which means no importing but rather using what we can grow in our current climate and creating dishes that work.
2. Ruby Lane, Manly and Mona Vale. Owner, Phil Dawson, is passionate about providing consumers with more ethical and sustainable choices when dining. Not only does Ruby Lane practice sustainability in their food, but they also contribute to a number of local community initiatives helping both the people and the local sea life. By dining at Ruby Lane, you can support the Sealife Trust and help to preserve sea turtles in the Northern Beaches.
3. The Freedom Hub, Waterloo. The café offers specialty coffees and Australian sourced teas; all food is ethically sourced and supports local Australian business. 100% of profits go towards supporting survivors of modern slavery.
4. Heart Cafe, Bondi. Heart Cafe is Bondi's first social enterprise cafe, where diners can enjoy delicious, local dishes while helping to bridge the gap from unemployment to mainstream employment for some of Sydney's most disadvantaged young people.
Put June 5 in the diary and have it on an annual repeat, it is a day to appreciate and nurture our big, blue, beautiful planet.