World Environment Day is an International Day of Environmental Awareness and Action that happens on 5th June each year. Started in 1974 by the United Nations, each year WED is hosted in a different country, with events focusing on a central theme. World Environment Day 2021 is being held in Pakistan, with 'ecosystem restoration' as the central theme.

This year, we're starting from the ground up. We can't go back in time to when the world was a greener place, but what we can do is plant trees, clean our oceans and rivers, and make peace with nature that fuels our everyday lives. Ever since its creation, the United Nations has emphasised that WED should be seen as the "people's day" for doing something to take care of the Earth. 

Australia is one country that regularly participates in World Environment Day. At McAuley Primary School we organised some community members to visit and talk about issues that affect us. K-4 students invited Martin Canteros Paz, Waste Management and Strategy Officer at Tumut Shire Council and he brought along Neil, manager of the Valmar Recycling and Sorting Centre. Both men spoke about the importance of using the correct bin for our rubbish. They also shared with us some news about the new FOGO bin which will be introduced into the Tumut area over the next year. In our Year 5/6 classes we invited Cherie White, Public Officer at Riverina Highlands Landcare Network. Cherie spoke to our classes about the importance of the water catchment and looking after our very precious resource - water.

We are only as healthy as our planet, and we all depend upon a healthy ecosystem in order to thrive. We need to act as a unit to bring our degraded ecosystems. There are so many ways in which we can do our bit for the environment and help mother nature spring back to life! By doing things like planting trees, cleaning up riverbanks, or simply giving nature space to recover, we can increase their benefits to society and biodiversity.