Clean Up Australia Day
'Clean up Australia Day' started in 1989 by an ‘average Australian bloke’, who had a simple idea to make a great difference in his own backyard - Sydney Harbour. This simple idea of cleaning up his ‘backyard’ has now become the nation’s largest community-based environmental event. His name was Ian Kiernan and he was named Australian of the Year in 1994 for his Clean Up Australia initiative. Over the past 30 years, Australians have devoted more than 35 million hours towards the environment through Clean Up Australia Day, and over 365,000 ute loads of rubbish have been removed as part of Clean Up Australia activities.
While the official Clean Up Australia Day is the first Sunday in March, the dedicated Schools Clean Up Australia Day will be Friday 1 March in 2024.
Activity Options
Creating a Clean Up event is a great way to make a difference for our environment. You can register your event online and you will receive a free Clean Up Kit and then all you need to do is follow three simple steps to activate your Clean Up Event. Spread the word about your event and get ready to make a difference! To provide an extra incentive for the class, how about a prize for the top 3 students who have collected the greatest amount of litter?
Talking Points
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Highlight the impact of litter to our environment
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Explain the importance of recycling
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Address the concept of a wasteful society
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Outline the environmental consequences if the next generation doesn't recycle.
Resources
There are plenty of tools and ideas to help your students get involved in Clean Up Australia Day. Click below to access them.
Presenting your Aussie of the Month during Clean Up Australia Day
When presenting your award, you could invite:
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A local council representative
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An environmentalist
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An environmental science student from a local university
