Top 5 things you can do to celebrate this World Environment Day
We are developing but that does not mean we have to harm the environment, and there’s a lot you can do to control that.
Celebrate #BeatAirPollution. (Courtesy: World Environment Day)
World Environment Day (WED) is here, and it is perhaps time to get a little more conscious about the environment we live in. WED is annually celebrated on June 5 as an initiative taken by the United Nations to spread awareness about the depleting environmental conditions, and take action for the protection of our environment. The day was first marked on 1974 as a flagship campaign for raising awareness on issues such as marine pollution, human overpopulation, global warming, and crime against wildlife. It has now become a global platform with over 143 countries participating annually. Each year WED is hosted by one country and it follows a particular theme which is utilized to further accentuate the cause.
This year WED is being hosted by China and the theme to be followed is #BeatAirPollution. As everyone is gearing up to do their bit this World Environment Day, here are the top 5 ways in which you can do your bit to celebrate this year’s WED:
- Participate in the Events: If you check out the official website of WED, you will notice that they come up with multiple fun ways to involve people. These include games, social media campaigns, marathons, and other social activities which can actually help is raising awareness amid a huge number of people. For an instance, this year WED has introduced the Mask Challenge to create awareness on air pollution, where you can upload a picture of yourself in a mask and share it on social media. You can also post about the actions you will take in order to reduce air pollution. For more information, check out their website here.
- Get Creative: Now that you are on social media, why not try putting up some useful content. With a theme as common as air pollution, you can easily get creative. You can pick up the waste such as plastic and paper products, and create beautiful home decors with them. A plastic bottle can be easily used as a pot or a decorative vase with which you can decorate the balcony of your house or your room. On the other hand, paper products can be used to make some amazing toys that you can perhaps donate to less privileged children and encourage your own kids to play with them instead of buying new toys which are also made of plastic.
Get creative with plastic waste. (Facebook)
- Get the Group Together: You can always organize group activities other than the ones already mentioned on WED’s website. You can bring together artistes who like to recite poems, choreograph dance, and compose songs, and put together a small program which is always a brilliant way to spread awareness. To take things a little ahead your group can also put up small street acts in order to create awareness among a larger crowd. For a suggestion you can pick up works like ‘Leaves of Grass’ by Walt Whitman where Whitman’s celebration of life is symbolised with the hovering presence of nature.
- Take that Oath: Every action finds its true sense in conviction, and it is time for this generation to practice some old-school conviction. Take the oath to reduce the use of fuelled transport for journeys that can be done with a bicycle. While travelling to work or to a mate’s place try not stepping inside a private cab or a public bus, and instead pick up a bicycle. Although it can be time consuming as compared to fuelled motors, in the long run it will certainly serve a purpose far better than saving time. Moreover, an early morning cycling is extremely good for health.
Ditch fuel for a healthier environment. (Google Images)
- Do It Yourself: We are a generation who do not like to depend on others for anything, then why depend on the market for your vegetables. Perhaps it is time to go back to the good old days of cultivating your crop and feasting on them. Living in cities it might be difficult to maintain a garden but you can always gather self-made bottle pots and grow edible plants in them. Plant seasonal crops in them such as potatoes, chillies, tomatoes, and so on. You can also give up on the highly expensive herbal products and invest on growing your own herbs that have medicinal, spiritual, and healing uses. This is actually a brilliant way to save up on some money.
