In June 2020 Rotary International added “Supporting the Environment” as its own area of focus. The environmental links with the other 6 areas of focus are as follows:
Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention: Sustainably and equitably managing natural resources to address the root causes of conflict and war to increase peace. Disease Prevention and Treatment: What’s good for the planet is good for us – a healthy environment and access to clean energy helps prevent diseases. Water, sanitation and hygiene: Extreme weather events are on the rise as our earth changes, and better locally directed resource management can reverse desertification, detoxify water, and mitigate against flooding and drought. |
Environmental Sustainability Rotarian Action Group (ESRAG) assists Rotary clubs, districts and multi-districts in planning, implementing and evaluating service projects, building awareness, and inspiring action. These projects promote environmental sustainability, awareness of climate change, and actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to mitigate climate disruption. ESRAG promotes educational resources, initiates dialogue about environmental sustainability, and uses best practices in models and assessments for both projects and daily choices. This work advances the Object of Rotary through positive impacts in all six Areas of Focus.
ESRAG was instrumental in having “Supporting the Environment” as Rotary’s 7th area of focus. |
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End Plastic Soup: The End Plastic Soup initiative was founded in 2018 by Rotary Clubs in Amsterdam and is now supported worldwide. The goal is to ban plastic waste from our environment by 2050 through targeted campaigns, awareness raising and alliances with other partners.
When you hear stats that by 2050 virtually every marine bird species in the world will eat plastic and that 73% of the world’s litter on beaches is plastic waste, we knew as a club we wanted to support this initiative. |
River Clean-Up: In May 2022, our club Environmental Leads joined the Rotary district in their Thames Valley Clean Up event. We worked with the other Maidenhead Rotary clubs, who focused on a clean-up on the Saturday – litter picking on the banks between Boulters Lock and the M4 junction. The sea cadets also helped with cleaning up litter in the river from their boats.
Our club ES leads manned a stall on the High Street to coincide with the clean-up. We displayed tips on plastic reduction and products from the Filling Good shop in Maidenhead. We also displayed promotional materials from EPS, leaflets from Wild Maidenhead and encouraged members of the public to sign up to the Big Plastic Count. |
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