Volunteering and the Environment

This Sunday is Clean Up Australia Day, why not establish (formally or informally) your own local site to clean up litter and pollution from a local waterway, woods, park, public space. It's easy! And beneficial for not only yourself, but your whole community and the local environment.   According to the Australian Bureau of Statistcs(http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by+Subject/4125.0~Jan+2012~Main+Features~Volunteering+rates~4410) and Volunteering Australia (http://www.volunteeringaustralia.org/research-and-advocacy/the-latest-picture-of-volunteering-in-australia/) just over a third of Australians volunteer.

Since helping to co-found the Friends of Frog Hollow Inc, a community volunteer non-for-profit environmental organisation in late 2002, I have helped revegitate over 90,000 native trees, shrubs and grasses back into the upper and mid lengths of the Eummemering Creek and helped protect, preserve and enhance both the quality of this important faunal and floral link, as well as the access for people to enjoy the area via bridges, boardwalks, walking and cycling trails. If all goes well, a link to Lysterfield Lake Park will be established, effectively allowing people (and wildlife!) to travel From the Mountains to the Sea or in other words from the Dandenongs to Port Phillip Bay!

Volunteer like the fine people in this video featuring a familiar Dean talking about the importance of grassroots environmentalism, conserving, re-establishing and linking 'green corridors' of wildlife habitat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHjx8JqEkwo

Or locate a site near you! http://www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au/join/

The Friends of Frog Hollow does not have an official website as our small group of members all work closely with one another, however we facilitate broader events in conjunction with other events and bodies such as the City of Casey Council, Melbourne Water, Clean Up Australia Day, National Plant A Tree Day and Arbour Week (and their websites and events). You can keep updated by joining our facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/163354060407176/?fref=ts