Below is a list of international and national
days and weeks to mark particular events or topics that promote education and awareness
of sustainability. A summary of each event is given with some useful links to
resources that could be accessed to use with students or spark a discussion.
August
2 August – Earth Overshoot Day
Earth
Overshoot Day is the day of the year on which the demands of humans on nature
exceeds the Earth’s biological capacity to regenerate. This means that between
January 1st and August 2nd in 2023, humanity’s demand for
biological regeneration is equivalent to the entire planet’s annual
regeneration.
Earth Overshoot Day 1971-2023 (Credit: Global Footprint Network)
While this
is five days later than Earth’s Overshoot Day of July 28 in 2022 there is still
a lot of work to be done. Students could use the ecological footprint
calculator to calculate their personal Overshoot Day and explore ways to reduce
their impact.
- Ecological Footprint Calculator (Global Footprint Network)
07-13 August – Keep Australia Beautiful Week
This is a
week to raise awareness about the simple things we can do in our daily lives to
reduce our impact on the environment. This year themes and behavioural changes
that are being encouraged are to DO THE RIGHT THING and to REDUCE What’s in
Your Bin.
- Keep Australia Beautiful
- ABCs very
popular series War on Waste (Series 3) is airing during late
July and early August.
- Take 3 for the Sea is a mission to rid the oceans of plastic by
encouraging people to pick up three pieces of plastic waste in the environment
and dispose of it properly.
- Waste in Australia (AusEarthEd blog)
09 August - International Day of the World’s Indigenous
Peoples (UN)
This could
be an opportunity to highlight how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s
ecological knowledge is used to sustainably manage resources.
- Aboriginal Resource Management in
NSW (AusEarth blog)
- Indigenous seasonal calendars (CSIRO)
- The Banbai and Ngoorabul calendars of NSW showcase traditional fire
management practices. Other calendars can be accessed from Indigenous Weather Knowledge (Bureau of Meteorology)
12 August - World Elephant Day
A day to
raise awareness of elephants as a keystone species. A keystone species has a
disproportionately large effect on its environment. Removing it can
dramatically reduce biodiversity. Elephants maintain the health and
biodiversity of their habitats as seed dispersers and ecosystem engineers.
Recent studies are showing that losing elephants could accelerate Earth’s
climate crisis because elephants play a direct role in shaping forests that help
to store carbon.
- Study of Elephants (Journal of Mammology)
12-17 August – National
Science Week
A week to take
part in one of Australia’s largest festivals and there are lots of events to
take part in. Consider registering a team for the quiz to win some cash prizes,
including $1000 for a school team.
17 August – National Thrift Shop Day
There has
been an awareness campaign called National Op Shop Week in the past, however in
2023 there are localised events in different parts of Australia. It encourages
everyone to purchase second-hand items and to visit thrift stores to embrace the
idea of ‘reuse’ which is higher on the waste hierarchy and has a positive
impact on the environment.
Waste Hierachy (Credit: Planet Ark)
- Why should I reuse items? (Planet Ark)
- Waste in Australia (AusEarthEd blog)
September
7 September – International Day of Clean Air for Blue
Skies (UN)
A day to
raise awareness for the need to overcome air pollution as it has a health
impact and a climate impact.
- Microplastics and climate (Yale article)
- Plastic microfibres from clothes (article by Fashion Revolution)
16 September – International Day for the Preservation of
the Ozone Layer (UN)
The Montreal Protocol (1987) is a treaty that turns 35 in 2023.
It ended one of the biggest threats to life on the surface of the Earth: the
depletion of the ozone layer. Nations of the world came together to control
nearly 100 ozone depleting substances by phasing out production and consumption
and eventual elimination. Some have since been found to also contribute to
global warming and without the Montreal Protocol would likely be in much
greater concentrations in the atmosphere today. The Montreal Protocol and
subsequent Kigali Amendment (2016) has been the most successful global
environmental initiative ever.
- The Hole - A film on the Montreal Protocol, narrated by
Sir David Attenborough (UN Video)
18-24
September – National Organic Week
To increase
awareness of the benefits of organic products and farming production systems
and accelerate the uptake of these in the wider Australian community and
environment.
- Benefits of Organic Foods (Article)
22 September – Car Free Day (UN)
A day to
encourage motorists to give up the use of their cars for a day. This can
contribute to a reduction in vehicle emissions which according to the World
Health Organisation caused 4.2 million deaths in 2016. Transport is also a large contributor to global warming. Some cities such as
Paris are transforming for this to be the norm.
- How Paris is Leading a Sustainable
Transportation Revolution (YouTube Video)
29
September – International Day of Awareness of
Food Loss and Waste (UN)
UN figures
of food produced that is lost between harvest and retail is about 14 percent
globally. Then a further 17 percent of the food that is retailled is lost as
waste (11 percent in households, 5 percent in food service and 2 percent in
retail). This is a day to raise awareness to prioritise actions to reduce food
waste.
- Reducing Food Waste (Clean Up Australia)
References