World
Environment Day (WED) is an annual event that aims to be the
biggest and most widely celebrated global day for positive environmental
action. WED activities take place all year round but climax on 5 June every
year, involving everyone from everywhere, including Soroptimists!

WED is a day for people join
together in their communities or as individuals  to ensure a cleaner, greener and brighter outlook for themselves and
future generations. To celebrate WED 2011,
Alice Odingo, our UN Environment Programme SI Representative in Nairobi wrote the following statement:

“A safe and healthy
Environment for women is a secure environment for all”.

Aspire to be Carbon
Neutral on World Environment Day on the 5 June 2011.

Reduce your Carbon
Footprints by walking, cycling, using public transport or sharing cars to your
destination to reduce carbon emissions.

Share the distance
covered and the means used.

We will walk the
talk.

Soroptimist
International, caring for women and girls.

So
whatever you are doing to mark World Environment Day, have this statement in
your hands and in your hearts! We all have a responsibility to care for the
environment. As Alice states, a safe and healthy
environment for women is a secure environment for all.

Everyone
counts in this initiative and we know from reading your Programme Focus Reports
that many clubs take part in regular community clear ups, litter picks, carbon
neutral days and car free days.

Here are
some Soroptimist ideas from club reports this year:

SI Newport
and District (SIGBI, UK) organised a beach clean event in
partnership with a regional initiative ‘Keep Wales Tidy’. A beach clean is a
great way to not only improve the area for leisure, encouraging people to make
use of the beautiful landscape on their doorsteps, but also helps local marine
life.

SI
Eldoret (SIE, Kenya) worked with four women’s groups in
a local village to promote sustainable energy and discourage kerosene lamps
which give out poor light and a great deal of pollution. 76 women were trained
on energy saving methods, environment conservation methods and waste management.
Eight women received an LED lamp and a solar panel.

Through the Violet Richardson Award, SI San
Francisco (SIA, USA) supported a high school student
who volunteers for the Student Conservation Association which dedicates itself
to conservation work and environmental education. SI San Francisco divides the award between the student and their
volunteer organisation. A quote from the winner: “It is not just for me, but
for everyone now and in the future. If we can improve the environment, we can
improve the way we live.”

SI Waimea
(SISWP, New Zealand) attended the inaugural meeting
and charter signing of the Waimea Inlet Strategy, a community strategy to protect a waterway and introduce sustainable management. Particular emphasis
was placed on local fauna, flora and the effects of public use on the health of
the waterway. The club, as a supporter of the strategy, has attended subsequent
meetings including discussions on public access and its effect on the local wildlife.

And if it is too late to organise a group action for June 5th, why not do as Alice suggests and be carbon neutral for the day? Leave your car at home, get to grips with the public transport system or take a walk around your local area. Every action counts!

If you
are twitter user, tweet your actions to @SoroptiTweet and use #WED2011 so the
UN knows what Soroptimists are doing. You can also register your action on the WED
2011 website: http://www.unep.org/wed/aroundtheworld/

 Above: SI Helena WA doing some spring roadside planting!