Can you believe it, it’s almost here! With only 21 days left until this year’s Clean Nova Scotia, we are getting excited. More than 6,000 participants have registered more than 80 teams across the province. Though participation levels are already looking great, we know there are even more Nova Scotians out there ready and willing to help their communities in the cleanup effort. With this we are calling on all of you to help spread the word, get your friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, Twitter followers, Facebook friends and anyone else you can think of who will want to come out and help their communities on April 19 and 20 for this year’s Clean Across Nova Scotia.
What is Clean Across Nova Scotia?
Be The Change! This one phrase is the cornerstone of what Clean Across Nova Scotia is. Be the change you want to see in the world, to us at Clean Nova Scotia. This means changing daily behaviors, persistent habits, and our mindset concerning litter and waste management.
Clean Across Nova Scotia was first created in 2012, following the success of Clean Nova Scotia’s, Great Nova Scotia Pick-Me-Up, program. The Great Nova Scotia Pick-Me-Up has supported Nova Scotians in organizing cleanups in communities for the last twenty years. When the opportunity to collaborate with the global Let’s Do It!: World cleanup movement, Clean Across Nova Scotia was created, becoming the largest province-wide cleanup event in Nova Scotia.
Being one of the most significant volunteer actions in the province, Clean Across Nova Scotia highlights the importance of taking care of the places we live, work, and play. The program is more than just working to clean up litter from the communities, forests, and parks. Clean Across Nova Scotia wants to find real, lasting solutions to the litter and waste problems that face Nova Scotian’s daily. This means re-education of how we look at the waste that we produce,
If you are still asking yourself why you should register your team for the most extensive province-wide cleanup in Nova Scotia, think about the following reasons.
Cleanups are a great way to get together with your family, friends, and neighbors to give back to your community. Cleanups are also a great excuse to have a spring barbeque with your friends after your done re-beautifying the place you live.
Clean Across Nova Scotia is a great way to show your active participation in creating a better community. This dynamic role can encourage others in your community to make your home a better place to live.
It’s a way to gain a new appreciation for your community’s natural environment free from litter.
Through this event, you will see how seemingly small impacts from individuals create significant actions when everyone works together to create a greener Nova Scotia.
We believe that by cleaning together, we can change the world. This will only be possible if Nova Scotians are committed to developing a lasting solution to the disposable lifestyle we have adopted throughout history.
Be the change and join Clean Across Nova Scotia on April 19 and 20, by registering or joining an existing cleanup team today!
Let’s do it!: World cleanup movement
From a small Northern European country to the birthplace of the fastest-expanding civic movement in history, Estonia was put on the map as a true leader in environmental causes. In 2008, 50,000 Estonians came together to clean the environment for a single day. Their efforts made a significant impact on the country, removing 10,000 tons of illegally dumped garbage in just five hours.
This first cleanup started something big; it became the first step towards a full global cleanup movement. Releasing a video about their cleanup action was a spark that inspired work from people around the world. This started an ever-growing network of people around the world who are determined to create collective action in their own countries.
The action of one country has now spread, and 96 countries now actively participate in cleanup movements. In 2012, more than six million people involved in the global cleanup movement. This movement doesn’t show signs of slowing down with new projects being introduced by teams around the world to teach citizens new ways of thinking about litter.
In 2012, Clean Nova Scotia joined the worldwide movement with Clean Across Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia is so far the only province to join the Let’s Do It!: World cleanup movement. On April 19 and 20, join Clean Across Nova Scotia by registering or joining an existing cleanup and be part of the growing global movement.
Act for the Planet!
On April 22, people around the world will come together to celebrate the environment through respect, action, and a change in behavior that lessens our impact on Earth Day 2013. The 43-year-old movement is seen as a catalyst for change throughout the world. In 1990, two million Canadians joined the 200 million people in 141 nations across the globe. More than six million Canadians join over one billion people in over 170 countries stage events and participate in projects that address environmental issues.
As a way to change our behavior to lessen our impact on the earth, Earth Day Canada has issued a Challenge called ‘Act for the Planet.’ This 30-day challenge tests how environmentally conscious you can be. The challenges range from shortening your shower length to taking out your bike instead of your car. These simple changes to your daily life can help the earth and help with personal health.
Act for the planet today and join the conversation at Earth Day’s Facebook page.
Local Profile: The Take Action Society Team
The Take Action Society, a non-profit organization, based out of Dartmouth North, will be hosting their fourth annual cleanup this year. The Take Action Society promotes positive influence to help create a stronger, healthier community and provides opportunities for the community to become involved. The organization tries to teach community pride and provides a place where children can gain a sense of belonging.
This year the organization will focus on teaching children about creating a sustainable environment. The Take Action Society will teach the children how to compost, grow vegetables, and promote the idea that people don’t pollute. Creating a sustainable environment will be enforced by this year’s cleanup event and events held throughout the year.
The cleanup-team will be meeting at 11:00 a.m. behind Harbour View Elementary School in Dartmouth North. As a thank you to everyone who joins them on April 20, they invite participants to a celebration barbeque where they will be drawing for some great prizes.
Let’s Do It!: World - Austria Team Profile
With only two years under their belts, the Austria Let’s Do It!: World cleanup team has already had great success. With the help of many organizations, the Austria team brought out more than 120,000 people to the 2012 cleanup. Since its inception, the group of volunteers has been working hard to engage youth to change their outlook on litter and their environment.
Unlike the other teams we have done profiles on thus far, Austria has a much different team setup. The group first started in 2010, when Sarah Reindl was shown the Let’s Do It!: World promotional video. Inspired by the video, she looked further into the organization and felt this was a movement worth pursuing. Contacting the Estonia team to learn more about the movement and how she could get involved, she was invited to attend the Let’s Do It 2010 conference. Returning from the meeting with ideas, Sarah and her friend were ready to get moving into action. Unfortunately, in the summer, their plans were put to the wayside due to other commitments. In the fall, Sarah managed to get a new team together. A core team of three people was put together. Alongside the core team, there was a team of five volunteers who would aid the core team.
In 2012, the Austria team wanted to focus their efforts on engaging the youth of the area rather than on high general participation. Knowing that youth are the future of ongoing sustainable management of the planet, the Let’s Do It! The team found great ways of reaching their target demographic. The team was able to land an interview on one of Graz’s top radio stations during a prime time slot. In the interview, they spoke about the global movement and the importance of changing people’s attitudes about litter. This interview had vast reach when targeting the youth of the area, and they feel it had a significant impact on their overall campaign.
The Austria team in 2012, partnered with many organizations who like them wanted to help the communities deal with the waste problem in the area. Many of these organizations already had cleanup events and lent a hand to the Let’s Do It!, the team in moving their events to coincide with the event, as well as helping with the promotion.
Due to the time commitments of the core team in Graz, Austria’s Let’s Do It! The world cleanup team has been moved to a new core group in Vienna. The Vienna team has been together for less than a year but has already been working hard on new projects to encourage a more sustainable future. One of the innovative projects is a collaboration with the French Let’s Do It!: World cleanup team to create a book for children focusing on litter.
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