Clean Up Australia Day 2010

The Clean Up Australia Day campaign celebrates its 20th Anniversary this year and organisers are hoping to rally thousands of Australians together to make a difference for our nation this week.

Today, we had the pleasure of going out with our son and his fellow Joey Scouts to clean up the local area. We walked with gloved hands grasping tongs and a plastic bag and watched as eight eager Joey's eagerly sought rubbish along the path up to the local train station and around the local town centre before making a return trip. It was inspiring and has me wondering what more can be done.

Organisers of Clean Up Australia Day believe that last year they picked up approximately 2 million pieces of rubbish, which is great but what would be really awesome is that we could achieve 10 times that if only every Australian picked up just one piece each! The potential is huge if we all get involved.

The big day to get involved in your community is this Sunday March 9th 2010. You can jump directly to their web page to find a clean up site near you and get involved. Schools clean up day is also this Friday so now is a great time to talk to your children about pollution and its effect on the environment too in preparation for what your children's school may have in store.

If Sunday is not a good day for you or your children's school is not participating then please consider contributing to our environment by other means. Maybe you could do your own family clean up and tidy up of your yard by pulling weeds or, better still, do the same for someone elderly in your community as an act of kindness and generosity. I am sure there are other ideas too that you could put into action - just be creative to help Clean Up Australia!

Teaching the Importance of Land Preservation

Often we think of the preservation of our land, particularly of our National Parks, as being just about keeping pieces of land for our native animals. Often, we do not see the battles that our Park Officers face in keeping not just animal pests out but also plant pests.

When I think of plant pests I think of the home mu mother bought 15 years ago. The huge block was overrun with ivy and she, over the course of 7 years, removed it from the block. Sadly though, not without the sacrifice of 5 beautiful gum trees for which it was too late as the ivy had all but killed them. I am so glad she has planted more natives in their place.

Our native plants not only rely on the natural circle of consumption by native animals, the competition of other native plants and the natural environmental threats of flood and fire. No, they are also dependent on us not introducing non-native plants that threaten their existence.

We seem to understand the threat of non-native animals just by seeing footage of thousands of rabbits that are damaging our environment, in addition to wild pigs, cane toads and cats. However, the threat of a plant is less obvious because it's spread is only seen by a watchful eye over time.

This is exactly why we are passionate about keeping soap nut seeds out of Australia. We want to do whatever we can to protect our environment from any further threats to the detriment of our native forests and it's inhabitants. We love our bushland which is why we are based in the Adelaide Hills - we want to do all that we can to see it cared for and to see our soils are not destroyed by nasty chemicals in the process also.

Today, our passion for our land and for home education collided in an amazing way. My two eldest children have been participating in (and have already qualified for a medal in) the Premier's Reading Challenge (SA). One of their selections landed on my lap tonight before bed and is a book I recommend to you if you too are interested in sharing your passion for protecting our land from pesty plants with your children. The book is titled 'The Story of Rosy Dock' by Jeannie Baker.

The book explains the gradual impact that the Rosy Dock plant has had on our land in Central Australia and expands the concept further on the last pages. It is a great book to share with your child from the age of five and up and I strongly recommend you grab a copy for your family today.

If you do ever come across a seed in your soap nuts, be they from our stock or someone else's then please send them to us. We will not only arrange for their safe destruction but will also make a contribution to Conservation Volunteers Australia on your behalf as well. Be passionate about caring for Australia's environment - we only get one chance to do the best we can for future generations.