On the 4th of March 2012, Sikh Youth Australia’s EcoSikhs team participated in Clean up Australia Day in two regions of Sydney – Glenwood and Revesby. The Glenwood operation was undertaken in collaboration with the Australian Sikh Association (ASA) and the Revesby operation was organised by the Revesby Punjabi School . SYA EcoSikhs were involved in the planning, marketing and recruitment campaigns for both sites. We worked closely with Randeep Grewal, from ASA and Banipreet Kaur from Revesby Punjabi School.
The Ecosikhs coordinator, Justine Eigner along with Randeep Grewal gathered over 100 people to participate in the Glenwood area, which was the fifth largest registered group in Australia. At Revesby, Banipreet Kaur, a SYA youth leader, took initiative in running the program and signed up over 60 community volunteers on the day. Banipreet’s family have been participating and organising the CUA event in their local community of Revesby for the past 7 years.
Banipreet said that the she had another successful Clean up Australia, with our environmental workers from Revesby Punjabi School and Sikh Youth Australia, who worked brilliantly to make a great difference to their community and Australia!
At Glenwood families, including children as young as 8, adolescents and seniors all gathered at 8 am to contribute to their neighbourhood communities and help spread the environmental message.
“It was amazing to see the community spirit and environmental awareness which each young Sikh brought with them so early in the morning. Local residents were very welcoming and appreciated our efforts in removing a truck load of rubbish from the area” said Justine Eigner
By 11.30am, The Glenwood team managed to cover an area of 5 kms along Meurants Lane, two reserves and the Glenwood Sikh Centre.
Every Participant received a certificate from Clean up Australia and went home knowing they had contributed positively towards their environment, the wider Australian community and to the cleanliness of their neighbourhood. The success of the day, has ensured that SYA’s EcoSikh team will be working with this great initiative for many years to come, encouraging more people every year to participate.