World Earth Day 2023

It’s World Earth Day, and the theme this year is ‘Invest in Our Planet’. One of the many reasons that it’s so important to consider the impact that we have on our planet, is for the younger generations who stand to inherit it.

Many of the young people that attend our services are keen environmentalists, and those attending our Holiday Activity Programme this Easter and our term time Branch Out service have been doing some brilliant work restoring local habitats. With the help of the fantastic team at the Broomlee Scottish Outdoor Education Centre, the group removed some sections of invasive rhododendrons and planted a variety of native trees including dogwood, crab apple and hazel. This new plant life will provide food and shelter to a multitude of species including birds, small mammals and insects.

There is a wide variety of efforts that each of us can make. There are local clean-up efforts happening all over Edinburgh and the wider area, which can be found through the link below, and if there isn’t one happening near you then why not get the ball rolling with one yourself? We can also look to reduce the impact that we, as individuals, have on the environment. This can be as simple as stepping up our recycling, reducing the amount of meat and heavily processed food that we consume, or using a greener form of transport when we travel.

It is easy to take for granted the beauty of the world around us and to forget the role and responsibility we have as citizens of this world to try to protect and preserve it.