The 7th pillar of Rotary, Environmental Sustainability, was well represented at events prior to and during RICON.
Prior to the convention opening, the Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group (ESRAG)launched a Green Events handbook; held an action summit; and led a number of tours highlighting environmental issues. During the convention, breakout sessions included an ESRAG lunchtime forum; and a diverse menu of breakout sessions: ‘Adopt a River’, ‘End Plastic Soup’, and ‘A Plant-rich Diet: Delicious Climate Action’.
The House of Friendship also featured several booths representing Rotary environmental projects.
65 Rotarians and friends from all over the globe attended an action summit focussing on environmental activities at the Melbourne Town Hall prior to the convention. Numerous environmental projects, large and small were featured, culminating in a workshop where delegates each presented an environmental sustainability activity being conducted by their club. These activities will be collated and developed into Environmental Action Guides available for any club or Rotarian to utilise as a basis for their own environmental project. The Action Guides will be available via the ESRAG website: https://esrag.org/action-guides/
Photo: Environmental Sustainability Action Summit Delegates
In addition, environmental tours to places as diverse as an off-grid home at Daylesford; the Herbarium at the Melbourne Botanic Gardens; the City of Melbourne Greenline Project; DIK; and the flying fox colony at Yarra Bend National Park, Kew.
Photos: Flying Foxes, Yarra Bend Park and Delegates admire the flying foxes
In the House of Friendship, booths featuring environmental issues generated a great deal of interest, among them ESRAG; We’re for Bees, highlighting the importance of bees and other pollinators;
Photo: John and Liz McCaskill man the We're For Bees booth
A highlight of the Sunday afternoon entertainment program in the House of Friendship was a performance of the ‘Waggle Dance’ introduced by Canterbury Rotarian Lili-Ann Kriegler with choreographer, Naki Khan and four members of her dance class. The House of Friendship audience joined in! The waggle dance is a representation of the ‘dance’ performed by bees returning to the hive to inform their colleagues where to find pollen.
Photos: Waggle Dance troupe with Lili-Ann Kriegler and Naki Khan