By Parker McKenzie
Rotary Club of Emerald and District and Johns Hill Landcare group will host a Clean Up Australia Day event at Hogan Park in Emerald on Sunday 19 March.
It is the first Clean-up event at Hogan Park since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and will run from 10am to 12.30pm.
Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee at Emerald Rotary Vicki Van Den Bergen said the event comes as Rotary International has a new focus on protecting the environment.
“All of the Rotary Clubs have been encouraged to establish their own committees to help protect the environment and do more sustainable practices,” she said.
“We’re working with the Landcare group because they’ve already been doing things like these practices already and we thought we would lend them our support because we’ve got larger numbers.”
All safety equipment like gloves, hi-vis vests and rubbish bags will be supplied by Clean Up Australia Day, but interested volunteers should bring their own water bottle, hat, sunscreen, solid work boots and long-sleeved shirts.
President of Johns Hill Landcare Jenny Lyndon they’ve previously done Clean Up events at the regenerated piece of bush at Hogan Park.
“It’s a beautiful piece of bush, the Hogan Park Committee of Management maintains it and we work with them and the scouts who are also interested in that area as well,” she said.
“It’s got bush wallabies, wombats and all sorts of wildlife. Because it’s in the middle of Emerald, people go there sometimes, make camps and use it as a rubbish dump.”
Registration on the morning of the vent will be at the Emerald Scout Centre, 21 Kilvington Drive Emerald and the Hogan Park Committee will provide a BBQ lunch at 12.30pm for volunteers.
Ms Lyndon said she hopes there will be a large pile of rubbish at the end for Cardinia Council to collect.
“We’re not going to ask people to go into a dangerous area, even if there’s rubbish in there,” she said.
“It’s also contingent on if there’s a total fire ban, excessive heat or excessive wind, if that’s the case it will be cancelled.”
Clean Up Australia Day has been running since 1990, with the event being held two weeks after the official day.
For further information, contact Shalini Penny at shalinipenny@bigpond.com or Jenny Lyndon at info@johnshill.org.au.
