World Environment Day ~
5 June 2007

World Environment Day 5 June 2007

About World Environment Day 2007

World Environment Day, commemorated each year on 5 June, is one of the main vehicles used by the United Nations to stimulate worldwide awareness of the environment and enhance political attention and action.

The World Environment Day slogan selected for 2007 is

Melting Ice – a Hot Topic?

In support of International Polar Year, the WED theme selected for 2007 focuses on the effects that climate change is having on polar ecosystems and communities, and the ensuing consequences around the world.

The main international celebrations of the World Environment Day 2007 will be held in Norway. UNEP is honoured that the City of Tromsø will be hosting this United Nations day (read the press release). Please visit the Norwegian Polar Institute WED website for more information on the celebrations in Norway [English]

'The day's agenda is to give a human face to environmental issues; empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development; promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues; and advocate partnership, which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future. World Environment Day is a people's event with colourful activities such as street rallies, bicycle parades, green concerts, essays and poster competitions in schools, tree planting, as well as recycling and clean-up campaigns.'

When did it all begin?

World Environment Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Another resolution, adopted by the General Assembly the same day, led to the creation of UNEP.

How can you celebrate World Environment Day?

World Environment Day can be celebrated in many ways, including street rallies, bicycles parades, green concerts, essay and poster competitions in schools, tree planting, recycling efforts, clean-up campaigns and much more. In many countries, this annual event is used to enhance political attention and action.

Heads of State, Prime Ministers and Ministers of Environment deliver statements and commit themselves to care for the Earth. More serious pledges are made which lead to the establishment of permanent governmental structures dealing with environmental management and economic planning. This observance also provides an opportunity to sign or ratify international environmental conventions.

On this World Environment Day, let us examine the state of our environment. Let us consider carefully the actions which each of us must take, and then address ourselves to our common task of preserving all life on earth in a mood of sober resolution and quiet confidence.

For ideas on how the day can be commemorated, please visit The World Environment Day Alphabet - 77 Ways to Celebrate

To find out more about what's going on in the UK,

Cardiff

The GreenFilm Project will hold a photography exhibition in Cardiff, Wales to celebrate World Environment Day 2007. Aim by Frame will exhibit pictures showing the beauty of the natural world and the dangers it faces in the 21st century. The event will be prepared by the GreenFilm Project who organized the World Environment Day 2006 GreenFilm Festival held in Stoke-on-Trent (UK) last year. Submissions are now open.

Cardiff Sustainable Education Network will commemorate World Environment Day 2007 by holding the Fete of the Earth on 9 June. There will be a city centre, street festival to promote more sustainable living and a banner parade by Cardiff schools and community groups. There will also be information and activity stalls for all the whole family to participate in the event.

To celebrate World Environment Day 2007 the Cardiff Council will organize an event called the Fete of the Earth on 9 June. The event will be a city centre street festival to promote more sustainable living, with the theme of Slowing down Climate Change. There will be stalls with information and activities for adults and children, as well as a banner parade by local school children, youth and community groups.

Greenwich

To celebrate World Environment Day 2007, the National Maritime Museum plans to move outdoors and embark on an environmental crusade to help clean up the Thames at Greenwich. There will be various ways to get friends and family involved, for instance picking up plastic bags, digging up shopping trolleys and discovering archaeological treasures on the north shore of the Thames at Greenwich.

This event will be undertaken in partnership with Thames21, an environmental charity which works with communities and volunteers across London to bring its waterways back to life. Thames21 will provide the expertise, rubber boots, gloves, socks and health and safety training.

The meeting point will be at the north entrance of the Greenwich foot tunnel at Island Gardens. Children will be welcome but anyone under 16 must be accompanied by a supervising adult. The Museum will not bear any responsibility for loss or injury. The event will be free but booking will be required so that the organizers can know how much equipment and tools to provide.

For more information, please contact:
Bookings
National Maritime Museum
P.O. Box 020 8312 8560
Greenwich
London
United Kingdom
Tel: 020 (0) 8312 8560

Huyton

Knowsley Council will celebrate World Environment Day 2007 by holding the annual Green Fayre on 3 June. The event will take place from 11a.m-5p.m at Court Hey Park, Home of the National Wildflower Centre, Roby Road in Huyton. There will be a wide range of crafts and food stalls, eco-activities, arts and entertainment including live music, a circus show and plenty of environmental information and advice. The event will be organized in partnership with the National Wildflower Centre and Liverpool Culture Company and will form part of the Capital of Cultures’ 800th anniversary celebrations.

For more information, please contact:
Jenny Wiles
Knowsley Council
Stretton Way
Huyton
Knowsley Merseyside
United Kingdom
Tel: 44 (0) 151 443 3682

London

On World Environment 2007, Revolve will hold a three-day extravaganza celebrating a clean future for the motor world. There will be a premier Brighton to London eco-car rally and exhibition, with opportunities for the public, press and celebrities to drive fuel-cell powered cars and motorbikes.

For more information, please contact:
Mike Whelan/ Steven Glaser
Revolve Towards Zero Emissions
Tel: 07711 994 160

In 2007, the city of London will hold numerous activities to commemorate World Environment Day. The celebrations will take place alongside the Love London / London Sustainability Weeks. This will be a two-week event that is held annually to celebrate local action for promoting a cleaner, greener and healthier London and will run from 3 - 17 June.

The focus of this year’s London Sustainability Weeks will be climate change. London will team up with Amsterdam to run their first Sustainability Weeks simultaneously. Various activities will be organized by community groups, charities, multi-faith groups, local authorities, NGOs, local sustainable businesses and interested individuals.

The programme seeks to promote and assist small, community based initiatives with a particular emphasis on those which are run by or target residents in areas of economic depravation. It will also provide an opportunity for local authorities to partner with larger organizations and the private sector. This will be the London Sustainability Weeks’ fifth anniversary. Previous years’ activities held during the event include the Camden Green Fair and Bike Fest, the River Cray Clean Up, Making IT Sustainable featuring Johnny Ball and London’s Multi-cultural Environment Fair.

This year's main events will include:

Kingston Green Fair (28 May, Riverside Park);
Camden Green Fair (03 June, Regents Park);
The Opening of Craggy River (05 June, Manor Park, Lewisham);
London CRN Sustainability Tour (07 June, Central London);
Cruising Away From Climate Change (09 June, Westminster Pier);
Big Green Borough Day (09 June, Barking and Dagenham);
Open Garden Squares Weekend (09 -10 June London Wide);
London CRN and Acorn House’s Sustainable Auction (10 June, Acorn House Central London);
Kensington and Chelsea Environment Day (12 June, Kensington Hall);
The World Naked Bike Ride (Details to be confirmed);
Love London Recycled Sculpture Show (5 June, Camberwell);
Big Sharing Day – Planet Positive (16 June, Central London);
The West London Festival (17 June, Furnival Gardens);
Imagine Islington (18 June, Islington); and
The Wandle Festival (24 June, all along the River Wandle).

Middlesbrough

On the occasion of World Environment Day, the Middlesbrough Council will organize stalls to supply information on various environmental issues. There will also be organic stalls selling fruits and Vegetables during the event.

Midlothian

To mark World Environment Day 2007, Eco-Friendly Weddings will hold an event to raise funds for an environmental charity. The charity will be chosen based on suggestions from visitors on the Eco-Friendly Weddings website. The website will include an activity called Promise the World where visitors will be asked to make a promise to change their lifestyle in a way that will be more eco- friendly and to make a donation of at least £2 per promise to the environmental charity. The promises will be displayed on a page of promises on the website.

For more information, please contact:
Susan and Allan Dunlop
Eco-Friendly Weddings
13 West Cairn Crescent Penicuik
Midlothian
United Kingdom
E-mail: info@eco-friendlyweddings.co.uk
Website: www.eco-friendlyweddings.co.uk

Paignton

To commemorate World Environment Day 2007, Paignton Zoo will show its support by dedicating a week to environmental activities. Working with the Devon Wildlife Trust and local businesses, there will be workshops on climate change, nature trails, competitions, games and many more. All activities will focus on ways in which individuals can help the environment. There will be a £1 charge for the activity area.

Oxford

Oxford City Council will hold an event to celebrate World Environment Day 2007. The title of the event will be Climate Change Oxford: What you can do now. The overall purpose of the celebration will be to bring together people who live, work and study in Oxford and to encourage and inspire practical actions that individuals and organizations can take to reduce the effects of climate change.

The celebrations will be held at Oxford Town Hall from 2 – 8 pm and will include a conference, panel discussions, debates and an exhibition. The conference, which will have 2 sessions, will include addresses from high-profile speakers based in, or with affiliations to, Oxford and will be held in two parts. The first session will highlight the problem of climate change within the context of Oxford. The second session will provide practical examples of what individuals, communities, businesses, universities and local authorities can do (or are doing) to tackle climate change.

Redditch

Redditch Alliance of Greens will organize the Redditch Green Fair on the occasion of World Environment Day 2007. The fair will have stalls offering organic produce, fair-trade goods, natural soaps, books, waste reduction solutions, and free vegetable food samples. There will also be information and advice on all the products available at the stalls. It will take place in the heart of Redditch Town Centre at the St Stephens Church, from 10.30am - 3pm, on 2 June.

Shrewsbury

The Shrewsbury Town Council plans to celebrate World Environment Day 2007 by holding a Green Gathering to promote environmental awareness. The event will have live music, arts and crafts, demonstrations of low carbon vehicles and renewable energy, participatory science experiments such as monitoring ice cube melting, visual display boards and posters among other activities.

Swansea

To mark World Environment Day 2007, the Volcano Theatre Company has prepared a performance titled A Few Little Drops, with the intention of getting people across Wales thinking and talking about the world's most precious substance in new and exciting ways. In a unique, mind-bending and environmentally topical show, they will explore the strange properties of water, its awesome power, its fundamental role in maintaining life, its fragile purity and its extraordinary beauty. The purpose is to inspire people with a sense of the preciousness of water - what it means to waste it, pollute it or desecrate it and why people across the world might worship it, cherish it, steal it or fight over it. Their specially-commissioned education programme for schools aims to help children understand how intricately all these things are linked and how they, individually and collectively, might make a difference to how people understand and use the world's water. This initiative is supported by Environment Agency Wales and Dwr Cymru Welsh Water and will take place in June and July in towns across Wales.

Telford

On the occasion of World Environment Day 2007, Epson Telford Limited will organize for the fourth year running, a poster competition for local primary schools. The Competition will be based on the World Environment Day theme, Melting Ice – A Hot Topic?. Year 6 children will be asked to paint posters that best depict this theme and to use them to raise awareness of World Environment Day. Three winners will be selected and they will receive prizes and the winning schools will be presented with Epson printing and imaging equipment.

West Midlands

To celebrate World Environment Day 2007 Walsall Council will have a tour bus travelling around the local business parks to promote energy saving advice to businesses. Other events will be held in the town centre and will include distribution of free goodie bags with energy saving tips and advice in them and involvement from the local schools.

York

Stockholm Environment Institute will celebrate World Environment Day 2007 by holding the World Environment Day Climate Bingo. The event will launch the institute’s new climate change bingo quiz as part the Climate Talk initiative. The Climate Talk initiative aims to raise awareness and understanding of climate change issues in North Yorkshire. The event will be held at the newly opened Ecodepot which is an eco-friendly building in the city of York. The event is expected to attract approximately 50 people in addition to local and national media coverage.

What will you do?

Click here to plant a tree

Melting Ice ~ a hot topic?