World Environment Day | Volunteering With Landcare Australia

The 5th June marks World Environment Day, a global movement that promotes the protection of our precious environment through awareness and action. This year’s theme is ecosystem restoration – a distinct call to action for us to get active, revive and protect our ecosystems and be the #GenerationRestoration

We have exploited the ecosystems we depend on. It is estimated that we extract 55 billion tons of minerals, metals, biomass and fossil fuels annually, consuming up to 50% more resources than the earth can provide. This consumption is heavily impacting ecosystems with a staggering 80% loss of forests, 50% of wetlands and up to 50% of coral reefs. Every hour 1692 acres of land becomes desert. These statistics are alarming, however the earth is resilient and we can be part of the solution.

As a sustainable fashion brand, we believe regenerative farming practices are critical for ecosystem conservation. This is why we exclusively use GOTS certified organic, or BCI certified cotton. By reducing toxic chemical inputs ecosystems can thrive, building healthy soils that sequester carbon and retain water. These holistic practices support beneficial insect and bird life that provide pest control, creating self-sustaining systems that we critically need to protect. Furthermore by making these responsible fibre choices we are able to ensure that there is no contamination of waterways thus preventing harm to aquatic and human health.

The team at globetrottersiraconlineusa are all passionate about protecting our planet, and we believe in volunteering as part of our Giving Back program. On the 3rd of June we partnered with Landcare Australia to regenerate bushland in the beautiful Byron Shire. As this year’s World Environment Day’s theme is Ecosystem Restoration, it made sense for us to take direct community action to heal nature through restoration and regeneration.

Landcare are a not-for-profit organisation that provide resources and support for care of the land, environment and community. The focus for our day was clearing invasive plants that negatively impact the environment and trust us, we cleared a lot of Lantana. Invasive plants compete for resources including nutrients, sunlight, space and water, so our goal was to stop them from disrupting the natural ecosystem and displacing native plants, to ensure biodiversity is protected.

The area of land that we were clearing belongs to the Minjunbal people and is on Bundjalung Country. Commonly known as the Yalla Kool Reserve, Landcare have been working to restore the area through regular planting of endemic rainforest species, and by controlling environmental weeds they aim to assist the natural process of regeneration. 

This area is home to many species of birds and animals, and the team have been encouraging the Rosella population by strategically incorporating nesting boxes throughout the reserve.  This beautiful area has sections of Littoral and Subtropical Rainforest both of which are Endangered Ecological Communities. It is home to a number of threatened flora species and forms a magical wildlife corridor through to the Brunswick Heads nature Reserve. We were honoured to be able to contribute to the preservation and restoration of this precious environment.  

If you would love to know more about the importance of protecting ecosystems and conserving biodiversity you can read more in our recent blog posts HERE.

Or there are some easy things that you can do at home, such as controlling environmental weeds in your garden. Many of the weeds we found at the reserve were actually escapees from domestic gardens, such as Night Flowering Jasmine, Singapore Daisy and the Golden Rain Tree.  If you choose to plant a native garden and filling your garden with native plants you will connect to existing wildlife corridors and provide habitat. 

And our final advice to share from Landcare is to ask that you Never Dump Green Waste. Many weeds spread from sumped garden waste. Landcare suggest that you take it to the tip, dispose of it in your green bin, or compost it in your garden. 

Together let's Reimagine, Recreate & Restore xx