On Sunday 7 March, a group of over 60 volunteers joined hands with the Australian Islamic Mission to clean up three local areas as part of the annual Clean up Australia Day. AIM was assisted by members of FAMSY, the Federation of Muslim Students and Youth, Indonesian community group IQRO and residents of Punchbowl.
They joined hundreds of thousands of other concerned citizens around Australia working to remove rubbish from their neighbourhoods and help conserve the environment.
CUAD Site Coordinator and Secretary of AIM, Siddiq Buckley, said, “Our community is developing a greater awareness of our natural surroundings and our need to maintain it. CUAD provides an opportunity for organisation’s members and our broader community to demonstrate their respect for the environment. Muslims are obliged to care for the Earth because we are told in the Quran to act as stewards here.”
Volunteers met at the AIM centre where they registered, were briefed about safety issues and enjoyed some morning tea and coffee. They also received an official welcome and message of thanks from Cr Karl Saleh, Member for Punchbowl and Deputy Mayor of Canterbury. Then, armed with gloves, hats and garbage bags, they began their assault on rubbish along the M4 Motorway in Riverwood, at the AIM centre itself and at Punchbowl Park, where they also planted a variety of trees and shrubs provided by Canterbury Council.
Fifteen bagfuls of litter were collected, amounting to about 75 kilograms of waste and recyclables which consisted of glass, plastic bottles and aluminium cans. Afterwards, AIM showed its appreciation for the efforts of its volunteers by serving them pizzas for lunch.
On behalf of AIM, Mr Buckley wished to thank Canterbury City Council which provided assistance for the event. “We are grateful to Council’s Environment Officer and CUAD organisers for helping us make a valuable contribution towards improving our local area”, he said.
