Rotary International has adopted a new Area of Focus -- the environment! Click to learn more about our club's commitment to good environmental stewardship.
Rotary International has a new Area of Focus – protecting the environment. This has been added as a seventh area in addition to our already existing six Areas of Focus: (1) promoting peace; (2) fighting disease; (3) providing clean water, hygiene, and sanitation; (4) supporting mothers and children; (5) supporting education and literacy; and (6) growing local economies.
Adding in environmental protection is long overdue and has been a work in progress for years. Throughout the decades, Rotary has taken measures to protect the environment, but it was decided to make our commitment to environmental stewardship official. Environmental issues affect everyone on this Earth, and we all need to make a commitment to saving our world for the future and mitigating the effects of climate change now.
The Rotary Club of Scituate is committed to good environmental stewardship. We have donated to ShelterBox in the past to support survivors of natural disasters which have been exacerbated by climate change, such as Cyclone Idai and Hurricane Maria. We purchase recyclable and compostable containers when available for our food service at the Scituate Art Festival and other fundraisers, and we have an Earth Day fundraiser yearly where we collect clothes, shoes, and other soft goods for Savers to keep discarded clothes out of the landfill. We also maintain a community garden in order to provide local produce to those in need. In 2020, our club took over management of the Scituate Farmers Market, which supports local farmers and vendors. We still have a lot of room to improve – we need to strive to use less plastic and offer more environmentally sustainable food and hydration choices at events. We also need to broaden our thinking to come up with new ideas and see areas of need, and trust that we can make a bigger impact.
Other clubs have worked on environmental issues and have made huge impacts in their communities. Here are only a few of many examples: The Rotary Clubs of Campo Mourão (Brazil) and Little Rock Arkansas partner together to develop a system in Campo Mourão to increase the ability to separate trash from recyclable materials, leading to an additional 2.63 tons of recyclables per month and brought greater income to workers. The Rotary Clubs of Sunshine Coast-Sechelt (British Columbia) and Machakos (Kenya) collaborated to bring environmentally friendly solar-powered lights to homes and schools in remote Kenyan villages where residents had no access to the power grid. The Clubs of Auranabad East (India) and Chatswood Roseville (Australia) collaborated to construct simple and traditional dams called a “check dam” to save waters from the monsoon season to allow slower percolation into the ground. Prior to the construction of the check dams, the monsoon would bring heavy rains but after the monsoons ended, the area would enter a dry period and residents often have dry wells.
Having the environment as an official Area of Focus allows clubs to request grants for environmental initiatives. Starting on July 1, 2021 clubs can start applications for projects such as restoring habitat, removing invasive species, preventing illegal wildlife trade and protecting endangered species, educating communities in conservation and resource management, supporting eco-friendly agriculture, promoting use of traditional and Indigenous knowledge, reducing food waste, etc. If you have an idea on ways that Scituate Rotary can improve our local environment, feel free to come to one of our meetings, or reach out to us on Facebook or email ScituateRotary@Gmail.com.