By Erana Walker

A long weekend calls for relaxation, a time to chill out with family and enjoy their company.

This was the case for many New Zealanders. But for others it was a time to reflect on a day that comes around only once, World Environment Day.

If you didn’t know already, the 5th of June is an internationally recognised day for the environment. Many people from across the world come together and take action on this day: from doing massive plantings, to small things like reducing the amount of energy that they use at home.

I applaud the efforts that many have made to take action on this day, as they are heading towards a positive future not only for the environment, but for themselves and future generations.

Many such initiatives happen throughout the year and although each one is run differently, they are heading towards one goal. I find these to be highlights to look forward to, sort of like a birthday or special occasion.

But we shouldn’t wait for one day of the year to be environmentally active. What about every other day of the year?

I am not denigrating this day and any other one day event that happens throughout the year, as they all have a purpose and achieve a lot. However, we need to be conscious of our impacts on the environment all of the time, not just for one day of the year. We need to realize that we can’t wait for that ‘one day’ to do something to help our environment, but we have to walk this walk everyday to achieve maximum results.

Imagine if everyone was taking action every day, or was conscious of the impacts our actions were having on our environment, not just for one day but for every day of the year. Our environment would be in a much better state than it is now.  

So lets the walk the walk towards a better future.