On 5 June, millions of people around the world will celebrate World Environment Day - the global day for positive action to protect nature.
This year's theme is Connecting People #WithNature and UN Environment will be encouraging everyone to spend the day in the great outdoors and rekindle their love for the environment - even if that just means kicking off your shoes and finding some grass to walk on during lunch hours. We see this as a great opportunity for everyone to remember the beauty of nature and the amazing benefits it brings to our health and minds. Even just being near a green space alters the chemical balance in our brains, making us feel at ease.
Canada is opening its national parks for free, while UN Environment is proposing hundreds of events worldwide. Major announcements will be made regarding new protected natural areas, including in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Central Asia, while EU officials will make reinforced commitments related to the beautiful Natura 2000 sites.
The lights on your radar are all flashing green around 5 June - here are some examples of where you can go in Europe. Do you want to:
- Visit a natural reserve free of charge in Russia?
- Join the famous mountaineer Peter Habeler in the Austrian Alps and collect mountain litter?
- Visit the ‘Ferme à roulettes’ in Geneva and learn more about organic agriculture?
- Celebrate nature in the heart of Brussels?
- Join a picnic in a park in Sarajevo?
- Take part in a clean-up initiative near St Petersburg?
- As a journalist, take part in a dialogue for media in Almaty?
- As a teacher, hold a class amidst nature for an unforgettable outdoor lesson?
The naturalist and documentary-maker Sir David Attenborough calls on youth to take part: "This World Environment Day, I encourage you to enrich your curiosity and enjoy a lesson in the nature. We are very much a part of it - wherever you are from and whatever you are studying".
In addition, iconic landmarks around the world will light up in green to mark the occasion, including the Empire State Building, Burj Khalifa, Panama Canal, the Louvre, buildings in Venice and others.
On 5 June, go outside and show us that you’re #WithNature. Breathe in the beauty and remember that by keeping our planet healthy, we keep ourselves healthy too.
For more information on World Environment Day events in Europe and beyond: http://worldenvironmentday.global/ For events in Geneva: http://www.jme-ge.ch/index.html
