Sometimes it can be hard to believe that the small actions we take in our daily lives can somehow make an impact on the world, much less change our environment. However, one group of Sikh youths, under the banner of the Sikh Youth Australia ‘Green Team’ is aiming to do just that.
On Sunday 13th March, over 80 youth gathered for ‘Green Day Out’ - the launch of a new environmental initiative by SYA’s ‘Green Team’. The launch aimed to bring together youth within our community interested in environmental activism and the response was fantastic. Participants socialised in the picturesque setting of Bicentennial Park, partaking in a picnic fundraising for Japan and enjoying impromptu games of cricket, soccer, kite-flying and ‘green’ paint-on tattoos. The highlight of the day? A fierce waterfight which left many soaked!
“It was heartening to see so many youth eager to come together and support such a worthwhile and timely cause” says Jasbinder Kaur, an SYA Green Team project coordinator. “Sikhism has a long honoured concern for the environment, exemplified by the teachings of Guru Har Rai Sahib Ji, our seventh Guru.”
The Green Team’s next event will be ‘Green Action Day’ – a bush regeneration project conducted in conjunction with Blacktown City Council & NSW Environmental Trust at Nurragingy Reserve Doonside, NSW on Saturday 26th March from 12:30pm onwards, and will include a free barbeque lunch for all who participate (vegetarians will be catered for).
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SYA's Green Day Out was launched to coincide with the international ‘Sikh Environment Day’ (www.ecosikh.org), celebrating the Gurgaddi Diwas of the 7th Guru, Guru Har Rai Ji and honoring the Sikh Gurus' concern for the natural world. During the week of March 14th, Gurdwaras across the world joined together to celebrate the day by holding divans focused on the environment.
