By Lesley McCarthy, Newsletter Editor, ESRAG Oceania Chapter
The ESRAG booth at RICON 23 encouraged visitors to imagine and hope as they connected with
The buzz in the booth: Rotary President-Elect Gordon McInally with ESRAG volunteers
volunteers and discussed environmental projects. The engagement, connections, stimulating conversations, project discussions and sharing and dedication to a cause were vibrantly on view every day. “I am an environmental education officer with the Gould League and am delighted to see Rotary involved in such a significant way in supporting the environment,” said Noemi Oskar of Melbourne. “The resources you have available to assist people with events is wonderful.”
ESRAG Facebook editor Jo Randolph with Vic Grosjean, who led Melbourne’s sustainability planning for RICON, and Barb Sheehan, coordinator of the fabulous ESRAG volunteers
With eye-catching Australian floral displays and a range of informative posters with connecting QR codes, the full extent of possibilities was on offer, including the Green Events Handbook which was released to the Rotary world at this convention. ESRAG volunteers led by the ESRAG Oceania team promoted the Flight Carbon Estimator to international attendees, encouraging them to offset the carbon emissions of traveling to Melbourne.
Volunteers from South Africa, India, the Netherlands and the USA joined with those from Australia and New Zealand, sharing club activities and grant opportunities, including many tree planting and pollinator activities. The booth saw a constant stream of visitors across the 5 days of the convention, promoting the environment and encouraging Rotarians to include the 7th Area of Focus in their 2023-2024 planning.
ESRAG co-founder Karen Kendrick with oyster reef restorer Colin Scobie