HOW HELEN'S LOCAL ACTION IS CREATING GLOBAL IMPACT

Witnessing the beauty and degradation of natural environments, Helen is a passionate advocate for nature both local and global. This July, she’s taking part in Plastic Free July, continuing her commitment to reducing waste and protecting the planet. In her community, she leads by example, taking meaningful action to address climate change and waste reduction. Helen’s dedication doesn’t stop there; she has also chosen to leave a gift in her Will to WWF, ensuring her values continue to support environmental action worldwide for generations to come.

I have been interested and concerned about environmental issues since I was fifteen years old. I went on to study and work in this space as a microbiologist for many years, then as an environment officer, mainly in waste reduction and recycling. I have travelled through Australia, Europe and North America and have seen so many beautiful natural environments. Many have been degraded by human actions. So much of the natural world has been lost. There aren’t many places on Earth not yet touched by man, I would like to see these few areas remain untouched always. This is why I donate my time and money to environmental organisations, like WWF, which works so hard and tirelessly to protect natural places. I also greatly admire the dedicated activists who go out with courage and determination—risking injury and arrest—to highlight the plight of these regions and protest for their protection and safety. I believe that if we all work together, never giving up, we can protect vast areas of the world.

This is one of the reasons I am so active with the Glen Eira Emergency Climate Action Network (GECAN). We work with the local council, and the local and broader community and have achieved a lot, including input into the council biodiversity plan, a climate emergency plan and an emission reduction plan. I’m a very ‘on-the-ground’ person, a doer. I like talking to people and helping them get change started. Just the other weekend, I joined other members of the GECAN with a stall at the local market. We shared information about the impact of soft plastics and reducing single-use plastics for Plastic Free July. The community and stallholders were interested, and they listened. For our next project, we are encouraging the local council to support local high schools to increase their waste separation and recycling. The teachers don’t have time to set these things up – but the kids are interested, and if we can get it started with the help of council, the schools can keep it going. One school I work at has over 2,000 students, and together we could divert a huge amount of waste from landfill. The bottom line is you have to work very hard, be consistent and never give up. By donating to campaigns, taking a stand, calling and writing letters to politicians, and educating the wider community, we can all make a difference—even in a small way—which will build up over time. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting the natural environment for future generations is essential. This work will continue well into the future, which is why I have decided to include a donation to WWF in my will. I trust WWF to use this donation wherever it is most needed to help with environmental actions around the world. It was not a hard decision to make. I did it for my daughter and the generations to come. Helen hopes that by sharing her passion for protecting what’s left of our natural world, she will inspire others to do the same. You can help too. Raise your voice, take action and consider including a gift in your Will to WWF, just as Helen has, and ensure our natural environments live on.