INTERNATIONAL DAYS AUGUST IN TERNATI O NAL DAYS
1st August – National Tree Day
poverty, systemic removal, intergenerational trauma, dislocation from land and culture, and community disempowerment. This Day is celebrated by all Australians and particularly by the over 500 different First Nations groups, each of which has distinctive cultures, beliefs and languages.
National Tree Day was co-founded in 1996 by Planet Ark and Olivia Newton-John, and is Australia’s largest community tree planting and nature protection event. The ask for this Day is for one million new native trees and shrubs to be planted across the country. Each year, about 300,000 people volunteer their time to engage in the Day’s environmental activities and, particularly, to plant new trees. To get involved, find a site and contact the event organisers directly. Planet Ark arranges for Voluntary Workers Insurance to cover participants at registered public National Tree Day events and any registered public National Tree day activity taking place throughout 7th August – Jeans for Genes Day the year. Every one in 20 kids face a birth defect or genetic disease, such as cancer, cystic fibrosis and lifethreatening metabolic disorders – with 12 kids born with such every minute worldwide. On the first Friday of August each year, Australians unite on Jeans for Genes Day by wearing their favourite jeans, donating money and purchasing merchandise to support genetic research. Organised by the Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI), the Day is th 4 August – National Aboriginal and characterised by schools, workplaces and public areas becoming a sea of denim in a united stance against Torres Strait Islander Children’s Day childhood diseases and friends and colleagues try to The date 4th August was historically used to celebrate outdo each other by wearing the most bizarre outfits. communally the birthdays of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were taken from their families at a young age, without knowing their birthday – the Stolen Generations. In 1988, National Aboriginal and Islander Children’s Day was established to celebrate the children of our First Nation peoples to give children confidence, make them feel special and included and, particularly for those children who face ongoing challenges stemming from colonisation and such effects as discrimination, 6
