For over 40 years the world has come together on 5 June each year to celebrate our environment through positive environmental action on World Environment Day.
For the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, an intergovernmental organisation mandated to promote cooperation in the Pacific region and provide assistance in order to protect and improve its environment and to ensure sustainable development for present and future generations, we work to protect our environment on a daily basis to achieve our vision – "A Pacific Environment, sustaining our livelihoods and natural heritage in harmony with our cultures"
Having spent time with the future generation of the Pacific today with a class visit from the Year 8 students of Peace Chapel Primary School in Samoa, they shared their thoughts with us about the importance of our environment and why we must protect it, a gentle reminder to us all.
"I think that we should protect the environment of Samoa so most of the environment is important to us, some of the trees are used to make our food so we can protect them and keep Samoa beautiful" - Austin Schmidt
"I think we should encourage more people to stop climate change and rubbishing and polluting and that we should work together to tell the world to help the environment and be green". - Sefo Mulipola
"Theres some gardening I want to do, I want to produce more plants and take more care of animals. The environment is important for everyone because the plants produce the oxygen we need and with no environment, a healthy environment and without plants humans can't survive." - John Johnston
"We can get air to breathe and to bring us some wind" - Nilla Pagaialii
Happy Environment Day!