日本語↓There were so many interesting things about this month’s Greenbird event. We had the largest variety of nationalities that we have ever had: Turkey, Peru, Italy, Spain, Colombia, Japan, China, Australia, Poland, and Germany. I actually went to Parramatta at the request of a local resident who found Greenbird online and wanted us to come out to Parramatta. As we’d never been out to the Western Suburbs before, I thought it was a great opportunity to try a new place. The area that we cleaned did look quite hygienic on the surface, but our very fastidious volunteers managed to find a heap of small pieces of rubbish and, of course, cigarette butts. We didn’t actually get very far into Parramatta within our allocated time and only cleaned up a small area.

But luckily, we were in clear view of lots of people using Parramatta Station and Library (including a choir!), as well as local churchgoers and those sitting near a local park. There is never enough time and always too much rubbish to pick up, but hopefully, the impression we leave goes further than we can physically. One thing that made me smile, looking back on last week’s cleanup, was the fact that everyone who joins us is there because they care about making the world a better place. No matter what country they come from, how old they are, or how they dress, they are all good people. So, thank you to all the volunteers who make my day every time!

今月の活動に参加したボランティアの皆さんは、この2年間で最も国籍が多様だった気がします！日本とオーストラリアはもちろんのこと、南米、ヨーロッパ、中東、南アジア、そして東アジアの国々からボランティアが来てくれて、とても面白かったです。ポイ捨てという世界共通の問題について、さまざまな国の人々と話すことができて興味深かったです！みんな、小さなものでも拾おうと頑張ってくれたので、結果として掃除できたエリアは比較的限られてしまいましたが、合唱部や親子のグループ、教会に行く人たちなど、パラマッタの住民の注目を集めることができた気がします。やはり、グリーンバードのボランティアさんたちは、年齢、国籍、見た目、趣味などがそれぞれ異なりますが、一人一人がとても素敵な人であることは間違いありません！今回、初めて参加したボランティアさんのリクエストでパラマッタに行くことにしましたが、これからもできるだけボランティアさんの声に応えて活動場所を決めたいと思っています。もしアイディアがあれば、ぜひ教えてください！