Last week we talked about advocating for a Spruced environment. This month, further on the theme of remembering to Spruce we address the importance of sprucing up your community. Get out there and think globally and act locally. Maybe organise a community tree planting drive in your city, suburb or town. Improve your local green space or reclaim some land for wildlife. Every bit helps and you can make some new like minded friends.

So we pick up our one piece of rubbish every day when we are out on our daily walk. We plant a tree every year in celebration of Spruce Day. What now? We suggest advocating for the environment. Lobby your local council to set aside land for parks. Start a neighbourhood initiative to line local streets with trees. Lobby your federal government to protect our oceans. Lobbying costs very little and can have a big impact. Find your voice. Become an advocate for the environment.

Most of us like to stay spruced. We have our hair cut, our nails trimmed or manicured. Ladies frequently wear makeup if only a little lipstick. And we almost all have fresh clothes which are pressed and tidy that we put on after a shower or bath. We wear deodorant, brush our teeth and men shave. So we keep ourselves spruced. We keep our homes in good order, wash our dishes, clean our floors and celebrate special occasions with special meals. All this done we endeavour to keep ourselves gardens near and tidy. So we need to extend our care into the community by tending our cities and countryside. We do this by picking up rubbish and planting gardens and wildlife habitat. As we are a product of our environment so our environment is ...

the Vitruvian Values of Firmness, Commodity and Delight are intrinsic to the mission of the Spruce Initiative. By these we mean an environment that is sustainable, bountiful and beautiful. We need to leave the Earth a little better than we found it. We need to acknowledge the right for people to be an integral part of the life on the planet. We need to respect our environment built and natural.

This month at the Spruce Initiative we remind you to remember to Spruce. Sure we pick up a piece of rubbish when we are out on our daily walk. However do we remember to Spruce? Our approach is not just about keeping our environment clean, it is also about making our environment better and more sustainable. Remember to plant a tree every yesr in celebration of Spruce Day.