SUNDAY is Clean Up Australia Day, and the call has gone out across Lake Macquarie for all hands on deck.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Locals can choose from dozens of registered clean up sites.
Among them is Dobell Park, at Wangi Wangi, where the local Lions club is co-ordinating clean up efforts across the town.
Terry and Dianne Butler will be among the Lions pitching in at Dobell Park.
They said garbage bags and gloves are supplied for volunteers.
"If you've never been involved before, it's a great opportunity to show a real interest in the environment, to beautify your local community, and to meet other volunteers who share the same sense of purpose," Mr Butler said.
Families, in particular, were encouraged to take part.
"Getting families involved gives parents the opportunity to demonstrate the importance of looking after your community, and teaching children the value of taking their rubbish with them, and not just tossing it," he said.
While event organisers have a focus on registered sites, volunteers can get involved at any location.
Lake Macquarie City Council's sustainability manager Alice Howe said the lake foreshore, bushland, beaches and parks are typically targeted.
"We're encouraging residents to go along to a site that is important to them, or which they are proud of, and lend a hand," Dr Howe said.
But it's the places we don't feel so fondly about that are also in need of some love.
The isolated roadside into town that is always strewn with take-away food packaging; the soggy lake foreshore where flotsam and jetsam accumulate in the long grass; even the stinky car park littered with cigarette butts.
Last year, almost 6000 volunteers removed about 30 tonnes from 90 sites across the city.
■ Go to cleanupaustraliaday.org.au for details on registered clean up sites near you.