The Environment and your Health

Your health is affected by the environment around you, whether it is local, such as your home, school, playgrounds or swimming areas, or global, such as the air you breathe, the ocean or forests.  And you can do things to make sure your environment is a healthy and safe place to be!

How Does My Environment Affect Me?

If the environment includes all the places you live, work and play then it doesn’t take much to see that it will affect you, what you do and therefore your health.

Air Pollution

 Air pollution triggers asthma and breathing problems in some young people, especially those living in large cities.  Air pollution contributes to acid rain, the destruction of the ozone layer, global warming, and smog.

Water Pollution

 Environmental groups are always concerned with the state of our waterways.  Factories dump chemicals into our creeks that run into rivers and eventually the ocean.  This can cause health problems when we drink the water while swimming and it can harm creatures that live in or drink the water.  Another cause of water pollution is litter that gets washed into our waterways from drains.

Littering

 Many of the things we throw away, especially plastics, can harm our environment.  While we don’t throw our plastic bags into the ocean, they often get washed into our waterways through drainpipes when it rains.  Many sea creatures, especially turtles, are killed because they mistake the bags for jellyfish and eat them.

Littering such as broken glass, scrap metal and used needles also makes areas such as playgrounds and beaches unsafe for us.

Cutting Down Trees

 Trees are very important for a number of reasons:

o          People and animals depend on trees and plants for oxygen.

o          Trees help cool the Earth by giving off moisture which creates rain.

o          We depend on wood for fuel and to make houses, furniture and paper.

With all the trees that are cut down to be used in products or to make way for farming land, the Earth is slowly losing a valuable resource.  Humans and animals need plants to live.

What Can I Do To Help?

Often it seems that the problems are so big that you can’t do anything to help… but you CAN! 

Helping the Air

Air pollution can be helped in many ways, some not as obvious as others.  Here are some ideas on how to help reduce the amount of pollution in the air.

o          Use public transport more often. When your family is traveling, suggest that they catch a bus or a train.  Fewer cars on the road means fewer pollutants in the air.

o          Turn off appliances and lights when you leave the room.

o          Recycle paper, plastic, glass bottles, cardboard and aluminium cans. (This conserves energy and reduces production emissions.)

o          Reuse materials like paper bags and boxes when you can.

o          Paint with a brush, not a sprayer.

o          Cut back on air conditioning and heating use if you can.

Helping Waterways

Water pollution is something that you can help with.  Here are some suggestions:

o          Recycle glass, metal, paper and plastics or use the recycle bin.  Help reduce the amount of rubbish that ends up in our oceans.

o          The plastic rings from six packs of beer or milk bottles often choke marine creatures.  You can help by cutting any plastic rings with a pair of scissors before putting them in the garbage.

o          After enjoying the beach, make sure all rubbish is in the bin. If someone else leaves rubbish behind, pick that up too.

o          If you or your family have to get rid of any dangerous chemicals, find out the safest way to get rid of them.

o          If you live near the sea, many coastal areas have a beach clean up day or something similar.  Take part!

Keeping Your Local Area Rubbish Free

Of course the easiest thing to do is not litter in the first place.  Here’s what you can do to help make our land a cleaner place:

o          Make sure you leave playgrounds the same, or with less rubbish than when you came. 

o          Remember that if rubbish looks unsafe, like broken glass, rusty metal or old needles, don’t move it yourself.  See an adult.

o          Most communities have special clean up days where everyone gets together to get rid of rubbish at places like schools, parks, beaches or playgrounds.  Participate!

Here are some ways to reduce the amount of rubbish that comes out of your home:

o          Reuse old envelopes.

o          Swap toys with friends, don’t just throw them away.

o          Any food scraps you may have could be used to help other plants grow - start a worm farm!

o          Use both sides of a piece of paper when writing.

o          Look and see if what you are buying is made from recycled material, like photocopy or toilet paper.

o          Get your family to look at the packaging of what they buy.  Buy the item with the least amount of packaging.

o          Rather than throwing old things out, see if you can get them fixed.

Planting Trees

Industries and governments have introduced lots of programs to replace trees that are cut down, but you can help too.

o          There are often tree planting programs available in your local community.  Take part!

o          Ask your parents if you can plant more plants and trees in your yard.

o          Recycle paper wherever you can.  Every little bit helps reduce the number of trees that need to be cut down.

The Environment And Keeping Safe

The world around you is isn’t always friendly and accidents can happen.  Here are some ways you can keep your environment safe for both you and other people.

Skills To Keep People Safe

There are many ways you can build up your skills to help you and others keep safe.  Probably the most helpful thing you can do is to learn first aid.  Another skill that is useful to know, especially if you live near the ocean or other places where people swim, is water rescue or surf life saving.  This way you can help keep your community safe.  Check your local guides for any qualified people that teach these skills.

Rules To Keep People Safe

Why do we have rules at all?  Two important reasons we have rules in our society are to keep people safe, and to protect the things we use and see around us.

Here are some ways you can make sure your environment is safe.  Remember, the people around you are also part of your environment so safety also includes how they treat you too.

o          Identify where and when bullying occurs in your school and suggest to your teacher ways to make a safer environment.

o          Map traffic hazards in the immediate vicinity of the school and present these as a poster.

o          Make action plans for emergency situations such as pool rescue, snake or spider bite, being lost in the bush, drug-related incidents, or bicycle accidents.

o          Think of some ways to deal with community health concerns such as smoking, disposal of syringes, poisons and chemicals, and suggest ways to address them.

o          Design rules that promote safe behaviour during activities.

o          Identify equipment modifications and innovations designed to enhance the safety aspects of games and sports.