Clean Up taps scouts to boost awareness

Organisers of the Clean Up the World campaign are tapping into the scout movement's 28 million members in 120 countries to boost their global cause.

Clean Up the World, a community-based environmental program, mobilises an estimated 35 million volunteers annually.

The program had enjoyed a strong relationship with the scouts for many years, Australian chairman Ian Kiernan said on Monday as he announced a new global alliance between the two movements.

"We recognise that with 28 million scouts worldwide, that this is an incredible potential source of volunteers.

"We are looking at seeing how many scouts we can get involved in the 120 countries we're involved in.

"We've had 35 million people last year volunteer for clean up the world, and hopefully with this strengthened relationship with scouts globally, we may see those numbers increase quite dramatically."

Volunteer participation had allowed the organisation to expand into broader environmental issues, including the Clean up the Climate strategy, Mr Kiernan said.

"We are able to do this because of the strength that's delivered to us through the volunteers."

Scouts Australia Chief Commissioner John Ravenhall said protecting the environment was a key part of the movement's ethos.

"We've been pretty strong on Clean up Australia and now this is a wider opportunity," he said.

"But it also gives us the opportunity to be an example to other national scouting organisations around the world."

Participation in clean up-programs was all locally coordinated by individual scouting groups, Mr Ravenhall said.

"We're putting water tanks in every scout group or scout hall in Australia, that wishes to have a water tank, so that's another commitment to the environment."

The Parliamentary Secretary for Social Inclusion and the Voluntary Sector Ursula Stephens said the alliance was seen as an important step in fostering volunteer participation across the country and the world.

"Officially, 5.4 million Australians over the age of 18 volunteer," she said.

"That's around 34 per cent of the adult population and they give a total of about 713 million volunteer hours."

Supporting the alliance was an important part of the Rudd government's social inclusion agenda to encourage more volunteering, Senator Stephens said.

Avoca Beach Scouts have always been strong supporters of the Clean Up Australia Day campaign conducting this jointly every year with the Lions Club from our hall for the Avoca Beach area. We're in!

Musca.