Rise and shine

Wollongong's annual Rise and Shine Spring campaign has been promoting environmental awareness and encouraging community participation in environmental improvement activities for 22 years. This proud tradition of making the city a cleaner place for everyone to enjoy has greatly influenced civic pride.

Rise and Shine is central to Wollongong City Council's mission of making Wollongong a place where people want to live and work by enhancing our local environment and lifestyle, as well as promoting sustainable living.
From humble beginnings, the campaign has grown to include key programs such as:

• Sydney Water-sponsored Spring Clean Up that involves around 100 community groups in removing rubbish from creeks and public areas.
• Street of the Week program which encourages residents to tidy up their properties.
• Bluescope Steel-sponsored Schools Environmental Competition, open to all schools in the city.
• Community Service program involves the removal of road side litter.
• Clean Up Australia Day.
• World Environment Day.

The campaign also encourages commercial and industrial operators to adopt more sustainable practices in their businesses and to identify what they can do to minimise their impact on the environment.

Thousands of tonnes of rubbish have been collected over the 22 years of the Rise and Shine campaign through the Spring Clean Up and other community programs, preventing waterways from becoming degraded and clogged with litter.

Rise and Shine would not be possible without the help and support of dedicated community groups and individuals. Rise and Shine will continue to be a way for community members to make a contribution, to balance against the negative impacts we as a society impose on our environment.