The Rotary Club of Environment and Habitat

Like a lot of clubs, the Rotary Club of Parramatta City, NSW, experienced challenges attracting members post-COVID. The club, one of three in Parramatta, recognised that business professionals were less present in traditional workplaces.

The club undertook a comprehensive review, analysing its current activities and offerings, before deciding to change strategic direction to become a singular, focussed club.

During the review the club recognised that one of its strongest projects was Rotary Adopt a Tree, started in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Caringbah, NSW, which attracted many non-Rotary volunteers.

Since then, the club has:

• Changed its name to reflect its strategic focus: The club decided to rebrand by removing the geographic limitation from its name and incorporating ‘environment’ and ‘habitat’. The club became the Rotary Club of Environment and Habitat, reflecting a broader scope of activities, including both human and animal habitats.

• Undertaken major projects including:
  – Rotary Adopt a Tree (environment): The club has continued this successful project, which aims to plant 10,000 trees annually
  – Food Ladder Project (habitat): Building a greenhouse in a remote NSW primary school
  – Mental Health Support (habitat): Collaborating with Australian Rotary Health

• Encouraged neighbourhood projects: Members and volunteers are encouraged to develop local projects like street libraries, community composting or beehives to strengthen their neighbourhoods environmentally

• Increased digital engagement: The club launched a website and a social media campaign in February, which resulted in more than 200 registered users. The club is engaging these users with updates, hoping to convert them into members over time.

Some of the club’s other achievements include:

• Awarding a Rotary global scholarship to a young woman for studying carbon management in Edinburgh, Scotland.

• On its way to achieving the goal of planting 20,000 trees in the second year of the Rotary Adopt a Tree program

• Expanding the Rotary Adopt a Tree program to include the Rotary Club of Bathurst, NSW

• Forming a partnership with Western Sydney International Airport

• Developing a partnership with the Ben Chifley Water Catchment Authority to plant 100,000 trees in Bathurst over several years.