World Environment Day: Simple ways you can contribute to the planet and be a hero

'Connect with Nature' is this year's theme for World Environment Day 2017. Every year, the 5th of June is dedicated to the environment and our planet, and is a time to not only create awareness about problems affecting the Earth, but it's also an opportunity to take things into our own hands and execute all the big plans we make to preserve nature, all through the year. 

This year’s host country, Canada, got to choose the theme and will be at the centre of celebrations around the planet. 

 

The theme of this ye aims at connecting people to nature, encouraging them to get outdoors and spend some time to appreciate nature and it's beauty while realising how important it is to protect the planet that we live on. 

World Environment Day is being celebrated since 1972 and people from all across the globe have come together and organised endless events, from neighbourhood clean-ups to action against wildlife crime, to replanting forests and so on. 

For those who aren't aware, here are 10 super simple things you can do to help make this planet a better place...

1. Turn off your computer before going to bed and save power! 

2. Don't pre-rinse dishes and turn off the tap while brushing - save water! 

3. Turn off the lights when you are not in the room and conserve energy.

4. Paper comes from trees, and trees give us oxygen. Prevent a large number of trees that are cut to produce paper, simply by minimising how much paper you use. 

5. Choose matches over a lighter. Disposable lighters end up in landfills every year. These are made of plastic and filled with butane, neither of which are environmentally friendly. 

6. Don't use plastic bags. They're non-biodegradable and can't be recycled. 

7. Learn to pay your bills online. This is a great way to save paper and being the digital age, it's really quite a simple process. 

8. Use rechargeable batteries. The corrosive acid in throw away batteries is extremely damaging to the soil when they end up in landfills. 

9. Maintain your vehicle. If your vehicle’s filters are clean and the tyres correctly inflated, the vehicle will be more efficient on fuel. This reduces pollution and saves you money. 

10. Plant a tree. As cliche as this may sound, planting a tree can help the environment in a huge way. Do it yourself or with other family members.