Too Good to Stay Small - Help Local Eco-Heroes Grow

These local eco-heroes are already out protecting Parramatta. Let’s back them.

Help us raise $6,000 so they can host volunteering days for local businesses and the community, bringing extra hands, fresh energy and crucial funding to their work.

Chip in or get involved today!

The Problem :
Parramatta Is Growing. So Is Our Waste.

Parramatta is growing fast. But as more families and businesses call our city home, we're facing a real waste problem. Right now, our city produces more trash than almost any other part of Sydney - and too much of it is ending up right where it shouldn't.

Scattered across our footpaths, sitting in our neighborhood parks, and choking our local creeks, over 185 tonnes of litter pile up in our natural spaces every single year. That’s like someone dropping a full bag of household trash into our waterways every 10 minutes, day and night, all year long.

When wind and rain sweep street litter into our drains and creeks, it flows downstream toward Sydney Harbour and the ocean. Along the way, it becomes a deadly trap for birds and wildlife, turning their natural homes into hazards. Closer to home, it can clog drains, worsen flooding and leave microplastics in our soil and water.

... And Our Community Is Already Stepping Up

Local government works hard, but they can’t do it all alone. Right here in our community, passionate local eco-heroes are already tackling waste, protecting wildlife and bringing people together to make a difference:

  Friends of Toongabbie Creek

Toongabbie Creek is one of the main waterways feeding the Parramatta River, stretching around 9 kilometres through Western Sydney. For Julia ‘Julz’ Strykowski and Rebecca, Toongabbie Creek is a place worth caring for - and home to wildlife that cannot clear away the rubbish we leave behind. Together with local volunteers, they care for its bushland and have removed over two tonnes of rubbish, helping protect the ringtail possums, water dragons and native birds that call it home. 

   Florapeutic

After her own wedding, Karin Lee wondered what would happen to the beautiful flowers left behind. Today, through Florapeutic, she rescues tons of flowers from weddings and events and the team upcycles them into thoughtful arrangements for aged care residents. For Karin, it’s not just about reducing waste - it’s about bringing warmth, colour and a sense of care to older locals when they need it most.

Helping Local Heroes Earn and Grow

Julia, Rebecca and Karin want to welcome more local businesses and community volunteers. To do that, they need insurance, equipment, safety gear and transport. Finding the money for these essentials takes time away from the work itself.

If you live locally, chip in so our eco-heroes can host bigger community volunteering days, with the gear to keep everyone safe and more spots for you and your neighbours to join in.

If you run a local business, book a creek clean-up or flower-upcycling workshop for your team. You’ll bring extra hands and put some of your team-building budget back into the community.

Together, we can help our eco-heroes keep Parramatta’s waterways and streets cleaner and greener.

The good is already here. We just need to build the bridge.
A win for businesses. A win for our eco-heroes. A win for the Parramatta community

We are raising $6,000 to help these groups build high-impact workplace experiences that businesses can easily discover and book. 

1. Friends of Toongabbie Creek: Clean-up tools, volunteer insurance, high-visibility vests and safety equipment.
2. Florapeutic: Flower transport containers, workshop kits, insurance and the cost of collecting flowers from events.

 A Personal Story Behind a Local Mission

For Envirotivity co-founder Ayelet Mendel-Girin , caring for the planet is personal. Growing up near Chernobyl, she learned early on that clean air, safe water, and healthy communities aren't things we can take for granted. Years later in Australia, juggling a busy career and family life, Ayelet wanted to help local environmental causes but life got in the way. She realised most people do care - it’s just hard to find simple, flexible ways to fit volunteering into a packed schedule. To change that, she co-founded Envirotivity with Carlos Gomez, a nature enthusiast. Today, they help everyday people and corporate teams easily find and back local groups doing real work on the ground, while building strong reputations and local pride.