Days of Awareness: March
Partners in Project Green shares Days of Awareness each month to spread awareness and start conversations. These days may have a social, historical, or sustainable significance worthy of our attention. These are just a small sampling of important days to acknowledge or remember. If we missed any days of importance that should be included, please share them with us.
Ramadan – March 1st – 31st
Ramadan is the spiritual pinnacle of the year for many Muslims, providing not only an opportunity for deep spiritual focus and inner reflection, but also gatherings with community, friends and family, charitable giving, gifting, and celebration. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims who are observing fasting abstain from drink and food from before sunrise to sunset.
Ways to Get Involved:
- Ramadan festivities:
- EnviroMuslims: Eco Ramadan Challenge to encourage people to have a more sustainable Ramadan
International Women’s Day – March 8th
International Women’s Day is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. In a world facing multiple crises that are putting immense pressure on communities, achieving gender equality is more vital than ever. Ensuring women’s and girls’ rights across all aspects of life is the only way to secure prosperous and just economies, and a healthy planet for future generations.
Theme for 2025 is “For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment”. This year’s theme calls for action that can unlock equal rights, power and opportunities for all and a feminist future where no one is left behind.
Ways to Get Involved:
- Accelerate Action, March 7, 2025, Schulich School of Business, York University, Toronto. The Schulich Forté Campus Ambassadors are organizing the first-ever GTA-wide conference. For more details visit: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Activity/20794/Accelerate-Action
- UN Commemoration event, Tune in at 10 am ET to watch the live-stream on UN WEB TV .
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination – March 21
International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recognizes that the injustices and prejudices fueled by racial discrimination take place every day. It serves as a vital reminder of our collective responsibility to combat racism, promote tolerance, and strive for a more equitable world. It commemorates the day police in Sharpeville, South Africa, opened fire and killed 69 people at a peaceful demonstration against apartheid “pass laws” in 1960. To learn more, visit https://www.un.org/en/observances/end-racism-day
The day directly supports the realization of the UN’s SDGs, particularly SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities, SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions and SDG 4: Quality Education.
World Water Day – March 22nd
Held on March 22nd year since 1993, World Water Day focuses on the importance of freshwater, celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without access to safe water. It is about taking action to tackle the global water crisis. A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.
The theme of World Water Day 2025 is “Glacier Preservation“. Glaciers are critical to life – their meltwater is essential for drinking water, agriculture, industry, clean energy production and healthy ecosystems. Rapidly melting glaciers are causing uncertainty to water flows, with profound impacts on people and the planet. Global reductions in carbon emissions and local strategies to adapt to shrinking glaciers are essential.
Ways to Get Involved:
- PPG’s Water Stewardship Program provides many resources: https://partnersinprojectgreen.com/programs/water-efficiency/
- High Park on World Water Day, 4 km circular nature and heritage walk organized by Toronto Field Naturalists: https://torontofieldnaturalists.org/TFN-events/high-park-on-world-water-day/ .
- World Water Day 2025 – Save our Glaciers conference, Water Institute, University of Waterloo. A full day conference featuring inspiring keynote speakers, a showcase of innovative student research, award presentations, networking opportunities, and a complimentary lunch: https://uwaterloo.ca/world-water-day/ .
International Day of Zero Waste – March 30th
The International Day of Zero Waste observed every year on March 30 aims to promote sustainable consumption and production patterns, support the societal shift towards circularity and raise awareness on how zero-waste initiatives contribute to the advancement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The waste sector contributes significantly to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity and nature loss, and pollution. Zero Waste Day reminds us of our individual and collective responsibility to reduce waste.
This year the emphasis is on the need for action in the fashion and textile sector to reduce waste and advance circular solutions. Sustainable fashion and circularity in the textiles value chain is possible, yet this century the world’s consumers are buying more clothes and wearing them for less time than ever before, discarding garments as fast as trends shift.
Ways to Get Involved:
- Check out PPG’s Waste Management programs/initiatives: https://partnersinprojectgreen.com/circular-economy/
- UN Environment Programme is spearheading an initiative towards a zero waste world and has partnered with Kenyan spoken word poet Beatrice Kariuki to shed light on high impact sectors where every individual can make a difference. Watch and share Wasted: Fast fashion is fueling our ecological crisis.
- Join the conversation on social media using #ZeroWasteDay and #BeatWastePollution.
If you have any questions about the Days of Awareness feature, please contact Charlotte Hung at charlotte.hung@trca.ca.