Grab a bag
An empty plastic bread bag does the job. They are everywhere, they are rarely recycled, and giving one a second life says something on its own. Expect compliments on your walk.
A Bottle Top Hill idea from The BTH Project®
Big Emu Bob®
Bob down, bag up, leave it better than you found it.
Emu bobbing is what we have always called it: heads down, walking a line, picking up rubbish as you go. Bob is here to get more of us doing it on the walks we were doing anyway.
Bidi Katitjiny: Bidi is the Noongar word for trail or pathway, Katitjiny for knowledge.
Image: Piney Lakes Reserve, WA.
What is a Big Emu Bob?
An old bush habit, back in everyday use.
An emu bob is a line of people walking a paddock, an oval or a foreshore with their heads bobbing down, picking up whatever should not be there. The name comes from the bird: an emu works its way across country the same way, head dipping and rising, missing nothing.
Big Emu Bob® takes that out of the organised working bee and puts it into the ordinary walk. You do not need a permit, a team or a uniform. You need a bag and a bit of attention. Do it on the way to the shops, on the dog walk, on the lap of the oval before footy training.
It started on the South West Coast of Western Australia with The BTH Project®, and it has been picked up by schools, community groups, sporting clubs and plenty of people who just walk their own street.
Get outdoors for better physical and mental fitness, then share your stories and ideas to help inspire, connect and encourage others to tackle litter together. The BTH Project®
How it works
Three things. That is the whole system.
Go for a walk
Your street, the reserve, the wetlands, the jetty, the school gate, the beach car park. Wherever you are needed most, which is usually wherever you already are.
Leave it better
Bin it, or sort the recyclables and containers into the right bin. Want to go further? Count what you find, so the data can help drive change in your area.
Have a listen
The Big Emu Bob Song
Written for the schools, the clubs and anyone who needs a tune stuck in their head while they walk. Play it loud, teach it to the kids, take it with you.
Big Emu Bob Song. Audio: PaperHaven. Lyrics: Em (BTH).
Join in
Find your mob of bobbers.
The group is where people post what they picked up, where they walked and what surprised them. It is worth a look before your first bob.
Emu Bobbers of Australia
The Facebook group. Share your haul, ask questions, and see what other bobbers are finding around the country.
Open the group on Facebook ->Bob and The BTH 12R's®
The full picture: the four Emu Bobber tiers, the Big Emu Bob® Billboard poster, container deposit schemes and how to log your data.
Read more at the12rs.com ->Emu Bobbers of your patch
Primary school, high school or uni. Park, reserve, wetlands, beach or jetty. Community group, youth group or sporting club. Local business or precinct. Your street, your suburb, your town.
Get in touch
Say g'day.
Starting a group at your school or club, after a poster, or just want to tell us where you have been bobbing? Send it through and we will come back to you.