Earth Hour started in Sydney in 2007 and has since grown to become the world’s largest movement for the environment, with over 190 countries and territories participating annually to raise awareness! For Earth Hour 2024, people across Australia will raise funds to combat climate change and biodiversity loss by taking part in Challenge 60!

Earth Hour has grown to become much more than switching your lights off, but that iconic switch-off moment is still an important part of Earth Hour. Millions of participants around the world will switch off their lights at 8:30 pm local time on Saturday 23rd March to demonstrate their support of the environment. This action is symbolic and is not an action to save power. We know it will take so much more than an hour of turning our lights out to have a measurable impact on climate change, but the action helps to bring greater awareness to the issue and demonstrates your commitment to help protect the planet – both during and beyond Earth Hour.

The world’s biggest landmarks, like the Empire State Building, London Bridge and Australia’s own Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge, switch off each year as a symbolic display of their commitment to the planet.

“Our actions today, as individuals and the global community, have the power to transform what the world will look like for generations to come - the time to act against climate change is now.”
– Siddarth Das, Chief Executive of Earth Hour Global

Our planet is in crisis. We’re destroying forests. Our oceans are choking on plastic. Wildlife populations are being decimated, and our climate is changing rapidly, causing devastation across the globe.

We think we have time. But nature needs urgent support right now.

• Wildlife population sizes have plummeted by 60% in less than 50 years.
• 1 in 6 species is at risk of extinction due to climate change.
• There could be more plastic in our oceans than fish by 2050.
• Every two seconds, we lose an area of forest the size of a football field.
• The UN estimates that we only have about 12 years to avoid climate catastrophe. We need urgent and unprecedented action now.

Nature is our lifeline. It gives us life - the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. Without nature, we wouldn’t be able to survive.

But you can be part of the solution by raising funds to help regeneration projects managed by WWF-Australia . We can only achieve the change we need together. Only by harnessing the power of collective action of Australians and people around the region can we Regenerate Nature by 2030.

Our Earth Hour team is available to provide tips and support where needed. Send us an email to EarthHour@wwf.org.au or contact us at 1800 032 551 and we’ll do our best to help!

Expenses related to running your fundraiser can be deducted from the proceeds of the fundraising activity, provided they are properly documented. As the Fundraising Coordinator, you must ensure expenses do not exceed more than 40% of the total funds raised and be able to provide evidence of what expenses were incurred. 

All donations made to your online fundraising page over $2 will automatically receive a personal ‘thank you’ and a receipt for tax purposes via email.  

If you are raising funds offline, individual receipts for taxation purposes can be issued by WWF-Australia if a supporter makes a donation of $2 or more and proceeds from your fundraising activity have been received & and processed. When a supporter has received goods or services in return for money given (e.g., purchased raffle tickets, event entry), a tax-deductible receipt cannot be issued.

Yes, you can use the Earth Hour logo in promotional activities for your fundraising. It is recommended that you use the assets provided to download on your fundraising dashboard, however, if you would like to create your own materials, please follow the logo guidelines and logos available to download on your dashboard.

WWF must always be identified as the ‘beneficiary’ of the fundraising activity. As the third-party Fundraising Coordinator, you have no right to the names ‘WWF-Australia’ and ‘WWF’ or the use of the WWF logo. The fundraising activity may be promoted as ‘proudly supporting WWF-Australia’ . It is recommended that you use the Earth Hour logo in any assets you develop.

Approved branded templates will be supplied. No variations of these will be approved. You can find more information in our Community Fundraising Guidelines.  

You can promote your event through media channels; however, WWF cannot undertake media relations for your fundraiser. All media materials and media releases must be approved by WWF prior to distribution. The only exception to this is sharing your fundraising page via your social media channels. Please get in touch if you are keen to get media involved in your activity so we can be across your plans by emailing  EarthHour@wwf.org.au.

WWF-Australia is unable to guarantee the promotion of your event on our social media channels. We do however encourage you to post and tweet using our officially approved and aligned hashtags - #EarthHour and @wwf_australia. Share your fantastic efforts via your social media pages so we can see how it went! If possible to repost your activity we will reach out to you directly.

Organising an event open to the general public?
Send an email to EarthHour@wwf.org.au with details of your event, and we can look at potentially featuring this on our events page.

WWF is unable to provide public liability insurance to cover community fundraising activities, (including Earth Hour) the Fundraising Coordinator, or their supporters. 

The registered fundraiser is required to obtain and maintain any necessary insurance, permits, licenses, consents, and authorisations required for the activity. For example, permits may be required by councils and shopping centres for events on their grounds; and state/territory government permits may be required to conduct raffles or prize draws. There are also regulations relating to liquor licensing and the preparation of food. State/territory guidelines vary. Please check with the relevant governing body for details.

Please contact WWF for advice and support if required by emailing EarthHour@wwf.org.au

Anything you like! Set your challenge for 60 minutes a day between 1-23 March to raise funds to protect nature. Most people will walk, run, cycle, swim, dance or do some sort of physical challenge in nature. But you could pick up litter, go birdwatching, volunteer at a local environmental organisation - the choice is yours! Just make sure you tackle your challenge each day between 1-23 March.

That’s okay. The beauty of Challenge 60 is that you do whatever you want to challenge yourself. For some people, a 60-minute walk each day is a tough challenge. For others, it might be trying to increase their pace in a 60-minute run or hitting as many pool laps as they can in 60 minutes. It’s completely flexible and a personal choice of how you spend your 60-minute challenge time.

If you have a fitness watch, you can track your activities and log them to your page. Otherwise, feel free to keep your supporters updated with alerts through your fundraising page.

Challenge 60 is your own personal challenge each day from 1-23 March. We’ll support you online, but we encourage you to get out into nature to tackle your challenge. You can do it from the comfort of your own local community, whether you choose to walk, run, cycle, swim or take another daily action in nature.

Yes, absolutely! Taking on a group challenge or keeping each other accountable for your own challenges can be a great motivator towards your goal. You can set up a team or workplace on the Challenge 60 registration page.

Nature can be unpredictable, we get it! If you can’t get out in nature, that’s ok, you can still complete your challenge activity indoors or even double up on another day. 

This Earth Hour,  we are encouraging schools across Australia to Wear it Wild.  Teachers can help their class learn about nature and win great prizes along the way.  Simply join in our Wear it Wild campaign – for a gold coin donation each student can come dressed as their favourite animal!  

With free Earth Hour lesson plans and wild fundraising ideas, kids can learn about nature whilst helping to save it!  

Signing up is free and we’ll provide your school a fantastic resource to help you plan your involvement in Wear it Wild including curriculum aligned lesson plans. 

You can Wear it Wild anytime during March! We are encouraging schools and early childhood centres to Wear it Wild on Earth Hour-School Day on 22nd March, however if this date doesn’t work for you, any day in March can be a great day to get fierce for your world - the choice is yours.

In the land of the koala, the quoll and the platypus, our mammals are the most distinctive in the world. 86% can’t be found anywhere else. Sadly, Australia has the highest mammal extinction rate in the world, and these iconic species are at risk of disappearing forever.

Together we can create change for nature, people and our planet. Your school can help shine a spotlight on nature loss by Wearing it Wild this Earth Hour Schools Day and raising funds to help regenerate nature. 

WWF-Australia is working in partnership with Traditional Owners, communities, organisations, businesses and individuals across Australia and the Asia-Pacific region to protect threatened wildlife , restore their habitats and turn the tide on our extinction crisis. This work is only possible thanks to incredible supporters like you! You can check out some of the species WWF-Australia is working to save in Australia and overseas here.

We ask children participating in Wear it Wild to make a gold coin donation. If you would like your donation to be tax-deductible the donation will have to $2 or above and made to your schools fundraising page. You will receive a tax-receipt directly to your email address.

Absolutely! Wear it Wild is for every child whether they dress up or not. Children will be learning about biodiversity and the environment in class thanks to curriculum-aligned lesson plans. Dressing up is just one of many ways your child can get wild for Earth Hour. 

It’s free to take part! Sign up today and start fundraising to help raise vital funds for nature.

You can invite friends, family or colleagues to join your team – the more the merrier! If you have a big group of colleagues wanting to get involved, you can register as a workplace instead.