Kierman was born in Sydney, Australia, and grew up near the sea. For more than 40 years, he raced in international sailing competitions.
In 1987, Kierman was competing in an around-the-world race when he began to1the huge amount of rubbish in the world's oceans. When he returned to Australia, he2to do something about it.
He organized a community3 called "Clean Up Sydney Harbour." On Sunday, January 8, 1989, more than 40,000 volunteers came out to 4away rubbish. The next year, Kierman made the clean-up a national event. It was a huge 5. Across Australia, about 300,000 people spent the day improving their local6.
Since then, "Clean Up Australia" has got7every year. In 2002, for example, 800, 000 people cleaned up almost 15,000 tons of rubbish from Australia's beaches, parks and streets.
Kierman was8with the success of his project. In 2003, he started an even bigger program. With the9of the United Nations Environment Program, he introduced "Clean Up the World", an international program that supports communities around the world in cleaning up and protecting the environment. "Clean Up the World" has grown10 and his wonderful idea has now spread from one city to the whole world.
