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Organizer and Activist Resources: Earth Day Event Ideas
Millions have found ways to express their environ- mental commitments through Earth Day. What can you do for Earth Day? The answer is: anything that is meaningful to you and for the environment!
The most popular and successful public events have been fairs and
festivals. Parades are often held in conjunction with the fairs.
Clean-ups are usually held the week or month before (or after). More
than 100 local Earth Day fairs are held around the United States.
The fairs are typically held outdoors in a city or county park and
invite exhibitors. Each exhibitor presents some sort of demonstration or
educational exhibit. It may help you to have a theme for the
celebration. Adding food vendors and entertainment to the event will
guarantee you a fun, educational and festive day. The only drawback to
this type of event is having to worry about the weather and deciding on
whether to have a rain date. To get around this worry, you can hold the
event inside (if you can find the right venue).
Idea List for Earth Day
All of the following ideas have been used successfully for Earth Day in
different communities and cities. Some require having a larger
"fair-type" event; others can be done either by themselves or at a
larger event. Your team will be the key to what you can do:
Clean up and/or restore
rivers, lakes, streams, beaches, trails, communities, graffiti.
Pledges
Have people sign an Earth Day pledge. (see sample below). OR Put up a communal "pledge board" where people can write their environmental pledge for the year ("I will turn off the lights when I leave the room", "I will turn off the water while shaving or brushing my teeth", etc.) To display the pledges, you can have people write their promises on cutout "leaves" which are then placed on either a painted tree poster or onto a 3-D treelike structure. Leaves can also be sold as a fund-raiser. See the "Humanitree" project info at the end of this guide. OR use the "choice" pledge below, left.
Proclamations
An inexpensive and effective way to get the ball rolling at the "official" level in any city, county or state, is to invite the Mayor, Board of Supervisors, Governor and any School Districts or other official bodies to issue Earth Day proclamations. Send officials a
sample and invite them to create one of their own. You can arrange to
receive the proclamation at a public meeting which also provides an
opportunity to get the word out both to public officials and also to
other community members attending the meeting or watching on cable TV.
See the sample on page 18.
Petitions/Letters/Politicians
At any event, have a letter-writing table with sample letters written on
several issues. Sell stamps, postcards or pre-stamped envelopes and
collect letters or postcards to be mailed - being sure to mail them at
the end of the day.
You can also put up petitions in this same area. One city that tried
this had people standing in line all day just to sign petitions!
Petitions were mounted on poles with a picture illustrating the topic.
Pens were tied to the poles and the petitions were on clipboards. A
local high school group may be interested in taking responsibility for
this "exhibit." (Researching and writing the petitions can be very
educational.) Have the League of Women Voters or another related group registering
people to vote. Invite elected officials to attend events and be available at specific
times to discuss issues with citizens.
Grocery Bags on Earth Day!
Each student in the school decorates a paper grocery bag from a local
store with a picture of the earth, the words "Earth Day 1995" or ED25
(or similar), the name of their school, and possibly some catchy Earth
Day slogan (ie, Re-duce, Re-use, Re-cycle, Treat the Earth Well, Do Your
Part for our Planet etc.).
After the bags are decorated, they are returned to the store to be
distributed to shoppers on Earth Day and/or during Earth Week -
depending on the number of bags. That's all there is to it - past
response has been very positive, both from the school and the community.
Here's how it's been done:
- Contact the manager of a local grocery store (more meaningful to all
involved if it's a store where families in your school shop).
- Ask if you can have a "bundle" (that's 500!) of large paper grocery
bags to decorate for Earth Day at your school. Explain that you'll
return them a day or two before Earth Day (April 22). It might be
helpful to bring along an already decorated bag to show. It's also
helpful if the bags you get have one blank (or pretty clear) side.
- Deciding who will make the bags and what they will look like is up to
you. We've tried to make ours look somewhat uniform and still leave some
room for individual expression. I made a few templates of the earth from
different angles showing the continents out of three pound coffee can
lids. The kids could then trace the "earth" and color in (actually,
markers are more ecologically correct than crayons) the distributed the
bags and templates to classrooms. You can also have them draw leaves on
the bags and have them write their Earth Day promises on the bags. Some
kids wanted to put their names, classroom number, etc. on, and we said
fine, just NO LAST NAMES. I have had small groups of students distribute
the bags and do a brief demonstration in each classroom.
- When the bags are collected from classrooms, I had some decisions to
make regarding spelling accuracy and how that might reflect on our
school, but I would say 99% of the bags went out "as is".
- Delivering the bags to the store has been really quite fun for the
class, and was a good public relations opportunity for our school as
well. It was coverd by local tv stations! You might let your school and
grocer know that others across the country (so far, from Alaska to
Maryland) are also doing the same thing!
Good luck and please remember to send a note saying how many bags you
decorated. In 1994 this effort circulated more than 13,000 Earth Day
grocery bags. This project is thanks to Mark Ahlness Arbor Heights
Elementary School, Seattle, Washington. Email your "bag tallies" to
earthday@earthdayspirit.org and mahlness@quest.arc.nasa.gov OR send via
regular post card to Earth Day Network, P.O. Box 9827, San Diego CA
92169. SEE the FLYER at the back of this Guide.
Fair Scavenger Hunt or "Walkaround"
Have exhibitors at your fair or festival submit a question(s) for the
hunt, the answer to which can be found in their exhibit. (Examples: What
percentage of US greenhouse gas emissions is from cars and light trucks?
What living organism is responsible for the problems suffered by shade
trees? Tropical forests are being destroyed at the rate of 50 to 100
acres per minute; what are three typical uses of tropical woods imported
into the USA? )
Print up a list of questions, and include where the answer can be found.
This list of questions becomes the hunt. You might get a local radio
station exhibit to be the hunt headquarters at the festival. They would
be responsible for passing out the forms, collecting and "grading" them
(you supply them with the list of answers), and giving out prizes.
This activity increases exposure for your exhibitors, increases the
education of the participants, and offers a great publicity vehicle for
all involved. You can offer bonus points if participants carpooled, took
the shuttle bus, rode their bike, etc. It is usually easy to get prizes
donated from participating exhibitors, local businesses and individuals.
The prizes don't have to be fancy - packages of seeds, wooden pencils,
cloth or string bags, baking soda shakers - it is fun to assemble
environmentally friendly prizes that also serve to raise awareness. When
the event is over, you may even be able to distribute the scavenger hunt
list with answers to local teachers for use in their classrooms. (If
your group builds an exhibit, be sure to include questions and answers
from your exhibits as well.)
Food Area or Festival
Everyone eats. And the environmental consequences are far-reaching. Food
is a fun feature at any event and always draws a bigger crowd than for
non-food events. At any all-day or multi-hour festival food is a
necessity and where much of the money is made. The ability to offer food
varies from venue to venue, so check it out. Invite any area farmers to
bring locally-grown, organic produce. Contact the Organic Trade
Association of North America P.O. Box 1078 Greenfield MA 01301
(413)774-7511 for contacts in your area.
Food festivals with representatives from the natural and organic foods
network entice people into learning about the environmental and health
impacts of our food choices. You can involve local-food restaurants,
nutrition groups and organic food suppliers in offering vegetarian fare,
using the opportunity to raise awareness and educate the community about
the global and individual effects of food-related personal habits and
the industries connected with those choices. In some areas, successful
fund-raising events have been planned around food choice issues (see
Chefs Collaborative below for one organizing tool). These are "natural
fundraisers" becuase everyone is more willing to pay for food than other
things. Contact EarthSave 706 Frederick St. Santa Cruz CA 95062
(408)423-4069 for educational info.
Chefs Collaborative 2000: Advancing Sustainable Food Choices for the
Next Century. Gourmet chefs around the world are invited to sign this Charter which
consists of the:
PREAMBLE
We, the undersigned, acknowledging our leadership in the celebration of
the pleasures of food and recognizing the impact of food choices on our
collective personal health, on the vitality of culture and on the
integrity of the global environment, affirm the following principles:
Chefs Collaborative 2000 STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES
- Food is fundamental to life. It nourishes us in body and soul, and
the sharing of food immeasurably enriches our sense of community.
- Good, safe, wholesome food is a basic human right.
- Society has the obligation to make good, pure food affordable and
accessible to all.
- Good food begins with unpolluted air, land and water, environmentally
sustainable farming and fishing, and humane animal husbandry.
- Sound food choices emphasize locally grown, seasonally fresh and
whole or minimally processed ingredients.
- Cultural and biological diversity is essential for the health of the
planet and its inhabitants. Preserving and revitalizing sustainable food
and agricultural traditions strengthen that diversity.
- The healthy, traditional diets of many cultures offer abundant
evidence that fruits, vegetables, beans, breads and grains are the
foundation of good diets.
- As part of their education, our children deserve to be taught basic
cooking skills and to learn the impact of their food choices on
themselves, on their culture and on their environment.
Contact Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust, 45 Milk Street, Boston,
Massachusetts 02109 (617)695-2300 for an current list of signatories and
status of the initiative. Signatories and committee members include
Wolfgang Puck, Paul Prudhomme, Alice Waters and many other food
professionals. Invitations can be sent to chefs in your area including
those at hotels, resorts, health spas. Enroll one or more of them in
hosting a signing event at their facility and providing food at cost or
invite each of the chefs to donate food for an appropriate number.
Invite the media and have chefs and other signators sign a large (4' by
6' at least) reproduction of the of the Principles. Voila! photo
opportunity. The media loves to come to food events where they can take
pictures of something worthwhile. Charge depending on the venue and the
locale. This can raise significant funds if you get the right mix going.
Community Report Card
Earth Day can provide an annual opportunity to review a prior year's
progress in a variety of areas. Public officials and citizens can be
invited to rate the city on its air, water, transportation, green
spaces, handling of hazardous waste and toxins, recycling, etc. You may
want to arrange to present reports and comments to your City Council or
suggest Earth Day as a chance to make an annual address regarding the
environment. Both Presidents Bush and Clinton have made Earth Day
addresses.
All-Species Parade, Earth Parade, Children's Earth Parade
Have a parade! Use alternative vehicles, mask-wearing marchers
representing other species, non-motorized floats... See sample Parade
Entry form later in this Guide.
Concerts
Use local talent or contact the Earth Day Network (619)272-7370 for
ideas or help.
Contests
For an effective and creative Earth Day, hold a contest: poster, essay,
slogans & themes, poetry, photographs, plays, songs, art {eARTh}, public
service announcements, etc. You will need a central location and contact
person for collecting entries. Poster and essay contests are very
straightforward to run by sending notices to all schools and youth
groups. For a play contest send queries to colleges, high schools, drama
clubs, professional theatres and church groups. Your notices should
announce, the themes, prizes, contest rules, prizes, eligibility and
deadlines. You can have the awards ceremony at a culminating event and
invite local businesses or individuals to donate prizes for different
age groups. Just remember, if you get several hundred essays, someone
has to read and judge them.
Construct an environmental maze
Put choices at each intersection and dead ends at choices that would
lead to unsustainability. Shopping malls with large grassy areas are a
great place to erect an Earth Day Maze. You might want to charge
admission as a fund raiser. The maze can be constructed with stakes and
surveyor's tape (very inexpensive). For instructions on how to assemble
an Earth Day Maze with sample script and maze. Friends of the Future RR3
Box 250 Burnsville NC 28714-9312 $12. (704)682-7331
Plant Trees or other Appropriate Vegetation
Be sure the species are indigenous to your area. Work with local
tree-planting group(s).
Remove Exotic Invasive Species
Work with local botanists, biologists, and land owners to determine the
scope and needs of each ecosystem. Check with local parks and reserves
for problem areas.
Build a Life-sized Sculpture
Use recycled materials. Have the community save their newspapers,
plastic jugs and aluminum cans for two months prior to Earth Day. Then,
on a designated day (or days), have everyone drop off their recyclables
at a chosen site. Using surveyor stakes, chalk lines and other marking
devices, "draw" your picture on the ground. Then fill in the picture
with the jugs, papers and glass, using the different colors of the
recyclables to help create the picture.
On the final day have participants add their bodies to the picture in
order to complete the scene and then take a picture of the entire field
from a firetruck with a long ladder, rooftop or from an airplane or
helicopter. Use the picture in posters, on postcards and in other media
to advertise your work, and to raise money.
When the event is over, have volunteers form lines to pass the
recyclables, brigade-style, to waiting trucks. This is not a small
undertaking but is extremely effective, educational and lots of fun. It
is definitely an attention grabber.
Household Hazardous Waste Collection
Collect paint, used auto products like motor oil and batteries,
solvents, etc. This will require city or county coordination and
participation. This is expensive, but a worthy goal. You may be
surprised at the receptivity you will find among local governments.
Conduct an Ecothon
At this educational fund-raiser, participants collect pledges just as in
a walk-a-thon. They proceed to a series of educational stations where
they get their card punched, or get a sticker or some other token to
prove they were at the station. Money is collected based on how many
stations are visited.
You can involve several corporations, clubs and groups in putting
together the stations. You may want to include the city dump,
incinerator, source of drinking water, sewage treatment plant and other
significant sites as stations.
For a booklet on how to produce your own Ecothon, contact the Metro DC
Environmental Network (METNET), 645 Morris Place NE, Washington, DC
20002 (202)726-0230. $10.
Give "Environmental Hero" Awards
Give out certificates and plant trees for winners. You can also hold a
banquet and fund-raiser. Solicit nominations from the community for
heroes. Examples of winners from one city (these are the press release
blurbs):
First Union National Bank printed their annual report on paper they
collected at work. They returned the collected paper to the paper mill
where it was made into new paper for the report. This unique,
full-circle project sets an outstanding example to the business
community and shows how a business can create a new product from their
own office waste. In 1992, First Union recycled more than 1,338 tons of
paper. This effort by First Union helps save valuable landfill space and
sets an excellent example for all concerned and responsible corporations
and citizens.
Charles Saunders, president of Saunders Thread Company, prepared a
sizable portion of his company's potential parking space for a
community-wide recycling center. Further, he volunteered as a member of
the Board of Directors of the Clean City Committee and has become the
sustaining force within the organization. His influence has prompted
many others within the business community to realize the importance of
how much one person can mean in the struggle with environmental
despoliation. Mr. Saunders' selfless commitment has enabled serious
recycling and a growing awareness of environmental responsibility in his
community.
Dale Trembly lives on the fringe of the Plaza-Midwood neighborhood.
Over the course of several years, Dale has spent countless hours and his
own dollars to plant trees and flowers in the median area of Hamorton
Place. This area, once an eyesore to the neighborhood, has begun to
blossom under Dale's tending. In addition to planting trees and flowers
and making sure they are properly tended, Dale also keeps the area
trash-free, frequently calling the city to come collect the discarded
chairs, mattresses, and other assorted trash he pulls out of the creek
and collects from the side of the road. Dale's neighbors banded together
to nominate him for an Environmental Hero award because he has made such
a difference in their daily lives. Dale has set a great example to all
of us in proving, once again, that one person can indeed make a
difference by recognizing a need and taking positive action without
waiting for someone else to do it.
Walk-A-Thon or Running Event
Try to design a course around a relevant environmental feature, park or
issue.
Hold a Recycling or Energy Fair
Conduct an energy conservation or "Off the Grid" day. This would be a
targetted fair where all the exhibits and activities are about recycling
or energy education.
Stencil Storm Drains
Raise public awareness to the fate of their storm water (someone else's
drinking or swimming water). Storm Drain Patrols can be set up to watch
for illegal dumping which can then be reported and stopped.
Hold a Council of All Beings
Have participants choose something in nature that speaks to them. Have
them make a mask to represent their creature, tree, rock, or other
"being." Then, with everyone wearing their masks and representing their
chosen "being," gather together in a circle and one by one have each
stand and speak for their "being."
In speaking, include the contributions you make (as your being) to life
on Earth, and how it makes you feel for people to respond to you the way
they do. For instance, if you had chosen a worm, you might stand and
say: how much you contribute to the planet by breaking down decaying
matter and enriching the soil so that new life can grow; how it hurts
your feelings when people call you slimy or creepy; how you think your
work is not given the respect it deserves.
Reference Thinking Like a Mountain, Towards a Council of All Beings, New
Society Publishers, PO Box 582, Santa Cruz, CA 95061.
Hold a Dirty Sock Contest
This contest demonstrates how auto emissions affect air quality. The
event is held in a parking lot. Each contestant places a clean white
sock over his or her car's exhaust and runs the engine for 30 seconds.
The contestant with the dirtiest sock wins a free car tune-up, while the
one with the cleanest sock wins a free round-trip train trip to
Washington, DC. (You can determine what the prizes are for your area and
then seek donations for the prizes. In the above instance, Precision
Tune donated the tune-up, AMTRAK donated the trip and WAL-MART donated
the socks.)
Organize a Hike
through a nearby forest, canyon or other endangered habitat
Set Up a Letter Writing or Petition Table
on endangered species, buying recycled, reducing pollution....or
whatever the hot environmental topic is in your area. Earth Day kits in
support of Ancient Forests are available from: Siskiyou Project, P.O.
Box 220 Cave Junction, OR 97523 (541)592-4459.
Write an Earth Day article
for your school, business or group newsletter, and send to your local
newspaper.
Host a Speaker or Video
in your home as a public event on an important environmental issue.
Unwanted Seedling Giveaway
Encourage people to dig up unwanted tree seedlings which sprout in their
gardens and lawns and bring them to a common site such as a Farmer's
Market. Give away the collected trees on a designated Saturday. The best
time to do this is in the fall (around Thanksgiving) or very early
spring. You may find a corporate sponsor willing to pay for the printing
of an educational leaflet which would inform your community about common
indigenous trees and their care and planting. This is a very popular
program and costs practically nothing to implement. You will be
surprised by the community response. People like the idea of saving
those unwanted seedlings. If you don't give them all away, donate them
to Habitat for Humanity if there is a program in your area.
NOTE: Consider limiting people to five trees, as there are always
opportunists who will walk off with all your trees leaving others with
none.
Build or re-build an environmentally friendly house/kitchen/bathroom
Contact Earthways, 3617 Grandel Square, St. Louis, MO 63108
(314-531-1995) for information on how to do this. They reclaimed an
entire house
.
Produce a TV or Radio Show
Many cities now have public television and radio stations where you can
produce your own show. Consider producing an environmental show for
Earth Day and involve local students in its production.
Hold a Celebration of Trees
This is a banquet based on the Jewish Holiday (in January) which
involves food from trees, song, dance, and environmental readings. It is
a celebration that involves all your senses and is very moving. Contact
your local Jewish leaders to learn more about the ceremony and to invite
participation.
Create a community garden
Gardening allows people to connect directly with the earth as the source
of food and life upon which we are dependent. You can reclaim unused or
mis-used plots of land for the benefit of the community by combining a
clean-up with a garden planting.
Paint an educational Earth Day mural
on a visible town building (enroll the building owner to sponsor!). You
can hold a contest in local school or ask a local artist to paint it.
Start a computer email list
for local conservation and environmental alerts, notices of public
hearings and event announcements. For more info on this send email to
earthday@earthdayspirit.org.
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This information was supplied courtesy of the Earth Day Network.
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