How to Organize an Earth Day Event
- What’s Your Goal?
- Planning
- Location
- Food
- Activities
- Advertising
- Supplies: Booths, Trash, Electricity
- Recycling and Clean Up
- Looking Back
1. What’s Your Goal?
As Earth Day gets closer, more and more events start to pop up. As you start to think about what others are doing, does a great Earth Day event idea manifest itself? If so, you may want to move that idea into more of a concrete plan and actually throw an event yourself.
Events can range from community cleanups and tree plantings to a music festival or craft show. There are endless opportunities when it comes to celebrating this great day, and tons of good you can do in the process.
First and foremost, decide what your goal is: What do you want to come of your event? If you want to make a local change, then a cleanup event may be the best pick. If you want to donate money to a wildlife park, a benefit concert may be the event for you. Still need help? Check out the Sustainable Event Guide from Concordia University. It will help you develop goals based on what you are interested.
2. Planning Your Event
Once you know the “why,” then you can move onto the “how.” Like any party or gathering you may have at your home, an Earth Day Event starts in a very similar way. Before you can start doing, you need to start planning. This checklist from Sustainable Concordia, is a great breakdown of some of the things to think about. These items include:
- Location, date and time
- Budget (will you charge people, get a sponsor, etc.)
- Expected attendance
- Marketing and advertising
- Vendors
- Food options
- Activities
- Local permits and restrictions
- Staffing
- Most important: recycling, composting and trash disposal
- What to do with the profit?
After you have all the major areas covered, start to reach out to community contacts that can help you get the ball rolling. This includes your local government, local parks and recreation departments, hotels, shops, restaurants, party supply vendors, musicians and artists.
3. Location
After you have some details down, you can begin to look for a location. The location will probably affect other aspects of the event, so it is a good idea to get this squared away first. Locations can run a whole gamut of varieties and should connect to your theme and goal.
For example, if you are having musicians perform, you will need to have electricity and know sound restrictions and time for the location, or if outdoors, the city. When you reach out to a location, there are a series of questions you can ask, some of them include:
- When is the location available?
- How do you reserve the date?
- Do you have to put down a deposit, and if so, how much?
- Is staffing included for the event?
- What equipment is available for use during the event?
- Do they have an event planner?
- How much setup and cleanup time will you have?
- Do they have catering options?
- Are there any restrictions on decorations?
- Is smoking or drinking allowed at the location?
- Can you have music at your event?
- What parking options are available?
Each location will differ, so make sure to ask each one all the questions you may have, and don’t make any assumptions. If you need help getting started, utilize Eventective.com. This site helps you break down locations by venue type.
4. Food
Depending on your location, you may have catering options, or preferred food vendors that the location has used in the past. Going with companies that have already worked with the location can be a safe bet, since they know how their systems work with the venue already.
However, considering that you are throwing an Earth Day event, you may want to go with vendors that adhere to environmental polices, such as serving organic, vegetarian/vegan or fair trade fare.
Also, with food service comes more waste, so be aware of what type of disposal options you have available as well as what type of plates, utensils and cups you use. This list, from EatDrinkBetter.com, can get you started:
- Seedling Catering in Los Angeles, CA
- Gail’s Vegetarian Catering in Washington, D.C.
- Eco-Goddess Edibles in Aspen, CO
- Phresh Organic Catering in Portland, OR
- Chowgirls in Minneapolis, MN
- Pharm Catering in Chatanooga, TN
- Herban Feast in Seattle, WA
- Lucid Food in New York, NY
5. Activities
These will depend on your location, budget and goal. Again, focus on whatever you are trying to accomplish. Also, keep in mind the different age groups in attendance. It is a smart idea to have things for both adults and children. If your activities include a community outreach, making sure you have all the necessary supplies is a must. You would hate to have people show up expecting one thing, and not being able to do it based on poor planning.
For example, if you are planting trees at your event, make sure you have enough trees, dirt, shovels and watering cans. Also, make sure you activities match the theme of your event. They can be educational, challenging or just silly. Envirolink.com has a list of activities and event ideas; this is a good place to get the wheels in motion.
6. Advertising
Spreading the word about your event can be as DIY or as professional as you wish. There are the basics of flyers and online bulletin boards, as well as event Web sites and local TV and radio stations. Whichever way you choose, keep in mind the size of event you are looking for. Though you don’t want to have an empty house, if you over-advertise, you may have to turn people away.
The Australian Institute of Community Practice and Governance has a wonderful list of 25 things you can do to advertise your event. Remember, if you make posters, shoot for recycled paper, and have a “please recycle me” reminder at the bottom, for whoever ends up taking it down.
7. Supplies: Booths, Trash, Electricity, etc…
Though some of this will already be governed by layout with location (electricity), you may have to provide some items yourself (like booths). For recycling and composting at your event, you will need to have different containers for each and signage explaining which is which. With event planning, the devil is in the details.
Making a checklist of your supply needs is a must to get you through your event successfully. Carry it with you, and make sure you double-check it the day of your event. This Event Planning Checklist, from the non-profit organization Dignitas International, is a great starting point and can help get you on the right track.
8. Recycling and Cleanup
It is extremely important to have recycling and composting at your event if you will be creating waste or serving food. This process takes more than just one paragraph, so check out our How to: Recycle at Your Earth Day Event for all the details you will need to make sure your event is an earth-friendly one.
9. Looking Back
Congratulations! You planned an event, and it went off without a hitch…well, hopefully not too many hitches. Like any project, more perspective is gained when you take a second to reflect. How did it go? What would you do differently? What was the best part? Was your idea a success?
Knowing this info will help determine what you will do next time around and also give you insight on how an event is thrown. A good way to document this process, as well as talk about the results, is to start your own blog. Go to Wordpress.com and begin it today. Share it with friends and encourage them to get involved too!
