• Earth Day: The official date of Earth Day is April 22. Earth Day events are often scheduled for the weekends before or after April 22. Many communities and groups choose to organize environmental activities over the longer time period of Earth Week or even Earth Month, with events scheduled throughout the month of April.

  Founded by the organizers of the first Earth Day in 1970, Earth Day Network (EDN) promotes environmental citizenship and year round progressive action worldwide. Earth Day is the only event celebrated simultaneously around the globe by people of all backgrounds, faiths and nationalities. More than a half billion people participate in our campaigns every year. Our mission is to grow and diversify the environmental movement worldwide, and to mobilize it as the most effective vehicle for promoting a healthy, sustainable planet. We pursue our mission through education, politics, events, and consumer activism.Earth Day Network, Earth Day on Campus has four main focuses for Earth Day, 2008:

• Events on campus
• Making Noise
• Green Vote Registration
• Sky Petition

All of these focuses revolve around bringing more attention to Climate Change.

• Climate Change: The time to act on climate change is now! The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change declared that there "unequivocal" evidence of climate change and that current trends in greenhouse gas emissions will lead to "abrupt" changes to the planet, cause human suffering, and threaten some species with extinction. In the long-term climate change is the single most important issue faced by the global community! By focusing on climate change issues for an Earth Day event, your group will join more than one million people world wide that will also be campaigning on this issue for Earth Day!
  
  
  

• A. Form a Team: Work within an existing Earth Day effort or start your own. Begin by learning what's already being planned in your community:

1. Check Earth Day Network's Web Site and our Earth Day on Campus page to view the latest listing of planned events and to look for contacts and organizers on your campus or in your community.
2. Find Core Members of two or three dedicated students and ideally a supportive professor or staff member.
3. Talk to groups on campus and ask what they are planning.
4. Organize a kick-off meeting to identify possible partners. Invite existing campus groups who may already be planning an Earth Day event, or who might be interested in helping with one. Pull together a steering committee (for more on recruiting volunteers see Building Support
5. List your event on Earth Day Network's Web site so that information will be available to people in your community.
6. Form Committees: If you choose to team up with other organizers and establish your own Earth Day group, consider forming committees to oversee basic functions. Committees may include project/event planning, materials, publicity and outreach.

• B. Set a Goal:
  
  
  1. Research you Campus' climate condition. Before you can develop a strategy you must know what the existing campus environmental policies are as well as how best to address your campus's needs.

     You can even find a sample survey in this guide. Conducting the survey will allow you to establish how well your campus is addressing climate change.

  2. Set Campaign Goals based on your evaluation of your campus environmental policy. The goal should be clear and ask for quantitative changes (i.e. fifty percent reduction of campus wide greenhouse gas emissions). You can research the successes of other campuses around the country and use their achievements as bench marks for your campaign.

  
  

• C. Choose a Strategy:
  
  
  
  1. Identify your goals and objectives for outcomes. How will you achieve them? Will you rely solely on existing group members or will recruit more members? Will your campaign make extensive use of campus media, or will you try to expand interest into your community? Will your strategy involve building a coalition or retaining a separate organizational identity and focus, or both? There are many ways to craft your strategy. Pull together your steering committee and choose an action plan that is best for you.
     
     
  2. Educate yourself and others about your campaign. Lots of good information already exists—don't try to reinvent the wheel. Knowledge of the material is the basis of a good campaign. Make sure you know your stuff before you move forward.

• A. Developing a Message & Outreach:
  
  
  
  1. Message Formation: What is the one thing you want people to know about your organization's Earth Day event?

  It could be the theme of your event. Perhaps it is one fact that beautifully illustrates the importance of climate change. Whatever it is that one thing you want people to know and remember about you is your "message" and should be included in every piece of material you produce—just like your logo.

  The message should be positive and be a 'call to action' that inspires those who read it to get involved and support the campaign.

  2. Publicize creatively. There are dozens of ways to get your message out. Consider handing out fliers, sitting at an information booth, phoning, hanging up posters, making announcements during other events, attending meetings of other groups, getting listed in campus calendars, or any other form of publicity suited to your particular campus.
     
     
  3. Media Outreach: Write a press release—a compelling one-page summary about your event or project and your organization. Be sure to cover who, what, when, where, why, and how, and include contact information for your group.

     Send the release to campus and community newspapers. Consider including supplemental background materials for outlets that may do an in-depth story.

     Give the media plenty of notice. Send out your information a week or two in advance of your event. Send all media advisories to both the general office and those reporters who are most likely to cover the story. Be sure to follow up a few days before your event takes place.

     Follow through. Try to establish relationships with certain reporters. If reporters ask for additional information in order to write a story, keep detailed records of requests and follow through in a timely way.

     Treat the press well. Reporters like to feel that they are important to your group. Be available for interviews. If you are holding an event, assign someone to greet reporters and show them around. The more personal contact reporters receive, the more likely they are to write a substantial and positive story.

     You can find sample press releases and media advisories in the Resources section of this guide.

  4. Make a visual impact: Events that have bright signs, big props, and vivid colors are more likely to get front-page stories written about them as well as bring attention to your campaign.
     
     
     
• B. Building Support:
  
  
  1. Finding Volunteers: Earth Day is an ideal opportunity for interested students who have never volunteered before. You just need to invite them!

  The first step is a recruitment meeting or activity. Invite as large a cross-section of your campus as possible. Make sure notices get posted in all areas of your campus. Send a notice to your school newspapers and list serves stating that you are going to hold an Earth Day organizing meeting at a certain time and place, and that everyone is invited to attend. The key to success in finding volunteers is sending out invitations that cause people to respond.

  Start the meeting by introducing yourselves and the plan for the meeting. Give participants some background information on your organization and depending on the stage in the planning process either brainstorm ideas for an Earth Day event or discuss the plans so far and ask for feedback.

  At your meetings, always pass around a sign-up sheet for people to give their name, phone number, email address and dorm/address. Following the meeting, ask the volunteers to fill out an information form and sign up for specific tasks they are willing to take on. You can find a sample Volunteer Information Form in the Resources section of this guide.

  2. Create organizational systems that will help your campaign or event. As things heat up, you will want to be confident that you can handle the increased workload.

  One important aspect of creating good systems and building capacity is having excellent communication tools both within your campaign and for the audience that you hope to communicate with.

  Make sure you have a good email list or telephone tree to reach key members of your team in a pinch. Create a database from which you can pull your contact list and break down the list in useful ways. Use email, which is fast and affordable, to get out the word about meetings, events and important news.

  3. Reach out to decision-makers. Assess whose approval or involvement you need to make your project successful. This may include other organizations on campus, campus administrators and staff. Go to these people immediately after you have worked up a solid plan. Keep them informed throughout the process and value their input.

• C. Location, Location, Location: Decide very early in the planning process where you need to host meetings, post information about your campaign, have rallies or other physical locations that may need prior permission before access to use is granted. Campuses are typically extremely supportive of student activities and will be very helpful.

If you plan to have an Earth Day event, be sure to reserve the location well in advance. Be sure also to have a back-up plan for rain or in case more people than expected show up.

• D. Staying the Course —Timelines & Deadlines:
  
  
  
  1. From the start be sure to create clear, achievable completion dates—set up your volunteers to succeed by allowing a fair amount of time to produce your desired results. Be sure to check in with your volunteers along the way to be certain everything is moving according to plan.

  Know how much time you need, and for how long. Get commitments from your volunteers a few weeks or a month ahead of time, if possible. This allows you time to react and get replacements if something unexpected comes up.

  2. Work Backwards to determine all the steps needed to accomplish your goal. For each step ask, "How long before Earth Day must this be done?" Then for each time period, add a week. Keep track of all deadlines on a calendar and stick to them.

• A. Campus Climate Change Survey
  

  EARTH DAY ON CAMPUS

  CAMPUS 'CLIMATE CHANGE' SURVEY

  The purpose of this survey is to assess how 'climate' friendly your campus is and the best methods of mounting a climate change campaign. This survey is intended to act as a preliminary study. If your campus is interested in pursuing a 'climate neutral' campaign, more extensive research will be needed.

  The best way to start is by researching what information on the sustainability of your campus already exists. Ask campus environmental organizations and professors who teach environmental issues building and management personnel, as well as the administration if they have worked on campus greening projects in the past. Some reports that may provide information on campus greening includes: Campus Master Plans, Transportation Plans, Utilities Plans and Campus Contracts with paper product and dining & food service companies.

  The survey is divided up according to issue area. Don't fret if finding the answers to the survey is difficult. Finding whether or not the information is easily assessable to students is equally as important to finding the answers (or not finding the answers). The main purpose of conducting the survey is to have a general idea of what stage your campus is in the campus greening process.

  — Air

  • Campus Greenhouse Gas Emissions —

  Total Campus Greenhouse Gas Emissions- BTUs/square feet

  • Campus Indoor Air Quality —
    

    Level of indoor air quality in campus buildings

  — Build Environment

  • Green Buildings on Campus —
    

    Percentage of LEED Standards incorporated into building guidelines/specifications.
    
    Percentage of buildings that meet or exceed LEED standards

  — Energy
  

  • Campus Energy Use —

  Total kWh/year

  • Campus Renewable Energy Use —
    

    Percentage of total campus energy use derived from clean and renewable energy sources
    
    Percentage of Compact Florescent lighting used on campus

  — Food

  • Campus Local Food Consumption —

  Percentage of food consumed/sold on campus from local food sources (defined as within 100 miles from campus)

  • Campus Organic Food Consumption —
    

    Percentage of organic food served on campus

  — Investments & Consumption

  • Green Investment —

  Amount of Social Responsible Investing conducted by campus

  • Paper Purchases—

  Percentage of paper purchased by campus that is at least 30% post-consumer recycled content

  — Landscaping

  • Campus 'Green Space' —

  Percentage of campus designated as 'green space'

  • Campus Natural Area Protection —

  Percentage of land owned by campus protected by policy from development

  • Campus use of chemicals —
    

    Amount of pesticides/herbicides/fertilizer use on campus

  — Solid Waste

  • Campus Solid Waste Generation —

  Total campus solid waste (metric tons/year)

  • Campus Solid Waste Management —

  Percentage of solid waste diverted for recycling, reuse and composting

  • Campus Recycling —
    

    ccessibility and use of campus recycling options

  — Transportation
  

  • Campus percentage Commuters/Drivers —

  Percentage of student body that commutes to campus
  
  Percentage of students living within one mile of campus who drive to school regularly

  • Campus Transportation Options —

  Bus, bike and walking path options available on campus

  • Campus Fleet —
    

    Campus car fleet miles per gallon and fuel choice options

  — Water

  • Campus Water Use —
    

    Total campus water use cubic meters/year
    
    Water saving technologies used on campus

  • Campus Wastewater Management —

  Percentage of water use on campus treated before returning to watershed

  • Campus Storm Water Runoff Management —
    

    Campus plan for storm water runoff
    
    Campus watershed management for near-by water sources

    
    

This survey will provide the basic parameters to begin your campaign. Is there one area in the survey your campus is particularly lagging? Why or why not?

Other campuses have found that the best areas to begin focusing on are "Energy" and "Solid Waste". This is because they typically have the largest impact. Additionally, individual students can make a difference by incorporating small, but important actions. For example, students can turn off their computer while it is not in use or recycle their used paper and bottles.

When designing your campaign, it is important to gage what stage your campus is in the process towards a becoming a 'climate neutral' campus. If your campus has already made significant strides, it may be best to begin by acknowledging these accomplishments and point out further changes to help your campus reach its final goal. Wherever you campus is, we are here to help. If you reach a hurdle, contact us!

B. Sample Volunteer Information Form

C. Sample Media Advisory

 

D. Sample Radio Public Service Announcement