How to Host your own "EarthChella"
This year, Earth Day fell on weekend 2 of Coachella. Growing up in LA, I’ve gone to Coachella countless times, but I wanted to take this time to celebrate Earth instead! I wanted to come up with a way to gather together a community of fellow earth-lovers to get outdoors and connect with each other and our planet. This would be a moment to celebrate each other and our shared love for our one shared home! Although I wasn’t quite sure what that would look like just yet, I was certain of a few things:
First, Earth Day has become super commercialized and I wanted to host something that was free for the community to celebrate mama earth and build community connections. Then I got to thinking… Now that we’re on the other side of COVID, we can finally gather safely together and we deserve to celebrate that!
In my opinion, the power of irl community > digital communities. As an environmentalist, I’ve learned that trying to tackle the macro, global problems can feel overwhelming. But when we focus on community engagement, gathering, and organizing, we tap into our power as a force to be reckoned with! You will find community doing what you would do alone (surfing, hiking, ceramics, running, etc) and this event was all about finding fellow earth-lovers who love being outside! Lastly, I took to Instagram stories to ask folks what type of events they wanted to see come together! And let me tell you… the results were AMAZING!
So here is a little ‘how to’ guide on throwing your own community event to celebrate Earth because every day is Earth Day!
The Infographic
I knew that this was going to be an event that folks heard about on social media, so it was important to me that the event invite was catchy, bright, and engaging! I actually asked my community on Instagram if anyone knew of a graphic designer, and loads of folks wrote in! From there, I was able to work with a San Diego based designer who could work on our tight schedule, and she made these beautiful graphics! I love how they turned out. You could definitely use Canva as well!
and now more about each of the events:
Sunset Hike
A lot of our friends voiced their love for a good outdoor activity. After exploring a few options, we decided to choose a hike with plenty of parking (although it wasn’t free) :/ We found a plant guide from LA Compost to lean into your community gardens or composting programs to find a naturalist, arborist, and herbalist. Since everybody has their own things going on, Friday after work felt like a good time so folks with day jobs could come. We made sure the hike itself wasn’t too strenuous to make it neutral for all hikers, plus there was a beautiful view at the top. I offered snacks and brought a 5-gallon jug of water, and sunscreen to make sure everyone was happy and healthy. Lastly, I made sure to Invite everyone to “learn something new, make a new friend, be a better person”
LA River Clean-Up
Instead of hosting my own event, I drove awareness of local environmental NGO’s cleanup - Friends of the LA River and Surfrider Foundation. We typically clean up the beach, but it’s just as important to clean up our local rivers, reminding us that we are all within one watershed. Making it more accessible to folks who don’t live near the beach. The event had their own Eventbrite link, which was super easy to find. However, we did get a last-minute update that there were endangered nesting birds in the river, so we couldn’t go directly in the river, which turned into a neighborhood cleanup instead. It was so inspiring to see that the hard work of these cleanups are working, as native species populations are increasing as they are returning to nest!
Potluck Dinner
Initially, I was going to host the dinner at the beach, but I wanted it to be intimate so folks could hear each other clearly, so hosted it at local park under oak trees. Warning - we definitely should have looked more into permits and park closures! There was paid parking to make sure everyone could find a spot to park. I figured potluck would be ideal so the set-up and clean-up were easier, as everyone brought & took home their own dishes. We sent out a sign-up sheet in advance.
We partnered with Zero Waste Co to ensure our event was as low-waste as possible. The Zero Waste Company is a women-owned sustainability consulting firm. They specialize in developing and implementing waste minimization programs that reduce the environmental impact of any event. They brought all the glasses, plates, utensils, and just about everything else you would need at dinner, even reused flower arrangements (that came from a celebrity’s birthday party the night before!)
In order to create a cozy atmosphere, some friends and I arrived early to set up string lights, plates, flowers, and other decorations. It was important to me that the space felt warm and welcoming for our guests. I asked brands for support for goodie bags and encouraged folks to only take what they needed, and leave what they didn’t (I donated anything leftover!)
To break the ice and add a fun activity, we decided to make watercolor name cards as guests arrived. This not only helped everyone connect, but it also added a unique and personal touch to the event.
After everyone arrived, I invited everyone to meet each other and connect. I also invited Sofia from ZWC to share some words about the importance of being environmentally conscious. I followed up by sharing some words about greeting nature like we'd greet a friend: "I am so happy to see you!"
We made sure to have landfill, recycling, and compost bins available, and encouraged guests to use them accordingly.
As the night came to a close, everyone helped with the cleanup. It was amazing to see everyone come together and work to restore the space to its original state.
Breathwork
I knew I wanted to implement an event into EarthChella that would connect us to the Earth. I realized there was no better way to do this than to sync our bodies to the breath of the ocean. To host a breathwork event, we made sure to choose a beach area with available parking and ADA accessibility. Next, I reached out to our local meditation studio, Open, to partner with! The meditation studio requested some equipment so I reached out to friends and borrowed speakers & microphone. The day of, we got to the beach early to scout out the location to ensure a comfortable spot for the event. To get the good vibes started, we played music while guests arrived, introduced ourselves, and passed out vouchers for them to join the meditation studio. Since it was in the morning we had offerings of hot coffee, adaptogen mushroom beverage, and plant-based protein shakes. We also handed out some hair masks (gifted from Davines) as a gift to folks to take home! We greeted everyone by making a connection to our breath and the ocean, as the ocean gives us 50-65% of the oxygen we breathe. Olivia led us through Breathwork. Searching for one last connection, we jumped in the ocean together afterward to seal our practice!
Some Logistics to Consider:
Creating a visually pleasing digital invite was super important to me. Doing this, I worked with an amazing designer! You could easily use Canva as well.
We used Eventbrite for invitations and planning. Using Eventbrite to host was super easy to navigate (but might look into Partiful next time)
Asking for volunteers was a necessity! I found it helpful to host a call with them beforehand to divvy out responsibilities and see who could arrive early each day to help
We made sure to shoot a follow-up email a couple of days in advance with the google maps dropped pin, what to bring, etc.
We set up a Google voice account so I did not have to share my personal phone number with the group, but rather had a Google number that attendees could reach me at.
Somethings I would do differently - I would have scouted out these locations better, made sure their hours worked for our event, and looked into permits.
With all that being said…I am sending you love & good luck on hosting your own earth day festival! And remember, Earth day is everyday so you can do this anytime :)