8 Activities to celebrate Earth Day at work
Earth day is celebrated worldwide, first started in 1970 to mark the modern environmental movement, now including hundreds of different events supporting environmental projects and awareness.
Just because you have to be at work, doesn’t mean that you can’t be part of the celebrations and show your support towards Mother Nature. Get your colleagues on board and organize an activity or two. Here are 8 fun and creative activity ideas you could consider to use to celebrate Earth day!
1. Dress up
You’re never too old to dress up. Have everyone participate in an Earth Day costume competition, this can be anything from dressing up as your favorite animal/plant or flower. Colleagues can decide whether they want to go all out or just add something small like a scarf, hat or brooch to their work uniform.
See if you can find local florists who are willing to donate gift vouchers or a bouquet to the winner. The florist could act as the judge too, picking the most unique costume as the winner.
Make a poster or send out an Email to your colleagues informing them of the theme in advance to give them some time to plan according.
2. Auction Art
Give local artists or arty colleagues a month to paint something with the theme “Earth Day.” Auction the paintings off at work and donate the collected money to a project that works towards environmental conservation.
3. Make Earthy Snacks
Bring out everyone’s inner chef by challenging colleagues to make/bake (or buy for those who really can’t cook) earthy snacks. This could be salads, carrot cakes or vegan snacks. Play around with presentation- change popsicles into World globes, bake cupcakes and decorate them with green bushes and trees.
You could even turn it into a friendly competition. Create two teams, each team has to create three-four dishes, have the boss or someone from a local restaurant come in to taste and judge their dishes.
4. Plant a tree/plants
Find an open spot near the building’s parking area or in the office’s own garden. Plant a tree and add a plaque that describes your team’s message or aim regarding environmental support. For example: At *insert business name here* we will work towards a no-paper system!
5. Plogging
Plogging is taking the world by storm. It’s an activity started in Sweden where you jog while picking up trash. Put on your trainers and matching T-shirts, grab some trash bags and go for a jog around the city’s parks, rivers and other public spots.
Give team members a pre-planned route of about 5km. The team that finishes with the most trash bags filled with garbage, gets a special prize. Prize could be that the other team should take them out to dinner, buy each one a cocktail or the losing team has to jump in a pool with their clothes on.
6. Take part in a lecture or presentation
Arrange a speaker from an Environmental Protection Agency. Let them educate your team on arising environmental issues and give them tips on how to look after the environment better.
Have a pop quiz afterwards and test your team’s memory.
7. Start a community garden
This is a bigger task for those companies who feel really strongly about the environment and who would like to make a big contribution to the neighborhood. Find an empty lot or area and change it into a beautiful community garden. Open up the project to include locals of the areas who would like to donate garden equipment, seeds, plants, and their gardening knowledge.
You will be surprised how many elders have green fingers and love to grow vegetables and other plants during their free time. Engage them and set up a schedule to make sure the garden stays in tip-top condition.
8. Walk in a parade
Inspire your team to make Earth Day posters to raise awareness – you could decide on something specific: “Fight against animal poaching”, “Deforestation” or “Global warming.”
Print T-shirts for each team member and walk as a unity through the city. (Remember to let the authorities know of your parading plans in order to keep things organized!)
If we can set aside a few hours in our busy working schedules to appreciate and take part in celebrating our Earth, human beings all over the world can make a change. Even if it’s small.
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