You are invited to...
What is Picnic for the Planet? Picnic for the Planet is a celebration of the planet we live on, the food it provides and the people we share it with. In short, the planet does a lot for us we should take it out for lunch. On and around Earth Day 2011 (April 22), people all around the world will be stepping outside and heading to their favorite outdoor spot to enjoy good food in the company of great people. Picnic for the Planet is intended to be a global celebration. We will be mapping Picnic locations around the world and gathering photos and video from as many locations as possible. An important part of the project is the sharing of the experience across social networks; participants will have a local, personal experience at their own picnic, but also see their connection to people around the planet. Organizing a picnic is as simple as choosing a location and committing to show up. We want the experience to be as fun and easy as possible for all involved. The picnics do not need to be formal events, so they can be as simple (or as complex) as each organizer wants.
Who can participate? Picnic for the Planet is open to all. Especially those six or seven billion of us who benefit from the food, water and air that the planet provides. We want this to be as inclusive and celebratory as possible. The project will be led by The Nature Conservancy but is open to all. With this in mind, we are making resources available online that will make it simple for people to fully participate in the project, organize their own picnics and share their picnic stories and photos. If the project goes as planned, then Conservancy-hosted picnics will be outnumbered by picnics organized by others.
You ve sold me. How do I get involved? Simple! Pick a location for your picnic, think of the people you d like to come along and invite them. We are working with meetup.com to make this process as easy as possible and to make it simple to find the locations of other picnics close to you. You can plot your picnic at meetup.com/ natureconservancy Once your location, time and date are set, spread the word to your friends, family and community; invite them to come out and join the fun. The meetup.com site includes simple tools to make sharing your picnic easy, including maps and widgets that can be easily added to add to your Facebook page, blog or website.
Would you like to see our photos? Absolutely! We want to know how your picnic goes and hope that you ll share tweets, photos, videos and stories with the world. To do so, just use the tag #picnic11 on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr or YouTube. Through the planning tool we will be encouraging all participants in all picnics to spread the word about the project and to share their content on the day. Although each Picnic may be small, the cumulative effect will be global and will be seen online. The Conservancy will be featuring highlights from picnics around the world on nature.org.
We love to picnic, but want to do more. Is that OK? Of course it is. Go for it. For some groups there may be other activities that you want to do along with your picnic. We encourage you to do so, and to share your ideas with everyone else. For example, if your picnic is at a Conservancy preserve or other natural area, perhaps there could be a volunteer workday planned for the same day, or a bird walk, a tour of the preserve, etc.
Does it have to be on April 22nd? No, it can be in the week before, during the weekend after, whenever works best. Although our promotional energy will be around the 22nd, we understand that there will be locations where it is more convenient to have a picnic during the proceeding or following weekend. The planning tool will make it easy for participants to sort picnics by both location and date, so that they can find a place and time that works for them.
What about the weather? Since there will be picnics all around the world, we can guarantee one thing. It will rain, somewhere! The planning tool will allow you to have an alternate date in case of bad weather, or an alternate location (for a nice, dry indoor picnic). It will also make it simple to let participants know of any change of plans. There will be large parts of the planet where it is not seasonably feasible to dine outside. In those places we hope people will participate in spirit (or while well insulated).
Our Picnic will be the best! How do I prove it? Good for you! In fact we ll be looking for over-achievers in a whole host of categories, including y Largest Picnic y Coldest Picnic y Highest Altitude Picnic y Cleanest Picnic (most positive impact on the location) y Northernmost Picnic y Southernmost Picnic y Most Remote Picnic y Picnic with the Best View If you believe that your picnic will be exceptional in any of these categories, or if you have another category to suggest, let us know at earthday@tnc.org.
What else should I know? The first rule of Picnic for the Planet is You DO talk about Picnic for the Planet! The more this celebration is shared and talked about the more momentum it will gain, and the more fun it will be for all involved. Spread the word! The second rule of Picnic for the Planet is You DO TALK ABOUT PICNIC FOR THE PLANET! Although this is a Nature Conservancy promotion, we would love others to participate: park districts, other NGOs, schools, churches, everyone. If you have ideas of other groups who should know about the promotion, let us know. The third rule of Picnic for the Planet is Leave your picnic site better than you found it. Make sure that you encourage everyone who participates to generate as little waste as possible, to leave their picnic site in immaculate condition, preferably cleaner than when they arrived.
How are you getting the word out? The Nature Conservancy will be promoting Picnic for the Planet across many different channels, including: y Features on nature.org. y Recruiting high-profile chefs as guest-bloggers for blog.nature.org. y E-mail outreach to Conservancy membership through the Great Places e-newsletter. y Media outreach promoting Picnic for the Planet in key markets.
For More Information... nature.org/earthday earthday@tnc.org