The Results

The Earth Day Event was not only the first of its kind in my neighborhood but also my first experience organizing such a function.  Anecdotally, I can report that many people came, appeared to have a good time, stayed for a couple of hours, and seemed engaged.  Data obtained through the prize drawing shows that participation was 20% of households in the neighborhood.  (My goal was 15%.)  Event partners included 10 different businesses and the Home Owners Association.

There were 20 survey respondents, many of whom were event attendees.  However, there were a few additional respondents, who delivered their completed surveys via the neighborhood mailbox.  Some respondents left a few questions blank, and percentages were adjusted to reflect the lower response rate.  In some cases responses were received from multiple people in one household.  23% of households are represented in the survey.

Some of the questions used in my survey were obtained from EcoAmerica’s 2006 survey, The American Environmental Values Survey, in combination with questions I wrote specific to my area and interests.  The survey responses were the biggest surprise to me, because I assumed my neighbors were uneducated and/or unconcerned about environmental issues.  As it turns out, most of the respondents answered the survey as I might have if I were completing it.  Of course, I cannot assume from these responses that all of my neighbors share my feelings about the environment.  After all, a full 77% of households did not participate in the survey process.  Still, I am encouraged by the responses I received.  (Complete results are posted on the course discussion board.)

Among the most surprising results to me are the following:

• 100% of respondents are concerned about environmental issues
• 73% of respondents would call themselves environmentalists
• 77% of respondents believe that Americans are responsible for most of the world’s environmental problems
• 84% of respondents believe global warming will affect them
• 95% of respondents would like increased public transportation options and bike lanes in our area
• 94% of respondents would like to live in an eco-friendly community
• 100% of respondents would like to reduce the amount of chemicals used in their household
• 71% of respondents believe sustainable living is affordable for the average person
• 94% of respondents would like to participate in a neighborhood sustainability group
• 100% of respondents believe that preserving the earth for future generations should be a top priority

My primary purposes for the organizing the Earth Day Event in my neighborhood were raising awareness, building community, and gathering data about my neighbors environmental attitudes.  Additionally, the good will generated at the event appears to be sufficient to overturn the HOA restriction on the keeping of backyard chickens at the annual meeting this September.  An unexpected benefit of the event is that the neighborhood Facebook page I created in order to share event information now has 16 followers and is being used as a vehicle for general neighborhood communication.  I plan to start either a neighborhood or district sustainability group this year, so I am encouraged to see that there is interest right in my own backyard.  By next Earth Day, I hope there will be a motivated group of people, who share my passion, interested in organizing a more comprehensive event.

References

EcoAmerica. (2006). The American environmental values survey: American views on the environment in an era of polarization and conflicting priorities. Retrieved from http://ecoamerica.typepad.com/blog/files/ecoAmerica_AEVS_Report.pdf

The Big Day!

On the morning of the big day, the rains came and went, the wind whipped through the trees, and the forecast called for the weather to worsen.  Bill and I conferred by phone to make the obvious choice to postpone the event until the next day, our rain date.  I called Randy of Rooster Hill Farms, and left a message with his wife.  I reached Mary of All About the Pipes plumbing by phone.  She told me that she could attend the next day and would come directly after church.  At first the weather improved, which made me sick for postponing.  However, a monsoon followed, leaving the fields flooded and me feeling vindicated in my decision.  By the following morning, I still had not heard from Randy, and I grew nervous that I would have some very disappointed kids on my hands.  But the day was perfectly beautiful, and Joselle and I sprang into action early.  Eventually I spoke with Randy, who was stopping to pick up “fresh” baby chicks on his way to the event!

Chicken Tractor with a View

Joselle and I loaded the car with tables and drove the few short blocks to the event site.  As we approached, we saw Heather walking her dog.  She asked us where the event was being held.  When I told her it was right there in the large grassy area, she informed me that we usually had the egg hunt at one of the other larger fields.  Hmmm...  I immediately called Bill, and sure enough I was in the wrong place!  Lesson #1: Confirm basic information.  Do not assume.  Every event I have ever attended has been located in the smallest of three fields in our neighborhood; the egg hunt takes place in the largest.  Since many eggs are being hidden from many, many children, it makes good sense to use a large area.  I had to laugh at myself for being an organizer of the event and not knowing where it was being held.  I was off to a great start!

Good fortune certainly smiled on me in that Heather corrected my error before we set everything up, so we drove a few blocks in the other direction to the largest field.  We unloaded tables, and returned home for leaves and the compost bin.  On our third and final trip home, we gathered the signs I had made from cardboard boxes from work, the empty boxes for collecting e-waste and household waste, the box of prizes, the rental tent I borrowed from work, and a box full of large containers of egg dyes.

When we returned to the field on our final trip, Bill and Michele were hiding eggs.  After we set up tables, I set up the compost demo, and all four of us set up the large tent.  Then we stood around looking at each other satisfied that we were ready early.  A discussion ensued about the beautiful weather and the flow of activities.  A few people began to arrive, and Michele sprang into action handing out t-shirts to the kids as we had planned.  Randy arrived with his chicken tractor and was the hit of the party before he even got set up.  His friend set up a table to sell iced coffee.  And just before 1:00 p.m. Mary pulled in with the tankless water heater and low flow toilet.  I checked in with Randy and Mary to make sure they had everything they needed, and Michele gathered the kids for the egg hunt.

During the event, Ji and Heather both took pictures, which I requested for this blog and for our neighborhood Facebook page.  One of the neighbors, Linda, made Rice Crispy treats for the kids.  As the egg hunt began, we made final preparations for the kids at three stations.  Joselle set up the natural egg dyeing station.  Randy was ready to educate and entertain with the hens and chicks.  And I was responsible for the outdoor ethics station at the big tent.  I had loaded my backpack with outdoor essentials, and was prepared to discuss things you need to bring outdoors, what to do if you get lost, and a very simplistic Leave No Trace discussion about picking up your trash and leaving nature’s goodies, such as flowers, for everyone to enjoy.  Afterward I would take the kids over to the compost bin, where we would have a brief discussion.

When the time came, we divided the kids into three groups, and sent them off to the three stations.  At my station the kids loved being in the tent and guessing what I had in my backpack.  I kept it short and when I observed their attention waning, we moved on to compost.  I had the bin step up with leaves, a bag of table scraps, and a bag of finished compost.  With the kids I focused mostly on naming the food scraps they saw, and talking about how composting was good for gardening.  Very simple.

From my station, the kids moved to egg dyeing.  Joselle reports that the kids were very excited about getting hard-boiled, dyed eggs, but they had no real interest in the dyes being made from beets, red cabbage, and turmeric - though some of the parents were interested.  Because it took hours for the blue dye to set and roughly 45% of the kids selected blue eggs, Joselle did send those kids home with the egg in a recyclable cup.  This was not ideal.  However, since we wanted the kids to be a part of the process and it was impossible to predict their color preferences, we made this concession.  We did not purchase new cups for the occasion, instead we used some lurking in our cupboards and hoped they would be recycled.  Based on the time, cost, waste, and limited environmentally-friendly impact, I would choose either not to repeat this activity in the future or to dye the eggs ahead of time and allow the kids to choose their favorite color.

The final station was Randy’s chicken tractor, where hens and baby chicks entertained everyone.  This was the biggest success of the day.  Children and adults alike cuddled with chicks, and adults overwhelmingly expressed a desire to change the HOA rule against keeping backyard hens at the next annual meeting in September.  Big win!  Randy was also fantastic in educating adults about the benefits of keeping backyard chickens.

We ended the event by presenting Bill and Michele with their own t-shirts to thank them for all they do for the neighborhood and with door prizes for everyone and the random drawing for the survey participants.  (The HOA paid for all of the kids shirts, but Joselle and I bought shirts for ourselves, her brother Kevin, and Bill and Michele.)  People seemed genuinely delighted by the gifts, and I made sure to acknowledge the partners of the event, especially the ones present.  While Mary did not have large numbers of visitors, the people who did visit seemed genuinely interested in learning about her products, and she was able to give them plenty of individual attention.

Michele & Bill receive their shirts.

Activities that lacked appeal included collection of e-waste and household hazardous waste; the clothing, book, and toy swap; and composting.  I think the difficulty with the recycling and the swap table is that both required planning on the part of participants.  The challenge for the composting demo is that I could not operate both the outdoor ethics activity and composting simultaneously.  Generally, the challenge with the three activities is that the event was very child-focused.  It was difficult to engage adults, who appeared to view themselves as there with their children rather than there for themselves.  Very few people attended who did not have children.

Lesson #2: When organizing an event, I should not assign myself to any particular activity, thus allowing myself freedom to converse with others, to make sure everyone is included, and to assess the event while it is happening and make adjustments as needed.  I did foresee a difficulty with my split duties, which I tried to address by creating signage to briefly describe the composting process.  In the future, I would have someone else assigned to both the composting and outdoor ethics areas.

Overall, the experience was well received by the community, and provided a great opportunity for me to step outside of my comfort zone.  In my opinion, the event did not create huge shifts in thinking or behavior, but hopefully is a start to bigger and better things.  Selfishly, I am excited about the opportunity to keep chickens in my backyard next spring.

Rewind!

Wow!  In the final days before the Earth Day Event, life was a little too chaotic to update the blog.  Therefore, some backtracking is in order.

One exciting and stressful thing is that Joselle began running test batches of natural dye for egg coloring.  She selected red cabbage for blue eggs, turmeric for yellow eggs, and beets for pink eggs.  Given that the the event would occur in a field without the benefit of a stove, we needed the dyes to set quickly at "room" temperature.  We also needed large quantities of liquid so that we could accommodate all of the children expected at the event.

The turmeric produced lovely yellow eggs quickly, but made the whole house stink.  The red cabbage produced wonderful blue eggs, but the dyes took forever to set.  And the beets produced splotchy brownish eggs after hours.  I found the beets disappointing since the pink did not match my memory of my experience with my Memama.  I thought Memama just used straight beet juice perhaps with some vinegar, but Joselle found an elaborate recipe involving cooking many cans of beets mixed with grape juice and vinegar.  After two vats that did not take (and buying nearly every can of beets in our grocery store), Joselle found that plain beet juice with a small amount of vinegar did the trick.  No elaborate concoctions were required.  The dilemma became the time for the blue to set.  Do we send the liquid home with the kids?  If so, in what?  A disposable cup?  That certainly is not an environmentally-friendly Earth Day message!

The next piece of news is that, at long last, I got a commitment from Mary, our plumber's office manager.  She had been enthusiastic about the event from the beginning.  Since she obviously could not convince one of the guys to come, she decided to come herself.  However, she took it a step further and got permission to bring a low flow toilet and tankless water heater with her.  How cool is that?

I had collected all of the door prizes, borrowed the tables from the Peaceful Dragon, picked up the t-shirts (which looked even more awesome than I expected), labeled boxes for recyclables, made event signage from card board boxes I got at work, borrowed a rental tent from work, and distributed surveys.  Now all that remained was to watch the weather and wait...

Save the Drama for Your Mama!

This is the part of the blog, where I allow myself to complain vociferously, so if you are not interested in complaining you should skip to the next entry.

The weather forecast has been deteriorating to the point that there is a 90% chance of severe weather on Saturday.  The HOA finally announced that Sunday, which should be gorgeous, is the rain date.  I am praying that my "chicken guy" and "plumber chick" (story for another post) can still attend.  Actually, it sounds like she is in, but I have not heard from him.

Yesterday I went to the community garden as instructed by my contact at the county to get Wipe Out Waste brochures and leaves for the composting demo.  My contact, who has been with the county for 20 years, was embroiled in some sort of drama, and left abruptly saying that she was about to lose her job and had messed up.  Further, the leaves were not leaves, they were mulch.  I searched high and low to find the brochures, which, thankfully, I did find with the help of another volunteer.  My wife Joselle had left work early to help me gather the leaves, and I needed to come up with a Plan B quickly.  I remembered my friend Ruth complaining about the abundance of leaves in their yard, which backs up to a greenway, so I called her.  She was home and told us to come on over.  We gathered 8 bags of leaves, which is plenty for the demo.  All is well that ends well, I guess.  But the drama does not end there.

My dog, who is ordinarily very sweet, has been having terrible behavioral issues around food guarding to the point that I thought he was going to bite me yesterday.  Between giving him up or hiring a behaviorist, we chose to hire a behaviorist.  No doubt the fees will be exorbitant.  My computer, whose hard-drive crashed and was replaced last semester, is showing signs of crashing again.  Everything is backed up, but that is still another large unexpected expense!

My brother-in-law, who is a wonderful human being and skilled craftsman, left for Des Moines today.  Unfortunately, he is also a slob, leaving messes in his wake.  It  has been difficult to study (and keep the dog calm) with so much activity in the house, which has been torn apart for one project or another since Christmas break.  Having my brother-in-law living with us immensely added to the complications.  (The other workers go home at night, but we still have a messy house guest to feed and entertain.  And we are both in school.)

My wife picked the day her brother left, actually the minute he left, to get irate and start cleaning up his messes.  This was no doubt a self-protective measure, given that they only see each other once a year and her parents and other brother are deceased.  (It is easier to be mad than sad.)  However, the problem for me came when I realized that I was supposed to be cleaning too!  I have an event in two days; I have things to do - lots of them!

I naturally seek tranquil surroundings, particularly when I need to focus.  I feel that life has been chaotic all semester, which is particularly affecting my stress level.  An important lesson for me in all of this is finding a way to maintain my calm in the midst of the insanity around me.  I have been going to the gym more regularly, and the blog has helped me to maintain sharp focus on my project.  Still I have allowed my stress levels to get out of hand.  (I ended up in the ER about three weeks ago with chest pains, which I think were stress induced.  The verdict is still out, but it was not life-threatening.)  I know I am living in a turbulent world, and I usually manage the stark realities of that fairly well.  But when my home life is feeling tumultuous, I have a more difficult time maintaining my own balance.  I wonder if the turmoil I feel is symptomatic of what is going on in the world.  Regardless, it is important for me to find a way to maintain my balance.

A Tale of Two Brothers-In-Law

My brother-in-law Kevin (wife's younger brother) is a carpenter.  He is both visiting from Des Moines and working for hire on some household projects for us this month.  Since he is temporarily living in our home and working on our home, Kevin is consulting me on most decisions so that we can discuss the potential environmental impact.  I'm quite proud of how he has adapted to our lifestyle, which is radically different from his and his family's back home.  A few days ago Kevin, who I call the King of the One-Liners, called back to me as he headed outside, "Who knows, the planet you save may be mine!"

At first I was amused, then I had an idea - What if the kids at the Earth Day Event had shirts that read, "The planet you save is mine"?  It would be a cool gift, and hopefully have an impact on their parents about the importance of protecting the environment for their children's future.  Then I had a second idea - my brother-in-law Thomas (my sister's husband) runs several businesses, one of which is a chain of t-shirt shops.  Thomas and I sent several e-mails back and forth to work out the following details: his shop in Charlotte could prepare organic, unbleached cotton t-shirts for us with anything we wanted on them for $5.50 each.  According to Thomas, the real cost is $9.50 each.  Maybe there was a reason I had been holding off on asking for money from the HOA after all.

Next I called the HOA President's wife Michele, my ally and cheerleader, and she loved the idea.  She even said she was willing to subsidize the cost as needed to make it happen.  How cool is that?  We worked on the design (shown below), and added "greening the 'hood" to the back of the shirts.  We have placed an order for 20 kids shirts and several adult shirts too.  I love it when a plan comes together!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Ugh!  The 10-day forecast shows "showers" for Saturday, April 16 (40% chance), and "few showers" for Sunday, April 17 (30% chance).  I spoke with Bill from the HOA about selecting a rain date just in case, and he will talk to the other members.  The problem is that the following weekend is Easter.  Fingers crossed that the forecast changes.

In other news, I heard back from Holli at Healthy Home Market!  First, I sent an e-mail saying words to the effect that I understand if you are busy or can no longer help with the event, but I hope I have not offended you in some way.  Second, I let go of the outcome.  I heard from her very quickly by e-mail and spoke with her by phone today.  She is unclear about what she will provide, but she is committed to something.  We scheduled a tentative pick up of the mystery items on Friday, April 15.  She also asked if I would consider doing a presentation in the future (topic to be decided) in the community room of the store.  She is the person responsible for coordinating events.  What an exciting opportunity!  It will be interesting to see where this leads...

Countdown!

With a little over a week before the Earth Day event, I am experiencing some anxiety about the project.  While I believe everything will go well, I tend to be a worrier - especially when organizing so many moving parts.  I imagine this serves me well by insuring that I am checking my list twice.

I met with the HOA Board on Tuesday, April 5, and found extremely enthusiastic support in one member Michelle, the wife of the Board President.  The President Bill tends to be a stoic guy, but he agreed to chat with some neighbor musicians about playing at the event.  I was able to draw out another member Heather, who, in my opinion, does not see herself as an environmentalist, by suggesting that she might talk about the money she and her husband Todd are saving by taking the bus to work.  (They had recently been in the store where I work looking for insulated lunch bags and shared that they were using the bus system.)  Heather became very animated when she realized that she did have something to contribute to the conversation.  The fourth board member Brooke is planning to put her house on the market soon and could not stay for the whole meeting.

I decided not to ask the board for funding, because I really could not justify in my mind the need to buy things.  Though everyone will set up and manage the event, I did not accomplish my goal of getting people assigned to specific tasks.  The meeting was a bit disjointed primarily because Bill's and Michelle's 70 pound puppy was running in and out, knocking things over, and jumping on people during the meeting.  Heather was excited about the clothing, book, toy swap, so I will ask her to manage it.  I plan to give Bill a list of acceptable recyclable items from the county and our electronics partner, so that he can man that station.  Michelle will be herself, a general cheerleader who makes sure that everyone is engaged and having fun.  She also demonstrates the greatest awareness of environmental issues and will be drumming up support for her idea of greening the neighborhood.  She wants to incorporate a green theme into all of the neighborhood events for 2011.

In other news, the board gave permission for a friend of Randy's (of Rooster Hill Farms) to sell iced coffee drinks at the event.  Since we are providing reusable bottles, I requested that his friend not bring disposable cups.  My neighbor Ji has agreed to take pictures at the event.  And Joselle is planning to do a practice run on natural egg coloring this weekend.  I have been in touch with my plumber's office, but still have no commitment from him.  I have attempted to contact Holli at Healthy Home Market twice this week without success.  Perhaps I chalk that up to "you win some, you lose some."

In the time that remains, I will make signs and complete handouts for the event.  Based on the conversation at the meeting on Tuesday, I will also brainstorm ways to make the composting more kid-friendly and to include a kid-friendly Leave No Trace portion, which may occur at a set up REI rental tent, if I am able to borrow one.  The wisdom is that if the kids are engaged, the parents will come and stay longer!