The annual calendar has many days set aside to celebrate important days for humanity. There are many important days with an environmentally related theme. Since there are many environmental challenges facing humanity, it is possible to designate any day to be an environment day. People could be mobilized to come together and undertake activities to address the environmental challenges affecting them.
Most people do not know what to do to mark an environmental day. Here below is a list of Fifty suggested innovative activities to mark an Environment Day at institutional and individual level.
1. Participate in tree planting, clean-ups within the institution or at community level
2. Engaging the media to publicize the greening activities in learning institution
3. Saturate institutional websites with reports of ongoing green interventions
4. Organize outdoor fun / learning activities
5. Greening/integrating environmental aspects in workplans and teaching approaches
6. Organize drama and art activities on environmental issues
7. Initiate or upscale waste recycling activities
8. Organize competitions such as sports, art etc with environmental theme
9. Invite knowledgeable people to give a talk on an environmental issue and what could be done
10. Develop and disseminate awareness materials customized on an environmental theme
11. Teachers to read a speech during assembly from the Cabinet Secretary Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources on the Environment Day
12. Arrange a speech competition among best debaters of the school on an environmental theme
13. Organize a poster competition and give awards to makers of best posters
14. Organize a skit competition and give award to best performers
15. Students to write essays on significance of an environmental issue
16. Mount posters at eye-catching spots telling people about an environmental issue
17. Develop short green slogans and publicize them
18. Organize a peaceful march within the locality for the environment and display placards
19. Avoid use of polythene bags and polluting the environment
20. Switch off gadgets that use electricity if not needed
21. Write to Member of County Assembly, members of parliament, government and newspapers on the local environmental issues that need to be addressed
22. Assess areas where environmental degradation has taken place and raise awareness on what should be done
23. Organize an exhibition for different people and institutions to display their green practices
24. Mobilize communities to plant trees in farms
25. Avoid activities leading to environmental degradation
26. Take measures to conserve soil
27. Promote water and energy conservation
28. Promote awareness on smart agriculture
29. Promote awareness and adoption of better environmental practices
30. Give green champions/worker awards to members of staff who demonstrate greatest commitment to environmental conservation
31. Study the latest institutional environmental, health and safety audit progress report and publicise it among staff and in the media to demonstrate commitment to green economy. This will motivate other industrial players to follow suit.
32. Write on social media platform such as Facebook and Twitter and that of your friends about your thoughts and actions regarding the Environment Day
33. Design and develop an environmental themed customized poster and post it on your social page timeline
34. Search the internet for environmental information related to the environment day theme and share it within your social platforms
35. Search for green groups on the internet and share your environmental concerns with them
36. Participate in environmental discussions initiated on social media by other environmentalists
37. Conduct a competition on social media on the environment day theme to raise environmental awareness
38. Press the “Like button” on all shares done by others on social media to encourage sharing more environmental awareness messages
39. Organize a panel discussion of imminent environmentalists to discuss a pertinent environmental issue
40. Organize an awareness caravan of vehicles branded with environmental messages and with enhanced sound equipment to reach many people with environmental awareness.
41. Visit the UN Environment website page on the Environment Day to get more updates
42. Religious institutions such as churches, mosques and temples to include environmental messages in their sermons to their congregation.
43. Buy, promote and use food items grown or sourced using environmentally friendly practices
44. Develop appropriate documentaries and avail them online or broadcast them on TV or Radio
45. Visit the members of the community, explain the local environmental challenges and spend time with them improving the environment
46. Engage all your institutional stakeholders to dispose waste appropriately
47. Organize a beauty contest to promote environmental consciousness
48. Organize and publicize for participation in a non-motorized week/day for your institution and local community whereby people walk/cycle instead of driving. They could also use public instead of individual transport
49. Buy, promote and use green products that save energy, are recyclable, do not emit greenhouse gases, are not hazardous
50. Organize an environmental clinic/open day when experts assemble at a place, interact with members of the community and respond to any green economy related questions.
51. Undertake an environmental audit of the impact of your institution or individual activities and their impact on the environment.