Objective 4: The Big Launch
Key Steps:
- Plan how to spread the message and get more people involved
- Coincide launch with national Go Green Week in February
- Launch and expand your Transition Uni projects and actions.
- Practical manifestations of transition begin to appear
Once your projects have been developed, it’s time to hold a Big Launch event to publicise the work you’ve already done and get more people involved.
By coinciding your Big Launch with People & Planet’s Go Green Week you can build on the excitement and momentum of activities already taking place. This is also a great opportunity to get staff support and funding as the university and union will be committed during this week to focusing on the environment.
Case study: Go Green Week in Kent
Kent People & Planet teamed up with their student union to put on themed activities each day of Go Green Week 2010:
- Meat-Free Monday: a veggie meal & quiz, meat-free promos & films
- Zero Waste Tuesday: a swap shop and reusable bag craft session
- Energy Wednesday: a march for wind-power
- Transport Thursday: a bike sale and Dr Bike workshop
- Biodiversity Friday: guided nature walks and free seeds
They used the activities to lobby their university for more veggie food and renewable energy on campus, improved recycling and composting facilities, and a university policy on internal flights. Find out more
1 . Think Big
Here are some ideas for Big Launch events:
- Showcase new schemes and projects by holding an open day or taster sessions.
- Hold a DIY Fair with stalls or workshops to share your group’s practical skills.
- Organise a fun activity and link it to an existing project e.g. a bike pub crawl to promote a cycling scheme
- Create a university ‘Pledge hedge’ or a ‘Wish Tree’- ask people to make a pledge to reduce their carbon footprint through
2. Get people along
The Big Launch should aim to be fun, accessible and include a diverse range of activities to suit all tastes. Here are some tips about attracting more than just the usual suspects:
- Hold your events in open public spaces where people gather anyway.
- Create a festival atmosphere- music, art and a chilled vibe will bring in people who may not usually be interested .
- Get other student societies involved e.g. ask the break dance society to perform at your event and bring their friends along.
- Send invites out to staff departments.
- Set up a facebook event
- Send a press release to your student and local paper and get uni radio stations to promote the event.
