Sunday, April 03, 2011

Picnic for the Planet ~ Earth Day 2011


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.

5 Things You Can Do: Make meaningful food choices that are good for you and the Earth. Here are five easy actions you can take to make your plate more planet-friendly. 
  1. Eat Smart:  Learn what’s in your food, where it came from and who it impacts.
  2. Eat Local:  Where possible, buy food that is in season from local food producers 
  3. Eat Sustainably:  Eat sustainable seafood — one of the only things that we eat that we still get from the wild.
  4. Eat Green:  Eat more fruits and vegetables — it's good for your health and the planet's. 
  5. Eat Out:  Join us in the Picnic for the Planet! 
Eat Out: 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.

Are you ready to plan your Picnic for the Planet? Simply log on to our MeetUp page and join a local picnic happening near you – or start your own!


Have more questions about Picnic for the Planet? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions below.
 
Be sure to share your picnic experience with us! Use #picnic11 to talk Planet for the Picnic on Twitter, and upload your picnic photos to Flickr™ with the #Picnic11 tag. (Need help with Flickr?


More ...

FAQs: 

Who Can Participate?

Picnic for the Planet is open to all.


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 site includes simple tools to make sharing your picnic easy, these including maps and widgets that can be easily added to add to your Facebook page, blog, etc.


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. (See what people are saying on Twitter and Flickr!)


Does my picnic have to be on the 22nd?

No, it can be in the week before, during the weekend after, whenever works best.

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.

And if you are willing to brave the elements, see the question below.


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…

  • Largest Picnic
  • Coldest Picnic
  • Highest Altitude Picnic
  • Cleanest Picnic (most positive impact on the location)
  • Northernmost Picnic
  • Southernmost Picnic
  • Most Remote Picnic
What else should I know?

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.


Can I help get the word out?

Of course you can! Invite your close-by friends to your picnic, and invite your far-flung friends to have their own. Use MeetUp.com's tools to share info about your picnic on your social networks. And don't forget to share photos and videos during and after the picnic!


Can I contact you?

Yes. E-mail earthday@tnc.org 


It's time to leave the winter blues behind and celebrate the beautiful spring coming our way.  What better way then to simply enjoy the outdoors with good friends and good food. So go ahead and plan a picnic already. :)


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