Organise jointly with a school or youth group, and for wider participation ask them to invite friends and neighbours. Link with a particular site or activity which you hope to promote. A fun day should:
- generate good publicity for a group or project
- help build contacts with the local community
- provide an opportunity for local people to enjoy some different activities, and also to make their own contribution with time or skills. An externally organised ‘professional’ event will have less benefit than a simpler low-key event to which local people have contributed.
Joining with an established event such as a school or community fete, bazaar or carnival may also be a possibility. Event organisers are often looking for different ideas and attractions, and where the aims of the two groups do not conflict, a joint event can be mutually beneficial. Conservation volunteer groups can thus support a local event, build contacts, provide activities and possibly gain views on a local issue such as a tree planting scheme through a questionnaire or ‘planning for real’ exercise.
Richmond, Surrey
A popular annual TCV event is the Richmond Woodland Open Day, held on the same weekend each May. The event is sponsored by Richmond Council, with money raised from recycling projects. The aim of the event is to provide an interesting, enjoyable day out, where people can watch and have a go at traditional woodland crafts. The day also helps inform people about the need for woodland management, and provides good publicity for TCV.
