April is known fools, for showers (that bring May flowers … lovely, BTW!), and for Earth Day (where the April Fool becoming the Worldly Wise). Celebrated since 1970 on the 22nd, this was the 46th fest “to inspire, challenge ideas, ignite passion, and motivate people to action … channeling human energy toward environmental issues.” according to EarthDay.org.
We celebrate it here for over a week, not just because as our shared planet deserves more, but also because we can make just 1 super-fun lobby display and use it 7 times, rather than making 7 simultaneous displays … reduce and reuse at its finest! Also, I get to go to all sites instead of cloning myself for a very eco-friendly Orphan Black episode.
To get a flavor for the events, I’m turning the mic over to one of our amazing student interns, Afra:
I’ve taken a part of a few Earth Week activities in the past but they were not as fun and engaging as UHN. I learned that simply giving out brochures won’t increase the awareness of Earth week and it definitely won’t get people interested in reading facts printed in black ink off the display board. At UHN, they know how to do it in an entertaining way. Let’s be honest, who wouldn’t want to play Spin the Wheel!
This was the smartest and most creative Earth Week activity that I’ve taken part of to date. After spinning the wheel, you had to find out if the facts related to keeping our Earth clean and green were true or a myth. MYTH BUSTERS! I can’t think of a better way of having the audience engaged and learning at the same time.
Recycling is always a topic during Earth Week and it is taken very seriously at UHN. Now, they didn’t leave the participants with posters labeled with what goes in what bin … they offered a challenge. Would you say no to a challenge? Participants were given various materials to guess if it went into the recycling, waste or compost bin. They learned and had fun at the same time.
Lastly, what a better way to end it than by putting your name in a raffle to win a PRIZE and getting COUPONS!
And we definitely went through a lot of coupons so that people could bring energy saving habits home with them. (hint, you can get these any time at Save On Energy … check it out!). Enjoy more photos here, or look on our facebook page for the whole shebang (extra good karma points if you Like the page while you’re there :).
A big thank you to the over 30 green team members that helped out and the over 500 staff, visitors, volunteers and even patients that took time to say hi, learn something and show a little love to our shared home.
Click here for the full UHN Earth Week 2016 album.
Talkin' Trash With UHN 