Zero Waste Workshop

ZERO WASTE WORKSHOP

Talk & Workshop

Key Role: Event Team

Location: Full Bloom Tearoom, Falmouth

Date: April 2018

Background

Zero Waste Workshop was an educational and interactive event that aimed to inspire attendees to implement a more sustainable approach in their everyday lives by cutting down the amount of plastic that they consume. The workshop was held at Full Bloom Tea Room on 28th April 2018, from 12:00pm – 4:00pm. Taking inspiration from the current environmental issues that the planet is facing, with some estimates saying by 2050 there could be more plastic than fish in the sea (Potenza, 2017), the focus was to provide people with alternatives to the single-use plastics that they use daily. The event consisted of two parts; the first an informative talk by bloggers ‘A Zero Waste Life’ followed by a Q&A, and the second a workshop where attendees had the opportunity to make soap, wax wraps and produce bags. Food and drinks were also provided and a Zero Waste Starter Pack (tote bag, mason jar, stainless steel straw and bamboo toothbrush) was given to each attendee at the end.

Roles and Responsibilities

My main role within the group was mainly Marketing Manager. To begin with I wanted to create an online community; giving people the space to share their zero waste journeys, and inspiring one another. So on the 2nd March we launched the Zero Waste Falmouth Facebook page which got 205 likes in a few weeks. I then created a partner Instagram page also called Zero Waste Falmouth which currently has 555 followers. I managed both of these accounts, using them not only to share tips and ideas to help those interested in living more sustainably, but also to post reasons why moving towards a more sustainable way of life is so important in the current climate. Both accounts were very successful, with every post getting a number of likes and shares, and people private messaging to show their support and asking various questions about the zero waste movement in Falmouth.

Hall defines the marketing role as:

‘the function of event management that can keep in touch with the event’s participants and visitors (consumers), read their needs and motivations, develop products that meet these needs, and build a communication program which expresses the event’s purpose and objectives.'

(Hall cited in Bowdin 2012 p. 367)

I definitely took this into consideration with our marketing; when I started I took notice of what posts people were responding to most and used this to mould our marketing plan – which was successful due to persistence and consistency. I posted regularly; therefore increasing exposure to new people. Creating the two pages was also strategic, as it meant that when the time came to create the Zero Waste Workshop event page, we had already made a name for ourselves and gained a sizeable following. Through use of the Zero Waste Falmouth Facebook page it was possible to direct our target market to the event page, gaining a considerable about of interest for the event.

Skills Acquired

Stakeholder Liaison: communicating and working with the guest speakers, graphic designer, t-shirt maker, photographer and venue manager
Financial management: generating a budget and successfully raising £250 through a Crowdfunding Campaign
Co-ordinator: often referred to as the chairman, guiding the team to their objectives – shown when taking the initiative to make decisions when the rest of the team were being indecisive
Marketing: promoting the event through various online platforms and creating a legacy for Zero Waste Falmouth which was passed on to students in the year below who created a society at the university after we graduated

Photo Credit: Elliot Cauce

Poster Credit: Anete Nežberte