At the Endangered Species Coalition, our priority is the safety of our staff, our members, and the general public. That’s why we’re changing the way we celebrate Endangered Species Day this year.
Endangered Species Day, which falls on May 15th, is an important opportunity for people to celebrate and learn about endangered wildlife. Normally, hundreds of public events are held across the world for Endangered Species Day. This year, because of the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, we know that most public events will have to be cancelled or postponed.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything to celebrate the importance of wildlife and wildlands!
Here are several ideas for successful Endangered Species Day 2020 events and activities:
Host virtual talks or workshops about endangered species. This could be a talk from a biologist, ecologist, zookeeper, wildlife advocate, or other expert. You can find a list of free and inexpensive video-conferencing platforms for hosting talks and workshops here.
Use social media. Create a video, podcast, or graphic about endangered species and share it on social media platforms, or invite people in your network to participate in some kind of social media challenge. You can also livestream talks, book readings, or other activities. We have sample language, graphics, and tweets here. Don’t forget to include the hashtag #EndangeredSpeciesDay.
Organize a clean-up. Invite people to clean up local beaches, parks, or other habitat as individuals or families, maintaining social distancing. Consider providing people with a way to track their impact and see how they’ve contributed to a wider effort.
Create children’s activities that families can do from home. Offer an online lesson or storytime for children or families, provide worksheets or coloring pages,or distribute instructions for easy at-home crafts related to endangered species. See ideas for ES Day arts and crafts projects here.
Be sure to register any events or activities on our Endangered Species Day registry, which you can find at www.endangeredspeciesday.org. This helps more people find your event — even if it’s a social media challenge, an online workshop, or another event without a physical location. You can write “Online Event” in the address box for digital activities.
If you have already registered events that are now cancelled, postponed, or changed, please do not forget to edit them accordingly.
With any questions about event ideas or registration, please feel free to reach out to Sarah Starman, the Endangered Species Day Director, at [email protected].
