The organizers of the Third Annual Earth Day San Francisco celebration believe that environmentalism’s future rests in the hands of today’s youth.
By Bill Picture
Published: April, 2013
The organizers of the Third Annual Earth Day San Francisco celebration believe that environmentalism’s future rests in the hands of today’s youth.
Sure, continuing to reinforce the tenets of sustainable living to the already energy-saving, hybrid-driving, composting-and-recycling masses is important, because it’s always possible to exist just a little bit greener. But it’s in the inner cities where the event’s organizers hope to effect the biggest change, so it’s no coincidence that they chose San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza—the nearest outdoor space for residents of one of the City’s last ungentrified neighborhoods—as the location for the annual event, which happens Saturday, April 20.
The new green generation
"Sure, we want the usual people—people who go to the Green Festival, the Sierra Clubbers, bird-watchers—to come and have a good time," said Earth Day San Francisco’s Producer and Artistic Director Douglas Kolberg. "But our focus more and more is on creating an urban event and a youth-oriented event."
"People who live in lower-income parts of the City already have some peripheral knowledge about what it means to be green, but not much hands-on wisdom. That’s what we want to change." To that end, Kolberg and his team are assembling as many tactile experiences as their time and budget will allow, the goal being for Earth Day participants to walk away with more than "gee, that was nice" on their minds.
For instance, the entirely solar-driven event will include an area where the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition will show kids how to repair old bikes donated by the San Francisco Police Department. At the end of event, those refurbished bikes will be given away. The San Francisco Permaculture Guild will also be handing out seeds and providing planting instructions, so that people go home and use the seeds to start their own gardens.
"This event has to be more than just a day in the park," Kolberg said. "It needs to be a springboard for action through the rest of the year. I know that every green event says that, but I really want to do it."
While Kolberg is confident that the way to accomplish his goal is by providing an interactive experience for attendees, he doesn’t presume to know the best way to engage notoriously hard-to-reach teenagers in the green dialogue. For that, he’s enlisted the help of organizations already leading the green-youth charge, such as Teens Turning Green. Formed in Marin County, Teens Turning Green helps promote eco-responsible lifestyles among young people.
"That’s the new green generation," said Kolberg. "We are giving groups like Teens Turning Green space at the event to do whatever they want. The idea is to empower them to be the next generation of organizers and activists."
Kolberg understands how the overall identity that he shapes for the event complements these groups’ outreach efforts, so he’s working hard to avoid tired stereotypes that might dissuade young people from attending because they think the event isn’t going to be cool.
"We’re trying to shake the whole hippie, do-gooder thing and make being green more hip and sexy," Kolberg explained. "It sounds funny, but it’s what we have to do to reach young people."
To help up Earth Day San Francisco’s cool ante, Kolberg has aligned forces with the Burning Man set. While few of the inner city youth that comprise Kolberg’s target demographic may have attended the fiery goings-on that take place in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert every Labor Day weekend, they’ve undoubtedly heard of it. And let’s face it, what teenager isn’t intrigued by the idea of watching a stories-high man set ablaze in the middle of the remote desert?
What Burning Man brings to the table is more than just cool factor. The annual event and its tens of thousands of participants adhere to stringent self-prescribed green standards, leaving behind no trace of themselves when they evacuate their desert home after a week of dusty revelry. In other words, they practice exactly what they preach. "Burning Man adds a cool flavor to our event, and I’m really proud to have them as a strong partner," Kolberg said.
Given it’s 2013 and the Bay Area is home to many of the world’s biggest and most innovative technology outfits, it only makes sense for Earth Day San Francisco to have a technology component. The event provides the perfect platform for those companies creating eco-geared apps to strut their techy stuff in front of people who not only share their love of doodads, but also their passion for sustainability. "A lot of the apps have to do with saving energy," Kolberg said. "It’s a great opportunity for people to try out an app and see if they like it without having to download it to their phone."
One Green Voice
Every year, Earth Day San Francisco chooses a theme. This year’s is "One Green Voice." "The idea behind that is to reach out to everyone—the business community and the artistic community and the general public; because nothing is really going to happen until all of these various communities and people come together and start working together to tackle the challenges our environment faces," Kolberg said. "That what ‘one green voice’ means."
And in terms of speaking with one voice, the organizers of Earth Day events have a jump start on the rest of us. Organizers of many of the larger events know each other, share resources and even help cross-promote. This year, Earth Day celebrations happening around the world will join forces for a synchronized meditation intended to connect its many, many participants to the very planet on which they are standing.
"We’re calling it a ‘med-mob," Kolberg said. "It’ll happen at every Earth Day event on the planet at noon. We’re really excited about it. That’s a great example of people working together to achieve something they’re all passionate about."
Earth Day San Francisco
April 20, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Civic Center Plaza, San Francisco. Free. For more information, visit www.earthdaysf.org.
