Suggestions for PlanetRecapture Organizational Teams

Remember: these are recommendations. Each Independent PlanetRecapture Organizational Team can modify as needed. Be creative and share ideas! 1. Form a PlanetRecapture Organizational Team a. Elect an Organizer to keep people organized. This position could last for a year, or maybe even better, change from meeting to meeting so more people get to learn how to be a good organizer and manager b. Form an Organizing Team with the Committee Heads i. School Representative one representative who can serve on the PlanetRecapture Executive Committee which helps to coordinate work between schools ii. Safety who will be trained and who will train others? (See below for more safety info.) iii. Marketing elect PlanetRecapture representatives for every class, or at least every grade, who can make announcements in class. (See Section 6 below for much more information on ways that a marketing campaign can work.) iv. Sponsors/Food choose a few people who can call local businesses and organizations to provide support, from cleaning equipment to food for parties. Insures that the food and supplies are at the meetings. Try to find sponsoring businesses as close to the school as possible and try not to overburdon any one business or sponsor with more than one PlanetRecapture school group. Some sponsors can be shared with other area PR groups (Linder Tire in Iowa City, for example, committed to recycling all tires retrieved from Iowa City area parks and wilderness areas by ICCSD PlanetRecapture groups. Rick at the Iowa City store, and the CEO, Mr. Linder, know about the program. The Iowa City Bike Library committed to taking any abandoned bikes in ponds or streams for reusing parts or disassembly and recycling. Email PlanetRecapture@gmail.com for details on sponsors who can be shared.) v. Recycling This committee works to insure that the school has cleanup supplies (buckets, bags, gloves, etc.) provided by the City Government or sponsors like MidAmerican Energy. Coordinates who will sort of recyclables and transport to recycling center? Who has cars to transport larger items tires (to Linder Tire), bikes (to Iowa City Bike Library), etc. to local businesses, organizations or landfills to be reused or recycled? vi. Water Quality Testing in Iowa, we have the outstanding IOWATER program. A committee should learn how the tests

work, collaborate with IOWATER program staff or IOWATER testers who have test kits to learn the process, and teach others. Everyone gets a turn to test something: Let everyone get their hands wet, but keep their feet dry. Committee is responsible for recording all testing data on the IOWATER testing forms (clipboards help). After all data are collected, they should enter data on IOWATER website (email planetrecapture@gmail.com to set up testing site in the park which the school or group will adopt, and Login information for the IOWATER website). Committee should also keep inventory of all items in testing kit, and notify Lynette Seigley or Mary Skopec at the IOWATER program to send more supplies when needed. vii. Recording committee is responsible for taking pictures and videos of all meetings, writing short Success Stories to report what each meeting accomplished (how many bags of recyclables removed, how many people participated, etc.) which can be used for school newsletter or website, or posted on the Facebook page, etc. viii. Equipment organizes cleanup supplies (see below), borrowing boots and/or waders from the Oakdale Research Center (on the UI Oakdale Campus) where IOWATER is based, and returning them after the meeting. If sponsors can buy the equipment for each school, they can be kept in the building, making logistics easier. 2. Decide on the location, date and time a. Location i. Find a park or wild area that has a stream or pond, and if possible, a wooded area thats big enough to play Capture the Flag in ii. (see below for more info on how to play Capture the Flag, and see Planet Recapture Commitments document for some rules and guidelines for the game) iii. Try to find a location as close as possible to most families. Save time and gas. Try to bike or walk if possible. Carpool if needed. PlanetRecapture is a local, neighborhood-based, grassroots organization. We can keep our carbon-footprint neutral. b. Date i. Weekend afternoons work well if parents and kids organize transportation ii. After-school is great, especially if schools or social groups coordinate transportation. (If you find a site within walking distance of school, thats way cool.) iii. Most PlanetRecapture meetings are in Spring, Summer, and Fall. Winter is for spreading the movement and planning ahead. But if your winter is without snow and ice, get out there.

Time i. Most PlanetRecapture meetings last 3-4 hours. ii. Allow for 30 minutes or so for cleanup, up to 30 minutes for water quality testing, at least an hour for Capture the Flag, and at least 30 minutes for a party. See the Agenda document for more details on planning the meeting. 3. Develop and Follow a Safety Plan a. Sometimes for cleanups, unsafe materials could be found (hazardous, poisonous items, sharp metal or glass, even syringes). Lots of things get thrown into underbrush in parks or washed down riverbanks. ALL KIDS SHOULD BE TOLD NOT TO TOUCH ANY POTENTIALLY UNSAFE ITEMS, NOTIFY SAFETY TEAM IMMEDIATELY (WEARING SAFETY VESTS), AND FIND A PARENT, TEACHER, OR ADULT TO PROPERLY DISPOSE OF THEM. ALL PLANETRECAPTURE MEETINGS SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON SAFETY FIRST. IF YOU ARE SAFE, IT WILL BE FUN. b. An adult should be responsible for safety c. Kids can serve as team leaders and help oversee safety d. Orange vests or bright bandanas can be worn by safety team e. Buckets (some items are pointy or sharp and are hard to carry for recycling or disposal in bags), latex gloves, and thick bags are essential. Your local city government (In Iowa City, its the Public Works Deparement), local utility (Mid-American in Iowa provides free high-quality bags and gloves for cleanup), or other businesses or organizations can provide cleanup equipment and other support. Take initiative, ask them, build partnerships, and share responsibility. (See the document on how to find sponsors and partners for more information.) 4. Contact local government (or collaborate with local PlanetRecapture group if they are already coordinating with local authorities) a. Parks and Recreation Department i. Can provide safety training and cleaning equipment (buckets, bags, gloves, vests, etc.) ii. Can help select a site iii. Can help remove or recycle heavy items (heavy tires, pipes, fallen trees acting as strainers blocking water flow, etc.) b. Department of Public Works or Volunteer Management i. If city government has a water quality program, or volunteer management program, they can help get the word out, provide training, and other assistance ii. Be sure to get permission and notify responsible authorities.

c.

And if you want to be the first PR group to play Capture the Flag in white camoflague, and pretend youre on the ice planet Hoth, go for it, and be sure post your pictures on the Facebook page.

c. If you intend to work on private land, be sure to get permission before doing so. The owner may be concerned about liability (being responsible if anyone gets hurt), so PLEASE DO NOT TRESPASS. Rather, try to make the landowner a partner. The landowner will likely want their land cleaned and improved, as it helps them, and helps the wider community. We all are stewards of the land, and streams flow across public and private land, so lets be partners. In geek-speak, its called a Public-Private Partnership. At PlanetRecapture, we just call it common sense: sharing our resources and sharing responsibility. We all live downstream. Were all neighbors. So we work together. Thats what neighbors do. 5. Contact other PlanetRecapture groups in the area, or PlanetRecapture members for advice. Everyone is learning from everyone else. Collaborate. a. Find the nearest PlanetRecapture group, and if this is your first meeting, ask someone whos been in a PlanetRecapture meeting to come to yours, or just give advice beforehand b. Find out how to share resources between PlanetRecapture groups safety training, equipment, publicity, sponsors c. PlanetRecapture spreads from friend to friend, neighborhood to neighborhood 6. Marketing: Make announcements beginning at least two weeks in advance a. Make brief announcements in each classroom and at each group meeting The best way to spread the word is person to person, friend to friend. i. Appoint or elect a PlanetRecapture representative for each grade or class to make announcements ii. Make a one-minute announcement (ask teachers permission or get onto meeting agenda) iii. Pass out sign-up sheets Name, phone, email, parent name (see Sign-up Sheet document below and print them out for yourself, or change it to suit your needs). iv. Enter names from sign-up sheets (name, email, phone number, parents name and encourage everyone to PRINT so it is easy to read) onto an Excel spreadsheet or Google Doc spreadsheet (even better, since with a gmail account, you could give all PlanetRecapture organizers access to that document to coordinate activity). THE CONTACT LIST DOCUMENTS ARE REALLY CRITICAL. EMAILS CAN BE SENT OUT TO EVERYONE FOR UPDATES. v. Send email announcements vi. Send Facebook or Google Plus invitations vii. Pass out flyers (but paper is wasteful, so if you use paper, maybe use quarter sheets or half sheets, and try to use recycled paper) viii. Use any and every way to reach people

b. c. d. e. f.

ix. Make a few phone calls a couple days before the meeting to remind kids and get parents permission. This improves turnout. School newsletter School website or Facebook page Outdoor school sign Virtual Backpack contact school principal or superintendants office for district-wide announcements Listserves