Here are some helpful planning tips:

Steps to Take Now

Discuss this community service project opportunity within your Club.
Reach out to a neighboring Club for input if this is the first time your Club is doing a Cleanup. Appoint a point person to chair the event. Some Clubs have even formed an environmental committee.

Review previous Cleanups and identify possible partners in your community.
Review and check in on the GLWC page on the District site from time to time for updates. If you have any suggestions or changes, please reach out. For example, we want to improve the District and Zone reporting system so we can state our collective success.

Ideally, the project work can be done on April 22, but your Club is welcome to have flexibility with that date (i.e. some clubs will prefer to cleanup on the weekend before or after the 22nd).
Ensure you are coordinating your dates and commitments across the Rotary calendar. Also, as a backup, discuss how to handle inclement weather – light rain, deal with it – torrential rain or an ice storm, well you may want to have a reserve date.

Communicate with your local municipality, conservation authority, and/or planned site partner(s) to identify sites that can be cleaned up.
If your Club has a great deal of experience, you may want to pick a more challenging site. You may also want to consider communicating anti-littering messages as well as make other earth-friendly choices and initiatives.

Begin thinking about the “day of”, noting such issues as:

Signage

Social media

News releases

Local press

Representation from local officials

More Actions to Take

Ramp up commitments from your Club members’ participation as well as involvement from partners and supporters.
This project is a good opportunity to showcase all your work to prospective members and convene an open house to discuss community health and environmental issues, etc.

Make sure you have considered a process whereby the Club is ready to have appropriate release forms signed (some partners may need this or have their own) and insurance-related coverage.

Attend and/or help arrange a Zoom webinar for organizers and group leaders.

Check in with key partners on:

Material donations such as bags and gloves

Logistics of the day like carpooling, parking, refreshments

Public image opportunities

Consider post-event activities, including:

Expanding into other environmentally related community service projects

Booking speakers

Reviewing your Club operations from an environmental impact point of view

Expanding the Rotary Environmental Impact

You should also know that efforts are under way to develop and enhance the Rotary experience across the Clubs and Districts in the Great Lakes. These points include:

Coordinating broader communications issues

Development of basin-wide supports including partnerships and resources

Creating a portal to log your clean-up results (garbage weight, number of bags, images, etc.)

Creating a space to:

Share your Club’s project with others

Showcase any new ideas or wrinkles you have created

Note any plans or expectations for the future

Help in developing this scale of the GLWC is welcome.

Need More Information?

Please refer to the District 7090 GLWC page or contact:
Phil Shames, District Service Projects Chair
📧 Rotarianphil@gmail.com
📱 Text/Voice: 905-570-6960