World Environment Day

World Environment Day

Well this is my last post for this reflective blog – I have just finished the big World Environment Day event I was asked to organise for Landcare WA. After grueling hours and more stress than I ever imagined possible I am pleased to say that it was a success. I managed to encourage 500 school aged children along to the event with coverage on Channel 10 and The West.com’s online TV channel.

The event went relatively smoothly with the exception of trying to cook 700 Free Range Chicken sausages provided by our sponsor for the event on the very slow electric BBQs provided by the Kings Park Saw Avenue Picnic venue.

I learnt that in light of event management quality should always be preferred to quantity. Whilst 500 children attending was a good selling point to the media the actual schematics of organizing an event for this many children were far reaching and perhaps more of an educational focus could have been achieved if there weren’t so many children to organise.

Another lesson learnt was being assertive in regards to people attending the event and not allowing them to influence the running schedule. If they are unable to fit in with the schedule for the event then they may not be able to participate. I tried to accommodate one school wishing to leave early to attend their sports carnival and therefore ended up having to make the other schools wait while I attempted to keep the demanding school happy. In hindsight I should have been more assertive and explained that if there was another event they were attending and this presented a time constraint then unfortunately they would be required to make a choice.

All in all the schools attending and staying for the entire duration of the event enjoyed themselves immensely and were very appreciative of the school pack sent through and the free t-shirts and chicken BBQ provided. I was happy with the media coverage also.

I look forward to event planning again but with the following lessons learnt;
· Running schedules are great but they need to be flexible
· Assertive approach to attending parties is required – you cannot tailor the event to every attending party and therefore need to stand strong on some points
· The media need to have an organised schedule of their own with timed and prearranged footage opportunities
· Have more volunteers than you think you need because you will ultimately need them
· Do not rely on anyone or anything – have a back up always!
· Couriers cannot be trusted to be on time – order everything well in advance to allow for lost or delayed freight
· Brief volunteers and officials before the venue date

I have Landcare Week coming up from the 7th until the 13th of September so let’s see if I can improve on my event planning and media coverage skills with the next event!

Over the duration of my placement I have realised that we really do have all the skills required to work within this industry however, there is no substitute for practical experience. Lessons are learnt faster and confidence is grown quicker through industry experience.

This entire 3 month period I have been working for Landcare Australia I have enjoyed thoroughly and I am truly excited about graduating and working for them further. Landcare Week should give me another opportunity to plan an event and gain increased media coverage as well as more opportunity to realise my potential and work within a great PR team over in Sydney.

I look forward to continuing my career in Public Relations – there isn’t a doubt in my mind that I have chosen the right career path!