Do you want to do something different?
What next?
Have you ever considered doing something different, giving back and taking action rather than living life through social media?
“The Thames Project” is gaining a lot of worldwide momentum with 17m views on CNN alone. This momentum is of no use, unless we can take the project to the next level; run this project in every country with the help of passionate local leaders & change makers like you. Forget the ocean, let us not even allow plastic to get there! The plastic cycle starts here with us; on land, to the canal, river, sea, the ocean and back on our dinner plate.
Clearly the “Water Bike” is a great conversation starter; an eye catching tool to engage with children, parents and grandparents along the towpath or the river bank; who definitely stop to take a picture and ask “What the hell are you doing?”. The goal is not just to raise awareness about the dangers of plastics, microplastics and microfibres but also to inspire people to make small changes. See Dhruv’s TEDx Talk for more inspiration.
Our goal is to have 5 international cleanups events by the end of this year.
Do you want to join this journey and lead one of these cleanups? Many have already emailed or messaged us and we need more of you to help us. If you want to #TAKEACTION in your local community, please send an email to [email protected] . We will run the first trials by end of September.
If you do not want to work with “The Thames Project” but would still want to raise awareness on your own, these suggestions may be useful too. But remember, we all are working towards the same goal and we need all hands on deck to collaborate.
How do I run my campaign? Great! To start, these are the bare minimums:
- You will need to have “1. Passion”, “2. Standard Bike” , “3. Shuttle Bike Kit” & “4. Litter Picking Kit” . You can also make your own Bamboo Bike like me which will make your project super cool but making the bike will take time.
- Then you need to find a location. Remember, you want to engage with people; talk to them about the dangers of plastic. So an area with some people would be nice.
- Based on the location, it would be a good idea to check if you need a permit to ride your bike on the local river or canal or sea 😉 It would be a good idea to check the tides, weather for your safety.
- Set a date & time for the first event.
- Engage the local community, be it Kayak/SUP clubs or Cleanup Groups
- Funding: You may need to raise some money, but please DON’T LET FUNDING BE AN ISSUE in your campaign to protect the environment. Dhruv is working with Shuttle Bike to organize discounts or just renting the bike kit for your event. If you are making your own Bamboo Bike, I can talk to James for a discount too. From experience, If you have the funds; just make the first event happen. Fundraising can take up some time
- Let the media know. Use the existing videos linked above to promote the event
- Take loads of pictures and videos of people to share on social. Try and create a story for a good Content Strategy
- During the event day you can have your water bike or more on the water, as well as canoes/ SUP and other volunteers on the towpath and river bank to engage with curious passersby sharing the dangers of plastic
- Audit your collection and remember to work with a Waste Management Company or the local council to pick up the collected plastic litter
The GOOD NEWS is that, Dhruv has spent the last 18 months of his life bootstrapping this project and he knows the Red Tape, Safety Issues, Operational Challenges and Stakeholder Engagement. You can piggyback on The Thames Project‘s existing media profile to make your project a success.
Once you are onboard we will start working your detailed media plan, content & marketing strategy, funding strategy, operational, risk assessments etc.
As you may have guessed, we are extremely excited, passionate & keen to help you in any way possible. Why not do something different, give back, take action and lead a campaign rather than living it through social media. Do drop [email protected] an email and help us make a global impact.