Conservation swag

[Marsha Meyer]

Does your state agency give away swag at conferences, meetings, or conventions? If you do, what items are conservation minded AND popular? Reusable straws? Rain gauges? What are your creative ideas?

[Aimee Figgatt]

The West Virginia Conservation Agency only utilizes these types of items when we have a direct educational component with them. It’s always great to get your name and mission out to the public and when you can add education along with it, it’s much more beneficial and no longer swag but instead education and outreach materials. Making sure we never waste taxpayer-funded program dollars on trinkets is important to our executive director.

We provided reusable shopping bags. We use these bags to give educators educational materials. These bags include a flyer about decreasing plastic bag use.

We have purchased water bottles and offer informational rack cards detailing the importance of reducing the use of one-time plastics due to the environmental impact on water quality and aquatic life. We outlined the number of plastic water bottles that are found in our waterways yearly, the lack of recycling capabilities of many communities in WV, and how much money can be saved by refilling a reusable bottle. We also created an NPS-water/recycling activity book that can be distributed with the bottles that have a “Family Water Bottle Challenge” inside. Giving students a chance to calculate the savings on their carbon footprint by using refillable bottles over plastic. I’m happy to share!

We also have distributed rain gauges, with information about flooding and the issues that arise from that. Educational material included: Rain totals impact on soil and topsoil erosion. Benefits of rain barrels and prevention of nonpoint source pollution from stormwater runoff.

We have a spring seed program and provide infographics with that for better soil health in the garden, low to no-till gardening, raised beds, water harvesting and the quality of it, as well as planting with native pollinators and more!

Great success was found by using the reusable/compostable straws along with plant-based “feels like plastic” strong reusable utensil sets, reusable sandwich baggies, lunch bags, and a tote in a “Reduce Your Use” lunch kit given out to students with coloring and activity books.

Happy to share any of this with you 🙂

[Joey Breaux]

The LDAF / Office of Soil & Water Conservation has been handing out rain gauges with the LDAF color logo, and stainless steel seed depth indicators with a bottle opener on the top end and the agency name engraved. These items have been very popular and have been funded through a partner entity.

[Marsha Meyer]

Great idea to include informational flyers with the materials.

[Author]

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