On 27 April, the Latvian National Museum of Natural History (Krišjāņa Barona iela 4, Riga) launched the Latvian Fund for Nature (LDF) campaign ‘Accidental Party Animal’ for organising nature- and climate-friendly events.

At the event, the LDF presented a handbook for organising nature- and climate-friendly events and invited various organisations to sign a Memorandum of Goodwill. Also, from 27 April to 21 May, the Museum of Natural History will host the exhibition ‘Party Animals’, which explores what happens in nature when we do not clean up after ourselves.

Liene Brizga-Kalniņa, Communications Manager of the Latvian Fund for Nature, says: ‘Humans are social creatures; we want to meet, celebrate and rejoice with others. We are party animals. However, our parties frequently come to an end, but their environmental impact continues until the last piece of confetti is decomposed. Consequently, it is possible for anyone, even those who do not mean to, to become party animals. With a guide to environmentally and climate-friendly activities and the campaign ’Accidental Party Animal’ , we encourage people to reduce the environmental impact of their events. This should be a logical step in a time of biodiversity and climate crisis, but not everyone is prepared for it. Our handbook will take you step by step towards greener actions.’

The LDF project ‘Game On! Don’t let climate change end the game’ has created a digital handbook with tips on how to organise a climate-friendly event: https://climategame.eu/greener-festival/. It covers five event organisation themes: catering, waste, energy and water, transportation and location. Users may tick off the information of their planned event and receive personalised recommendations, or use the full version. Anyone who organises an event – from birthday parties with friends to children’s parties to international conferences and music festivals – is the target audience.

The campaign ‘Accidental Party Animal’ was launched on 27 April at the Museum of Natural History, where the LDF invited representatives of various organisations to sign a Memorandum of Goodwill for the organisation of nature- and climate-friendly events. It was signed by representatives from the Riga City Council (Mairita Lūse), festivals ‘AMPA’ (Ieva Morica) and ‘Laba daba’ (Gundega Turnele) and the organisation ‘Mammamuntetiem.lv’ (Inga Akmentiņa-Smildziņa). During the campaign, the LDF will provide the opportunity for any organisation or company that wishes to organise more environmentally and climate-friendly events to sign the memorandum.

Supporting the LDF campaign, the head of the Housing and Environment Committee of the Riga City Council, said: ‘We are in the process of implementing eco-friendly guidelines in our events and hope to inspire others to do the same. We are taking the first steps to meet these challenges by counting CO2 emissions from events, reducing waste, developing a deposit container system and reducing the use of plastic bottles. But the most important challenge this year is the Latvian Song and Dance Festival, which must bring joy not only to the citizens, but also to the environment!’

The campaign also launched the ‘Party Animals’ exhibition, which looks into the impact and consequences of events on nature. It will be on display at the Museum of Natural History’s Zoology exhibition on the 3rd floor from 27 April to 21 May.

More information about the Museum of Natural History is available here: https://www.dabasmuzejs.gov.lv/en.

Skaidrīte Ruskule, Director of the Latvian National Museum of Nature: ‘We are delighted that visitors of the museum, students and families with children, will be able to learn about the handbook and message of the campaign. We hope that this will help get the message out to a wider audience and foster a better understanding of the short- and long-term effects of our festivals and parties on nature, encouraging them to make the right decisions, put in the effort and plan future picnics more responsibly.’

The handbook for organising nature- and climate-friendly events was written by environmental journalist Elīna Kolāte and LDF experts. It is freely accessible to everyone interested. The handbook is available here: https://climategame.eu/greener-festival/en/.

The campaign ‘Accidental Party Animal’ story of Fozefs the boar is available here: https://youtu.be/VZUFc9bmvdc.

The campaign ‘Accidental Party Animal’ video about Astrid the frog can be watched here: https://youtu.be/6_wqFnEktlM.

About the project ‘Game On! Don’t let climate change end the game!’

The project ‘Game On! Don’t let climate change end the game’ is an initiative created by 10 partners in 8 countries in Europe with the aim of deepening the public’s understanding of climate change and how individual actions can facilitate a sustainable and climate-friendly development. The project is implemented in Latvia by the Latvian Fund for Nature. The project ‘Game On! Don’t let climate change end the game’ is co-funded by the EU DEAR (Development Education and Awareness Raising) programme.

Information prepared by:

Dita Stalovska

Communication representative

Latvian Fund for Nature

+371 22368037

dita.stalovska@ldf.lv