One of the things we’re most proud of at Earth Day Food & Wine Weekend is the fact that our event is ZERO WASTE.
What does that mean, exactly? It means that all of the items that normally make garbage at an event are repurposed, reused, recycled or composted. In fact, in 2014 we generated fewer than 2 lbs. of trash for an event of 1500 people. To put this in perspective the average person generates 4.3 lbs. of trash per day. And that’s just a normal, non-big-event day!
This is a monumental feat, but we really can’t take total credit for it. It’s the geniuses at Guerrilla Gardening Club who oversee all of our recycling and compost programs, and they do a brilliant job for us and for a variety of other clients. (We CAN take credit for hiring them, though!)
Guerrilla Gardening Club is a non-profit organization that educates young people in life skills like how to get a job, how to acquire job skills, how to apply for schools and stay in school and how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It’s free to join the Club, and members are required to participate in a variety of projects in order to receive the benefits of training. Guerilla Gardeners are responsible for a unique array of projects around the Central Coast, including (but not limited to) urban farming, landscape renovations, maintenance and upkeep of local parks, and other public service projects on a case-by-case basis.
“We do this work to raise funds,” explained Founder Taylor Newton. “If a local church, town, private event or anyone else calls with a project, we arrange a donation price that works for both parties, and we come a do the work. It’s a pretty simple, and a very affordable way for gardening, recycling and other projects to get done.”
Guerrilla Gardening Club is available for all kinds of projects, but they offer something truly unique with their Zero-Waste Event management.
“We will do Zero Waste weddings, concerts, events…any gathering,” said Newton. “We manage every aspect of inorganic recycling and compostables so that you can have a worry-free event that makes minimal environmental impact.”
“But we also take it one step further,” he continued. “We can perform lighthearted, humorous shows that help make Zero Waste easy to understand and fun. People can ask anything, and we’re there to answer any question about recycling, composting or anything else waste-related. We make recycling fun—and it is fun to reduce your impact on the environment!”
In addition, Guerrilla Garden Club can also provide security, errands, clean up or VIP hosting services for any event. “If you need anything for your event, just ask,” said Newton. “We can do anything from picking up the band to grabbing a burrito for the bride. There’s virtually nothing event-related we can’t help with.”
At its core Guerrilla Gardening Club is a service organization, albeit one that is designed to appeal to younger people. They serve their local community by taking on important work in return for donations; they serve their members by providing them with a way to get deeply involved in the community with projects that are, quite literally, hands on.
“Guerrilla Garden Club is a natural fit for Earth Day Food & Wine Weekend.” said Vineyard Team Executive Director Kris Beal. “They are go-getters who ‘get’ every aspect of sustainability from the earth to its people. We are delighted they have helped us get to Zero Waste for the past three years.”
Look for Guerrilla Gardening Club members at Earth Day Food & Wine Weekend! They’ll be the ones smiling over the compost pile, laughing through a performance and helping you find the right recycling bin. Say hello and thank them for their help. We couldn’t do it without them.