Post 6.

In addition to working on Community Outreach projects I also participated in ADEQ outreach events. ADEQ participates in several enviro events across the state all year round. Interacting with the public is a major priority of each division at ADEQ and all employees are encouraged to attend any and all events they can fit into their schedule. This aspect of the job is embraced by many of the employees who often put extra time and effort into planning these events to ensure that the public is receiving the best information possible in an engaging and interesting way. The Earth Day Event at the Cesar Chavez Plaza downtown was an especially fun event I attended because it was as much a learning experience for me as it was for the public. It's always a challenge to figure out how you will attract people to your booth long enough to get them the information they need. Some organizations gave away recycled bags or they had other fancy giveaways. While this is a great strategy it is also a very expensive one and for a department like ADEQ who is not necessarily trying to expand their "brand" it is not a tactic they often use.

With budgets becoming even more restrictive there is a need for cheap and creative solutions. Talking with some of my superiors, I recalled a class from my undergrad that dealt with persuasion. There are several harmless tactics that one can use in order to motivate people to behave in a certain way. Social proof is one of those strategies that works very well in an environment where there will be a lot of traffic and you are trying to gain participation and create interest in your product or message. Since we had to work with what we brought with us, we utilized the Earth Day Pledge Sheet to draw attention to our organization and let the social proof theory work its magic. Just the fact that passerby's saw people signing our giant pledge sheet was enough to get them to come over and check out our booth. In the end, we got people to commit to recycling in some capacity, they felt good about being a part of something important, and we were able to put a face to ADEQ so that people didn't feel so intimidated about asking important environmental questions.