How to Host a Covid-Safe Event for World Fish Migration Day 2022

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic saw the reimagining of World Fish Migration Day celebrations. The world rallied to create engaging virtual and outdoor events that brought millions of people together from their homes. Here are some tried and true ideas for hosting a virtual WFMD2022 event:

● Host a remote screening of Love Flows! This can be done even through online apps like Zoom, Skype or Google Hangout screen share! Want to make it interesting? Invite members and experts from your organization to host a panel Q&A after the screening to answer any questions the audience may have!

● Host a live video from your organization’s social media page. From virtual fish passage tours to fish releases to an educational series, many who are at home are interested in virtual escapes. It’s also a bonus that people can ask questions throughout the live video. Check out this example from our friends at the Connecticut River Conservancy!

● Host a webinar conference or meeting in place of a physical one. See here for a detailed webinar how-to guide, and scroll down for some quick webinar tips and ideas.

● Feeling creative? Make an animation or short video about the importance of migratory fishes and free-flowing rivers and an activity that can go along with it. Use this for your own event, present it at an online class or make it available for schools in your area to use and share for World Fish Migration Day.

● Virtual tours are all the rage during the Covid era! If you have a facility that houses fish, create a virtual underwater (or above water) tour with some awesome facts about the fishes in your aquarium.

● Do you have a fish cam in your river? Create an event out of it! Challenge others to identify, count, and spot fish throughout the day. Allow the audience to connect with each other by offering a way to comment on the page.

● Create a virtual reality or drone tour of your river basin, especially if it has been recently restored!

● Get kids involved by asking them to prepare a short skit or presentation about their favorite migratory fish to share with their class- creativity is encouraged.

These are just some ideas, but we are so excited to see the creativity of this year’s participants!

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Webinar Ideas and Tips

We value the safety of our river restoration practitioners and your communities in these uncertain times.

Remote or Web events make a great alternative and still allow you to show off amazing rivers, bring in great speakers and art, and can provide more access to people that might not have been able to travel to your event. For more ideas on creating remote events, visit our Participant Guide on the World Fish Migration Day website.

Try some of these engaging ideas:

● Include interviews from people at a river (test internet connectivity well and have a video as a backup)

● Make videos so share ahead of time (multiple river sites, or different times in a project)

● Bring in experts to talk about fish life history, movements, dam removal, culvert upgrades, technical fish passes, heat and chemical barriers to fish

● Develop a short film festival on river restoration and protection against dams followed by a panel discussion

Remember to develop common goals for your messages, practice with all participants, have backup plans (alternate hosts for videos or PowerPoints), and keep it fun and engaging with things like Mentimeter polls, or simple chats. Note that Zoom is free for meetings of 45 minutes or less, if you don’t have a professional account, you might consider several shorter webinars.