10 Apr 2025
The inspiration for our spring 2025 action is a visit to the UK by our partners SAVE Rivers. In April and May 2025 Friends of the Earth will be hosting 11 Indigenous activists from Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo. During their visit, the Sarawakian activists will highlight the key role of Indigenous People as protectors of the world’s forests, as well as their crucial part in tackling the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate breakdown.
How can my group get involved?
Your group can get involved by taking part in a creative, visual solidarity action.
Over the weekend of 24 and 25 May your group can get involved by taking part in a photo stunt in solidarity with forest defenders.
Your participation will kickstart the Planet over Profit campaign in your local community. The action will introduce local communities to our global campaign via your local media and social media.
The photo stunt
Get your group together for a photo stunt to stand in solidarity with forest defenders. Your mission is to create a visual representation of a forest. Try to maximise your visual impact, for example, agreeing to all dress in green to represent the colour of the forests.
We’ve got props to help. You can order our forest animal masks to assemble your group of forest residents. How about positioning some tree props towards the back and outside of the group and have the “we stand with forest defenders” placard prominent at the front? You can also get creative and capture short video clips, such as your group chanting “we stand with forest defenders”.
You can also bring leaflets, which are available to order. Though your main audience will be online and in the local media, have some leaflets handy to explain why you’re taking action to any curious passersbys.
Once you’ve captured the photos, it’s time to get the word out. Adapt our template press release and send this out to local press, alongside your photos. Good contacts to send your content to include local newspapers, online papers or local news blogs.
Don’t forget about social media. Select your best photos and post them alongside our template social media posts. Tag any social media accounts that might help amplify news about the Planet over Profit launch.
When will this action take place?
Our goal is to launch the actions over the weekend of 24 and 25 May, but if that doesn’t work for your group, you can take part on an alternative date.
Want to go bigger?
If you’re feeling inspired to go bigger, we’ve got some ideas:
- Get crafty. Try making your own trees, forest animal costumes, placards or banners.
- Display gratitude. Include a ceremonial offering or tribute to the forest. Each member of the group can bring a small symbol of their gratitude to the forest, like a flower, honey or whatever you feel fits best.
Top tips for a successful action
- A variety of photos. Take a selection of photos in both portrait and landscape. You’ll want landscape photos for local media, but might want to use some portrait ones on social media.
- Use the right tools. Ask around for who has the best camera phone or camera so you capture high quality photos. Remember to take photos with good lighting.
- Think about composition. For example, you’ll be dressed in green so ideally you want a contrasting colour in the background so you stand out.
- Consider location. The campaign will be launched in your local area. Think about locations which instantly makes it clear to people where you are.
Resources to support your action
We have a range of resources available for you to order from Friends of the Earth:
- We stand with Forest Defenders placards
- Sarawak wildlife facemasks
- Leaflets
- Template press release
- Template social media posts
