The lights will go out across the world and the globe will be in unison for just one hour in a symbolic commitment to the planet this month.

Earth hour will be celebrated in Tauranga with a combination of fun and education at the Protect Our Paradise Benefit Concert.

'The Eiffel Tower and Empire State Building will be turning off as well, so this is our way of contributing to earth hour and raising awareness to our electricity footprint,” say Sustainable Backyards' project manager Lindsey Bowles.

'Events like this are important because they are more accessible and engaging for young people to learn about environmental issues,” says Lindsey.

'People are able to become educated in conservation issues at any point in their life, but I think it's important to target young people, as they are the people who are trying to decide what they want to do with their lives, and are coming into the voting population, so they have the power to make changes.

'They still have the freedom to make their own choices for themselves - all we are doing is providing a space for them to enjoy themselves and help them get in touch with what's going on in the world.”

On Saturday, March 24 there will be music from Dillastrate, DJ Mufasa, Ash Laforteza and Something Like That as well as speeches from local conservation group representatives.

The conservation speakers will discuss Tauranga's conservational issues and the small things that each and every person can do to help out, such as decreasing plastic consumption and cleaning up our beaches.

During Earth hour, between 8-9pm, all lights will go out in the Rising Tide bar and there will be a candle-lit stage with acoustic music playing.

Lindsey says: 'Sometimes you hear about the issues going on a global scale, and all of a sudden you feel really small and think ‘what can I do?'.

'But if you start with something small, you immediately feel like you're being part of it all.”

The free Protect Our Paradise Benefit Concert will be held on Saturday, March 24 from 7pm-11pm at Rising Tide, 107 Newton Street, Mount Maunganui.

The concert welcomes donations to the Destraw or Destroy campaign, to help the Bay of Plenty go single use plastic free, clean up our oceans from marine litter and protect our paradise.