Grow Wild! Getting Started

Perhaps you are simply interested in learning more. Perhaps you already have an outreach initiative or education/volunteer program you wish to expand. Maybe you want to include social marketing as a component of a trail. Or, you might be starting from scratch. There are several ways to become involved and to address species at risk and habitat needs under the umbrella of the Grow Wild! campaign. 

1. Start a Pilot Project - If you wish to pilot a social marketing outreach project under this campaign, you may promote habitat actions at a variety of levels (e.g. regional, community, habitat, site or species scale). We have a number of tools and resources to help you do so. Our aim is that these key messages at each level reinforce each other.

What action you promote depends on your goals, organizational jurisdiction and outreach capacity. You may wish to promote more than one action at once. This if fine, but it also depends on your ability to address any barriers community members might face in carrying out your suggestions.  The Grow Wild! concept is strengthened when target audiences perceive each pilot project to be part of a larger campaign that effectively supports them in their quest to ‘do the right thing’.

Figure 6: (Left)The Municipality of Chatham-Kent, a CCC partner, is developing a Biodiversity Awareness Trail to educate trail users about local species at risk.

Example: “Biodiversity Awareness Trails” combine social marketing with nature interpretation.  These eco-themed trails also seek to engage users in nature-oriented activities such as environmental monitoring and exploring the contents of environmentally-themed geocaches. Currently, partners are implementing projects at the Dorchester Mill Pond and in a nature preserve on the outskirts of Chatham (see Figure 6).

2. Join our Social Marketing Working Group for Species at Risk – Since 2009 we have engaged representatives from conservation-related non-profits, agencies and stewardship groups. These individuals have helped us gather baseline data about social marketing. They have also shared experiences with us as they have begun to pilot their own outreach initiatives. Our working group members are eager to review and test products (such as Pledge Forms and our Social Marketing Tool Kit) as they become available.  Members of our social marketing working group will have access to additional resources and draft projects through a new web portal (in development).

3. Check Out Our Resources – CCC and the Grow Wild! program offer resources for those interested more in social marketing and species at risk outreach. These include: