“Powerful stories bring people together. This summit emphasized the importance of stories about nature, and the role storytellers play in connecting people to the natural world.”
The Goal
The goal of the #NatureForAll Strategy Summit at the National Geographic Society was to harness collective communications expertise as a resource for #NatureForAll in order to help refine a strategy for the next 3-5 years.
The Solution
On Thursday, April 20th, 2017, over 30 leading communication experts from various environmental sectors came together to have a discussion on how to communicate ‘love of nature’ to various audiences. The day began with opening remarks from National Geographic Society Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Emma Carrasco, after which the room heard from artist, writer and naturalist James Prosek who contributed to the National Geographic Yellowstone project’s Invisible Boundaries exhibit. James provided an inspirational outlook on the value of connecting with nature, after which the group broke out into groups to define next steps for each of #NatureforAll’s thematic areas. Small groups discussed indigenous and local communities, health and well-being, and urban gateways to nature.
The Results
The meeting laid the groundwork for a strategy and vision for #NatureForAll moving forward, incorporating the input from a diverse group of conservationists from many backgrounds. Organizations that attended the summit include:
- Kearns & West
- PCI Media Impact
- TransDisciplinary University
- National Wildlife Federation
- Fondation Mohammed VI pour la Protection de l’Environnement
- Brook 2 Cents
- Global Environnent Facility
- UN Environment
- Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
- Environmental Leadership Program
- IUCN
- Sustainametrics
- Beijing Dequan Management and Consulting Co. Ltd.
- Futerra
- IFAW
- Birdlife International
Insider Tips
- Lots of organizations already have programs to get people outside, so it’s important to consider how to scale these programs: outreach.
- Don’t assume that people don’t care about nature; we should start with inherent assumption that people do care, but don’t know enough.
- Much can be gained from reaching new audiences, and engaging with non-traditional conservation partners, like Google.
Resources
- National Geographic Society Website: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/
- National Geographic Society Facebook: facebook.com/InsideNatGeo
- National Geographic Society Twitter: https://twitter.com/InsideNatGeo