Each year, Biodiversity Project helps new coalitions and organizations refine their communications efforts in order to more efficiently meet programmatic goals. Many of our projects are short-term and include developing communications strategies and coalition systems. Below is some information about some of our more long-term, multi-year projects.
Mississippi River Network
2005-Ongoing
The Mississippi River provides drinking water to 18 million people, but its integrity is being compromised by pollution and human interference. In 2007, Biodiversity Project was hired by the Mississippi River Network, comprised of 35 member organizations, to manage public opinion research on the Mississippi River. By developing a communications campaign in the ten Mississippi River states, Biodiversity Project hopes to inspire policy-makers, the agricultural community and engaged citizens to take action to restore and protect the Mississippi River and the Gulf. The 1 Mississippi campaign represents Biodiversity Project’s commitment to creating coalitions with other organizations to achieve a common goal.
Chicago Wilderness
2009-Ongoing
Biodiversity Project was hired by Chicago Wilderness to create a communications campaign to reach more people and meet the alliance’s natural area protection and restoration goals. Chicago Wilderness is a regional alliance of organizations interested in protecting the unique Midwestern landscape spanning from Milwaukee to southwestern Michigan.
Hine’s Emerald Dragonfly
2008- Ongoing
The Hines Emerald Dragonfly Habitat Conservation Plan is a collaboration between Biodiversity Project and a diverse team that includes private companies, municipalities and the federal government to design and implement a stormwater education and outreach program throughout the Illinois range of the endangered Hines Emerald Dragonfly. The project will provide homeowners, business owners and developers with useful information on how to control the quantity and quality of stormwater leaving their property and entering into local waterways.
The project began in 2008 and will continue to grow as Biodiversity Project makes important connections with residents in the region through our unique outreach campaigns. The Hines Emerald Dragonfly project highlights Biodiversity Project’s ability to define audiences, create a communication strategy that will be effective at reaching those audiences and identify outcomes for desired audiences.
Rock River Stormwater Group
From 2009-2012, Biodiversity Project coordinated an outreach campaign to change public behaviors for the Rock River Stormwater Group. A coalition of nine municipalities in Wisconsin hired Biodiversity Project to devise a public information campaign, called Clean water. Bright future., to reduce the amount of stormwater runoff in their communities. The campaign, a requirement of their state stormwater permit, engaged citizens using a variety of proven outreach techniques. Biodiversity Project combined public opinion polls, leadership training and public information pathways, such as door hangings and radio, to reach audiences and motivate them to take action.
Projects like the Rock River Stormwater Group highlight Biodiversity Project’s ability to identify target audiences and develop values-based messages that inspire people to take action.
Great Lakes Forever
For eight years, Great Lakes Forever was a public education initiative involving media outreach, educational advertising (print and radio), point-of-experience signs at lakefront areas and web-based outreach that inform and hopefully inspire a broader constituency to take action to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Great Lakes Forever framed the discussion of the Lakes around four key issues: water quality, water quantity, habitat protection and invasive species control.
Great Lakes Forever exhibits Biodiversity Project’s dedication to promoting a more informed and active public that makes connections to the environment and their daily lives. The program, initially launched in 2004 by Biodiversity Project, was expanded to Chicago in 2005 with the support of the John G. Shedd Aquarium and other Chicago and regional partners. Great Lakes Forever and Budweiser partnered from 2005 to 2012 to produce the annual Great Lakes photo contest in an effort to raise awareness of the Great Lakes and engage people in their protection. We sought professional and amateur Great Lakes photos that revealed the unique and treasured landscape of the region. In 2012, Great Lakes Forever expanded to include a water conservation pledge station where we inspired participants to conserve water use by taking shorter showers.
Healthy Lakes, Healthy Lives
This campaign, developed by the Healing Our Waters Coalition, was meant to generate support for federal legislation for Great Lakes Restoration. Biodiversity Project commissioned and managed public opinion research to identify target audiences, develop unified values-based messages and determine effective messengers and pathways to reach those audiences.
Great Lakes Town Hall
Great Lakes Town Hall is an online community where the 37 million residents in the Great Lakes drainage basin can come together to identify common concerns, set the political agenda, share and develop collective solutions, and demand – as a public – that the Lakes are clean, abundant and natural for generations to come.
The Great Lakes Town Hall represents Biodiversity Project’s commitment to fostering communication and understanding to protect our Earth’s vital assets. Participants can respond to essays written by moderators and guest speakers, vote in the opinion polls, post questions and announcements and start their own discussions. The Great Lakes Town Hall’s six hundred members represent a community of concerned citizens who are taking a stake in their great lakes.
The online forum is edited by three Great Lakes experts who post daily bulletins, write weekly editorials, develop polls for members to consider and compose monthly feature articles about Great Lakes issues.
