Tallahassee's Outdoor Classroom
All of these photos were taken by me during a visit to the Tallahassee Museum
All of these photos were taken by me during a visit to the Tallahassee Museum
The practice of caring for natural resources so all living things can benefit from them now and in the future.
The Earth’s natural resources include air, water, soil,minerals, fuels, plants, and animals. All the things we need to survive, such as food, water, air, and shelter, come from natural resources.
What Is Conservation?
The topic of my media campaign was the importance of conservation of natural areas. During my time as a volunteer at the Tallahassee Museum I was able to explore the many nature trails they have. I already have a huge passion for the environment and wildlife but my experience at the museum was like no other. While I walked along the mulch paved pathway I was completely surrounded by a huge cypress swamp. I came across exhibits with florida native animals ranging from bald eagles to alligators. And then I realized, almost half of the animals I got to see were threatened or endangered in the wild today. I was inspired to promote awareness about conservation because I feel that everyone, including future generations, should get the chance to exlpore natural habitats. The topic for my media campign happened to fit perfectly because their main goal at the museum is to educate their visitors about the many reasons why they should conserve.
My Media Campaign
For my campaign I focused on teenagers as my audience. I picked them because around the ages of 14-19 you are old enough to make your own decisions and do something about them. So, if I am able to strike an interest about the environment in today’s youth then they can get involved in many ways. For example, in order to graduate from most high schools, you need a certain amount of community service hours. It is a lot more fun to volunteer where you are interested in so they could work at beach clean ups, outdoor summer camps, nature preserves etc. Also, it could encourage them to join clubs or choose electives and other classes that they normally do not need to take such as AP Environmental Science. If they are really passionate about conserving the environment, once they get into college they could choose a major and career in that field. Moreover, I decided on teenagers as my audience because they are still trying to figure out who they actually are and once they find something they are passionate about, they will run with it and make a difference.
Since my audience was teenagers, I needed to chose sources that would appeal to them. I decided on a website, brochure and merchandise. I made a website because our generation is very big on social media sites and this allows for the link to spread very easily and hopefully catch the attention of many people. The reason I decided to make a brochure is because I needed a source that allowed me to put a lot of information in one location so my audience could pick it up and know all of the important information about my campaign from one quick look over. Lastly, I decided to make merchandise including a "bro-tank", a hat and a bumper sticker. I got this idea from seeing people walking around my campus in shirts advertising local apartment complexes and bars. If the accessories are bright and eye catching, it is sure to get people interested in the campaign. You can see this part of my campaign on the "merchandise" page along with the products my group members made!
If you are interested, check out my website at www.conservationiskewl.weebly.com
For my brochure I made sure to include all the information needed to explain my campaign; the definition of conservation, why it is important, how you can get involved, and the link to my website.