Got Nature? Blog

Changing human behavior is not easy! But, with the right tools, you can effect change over time. Whether you are designing an education and outreach campaign to get people to protect an endangered species, save energy, reduce waste, or conserve water, one thing remains the same: you have to be vigilant about your campaign.

Using two previously developed campaigns as examples, the Promote Conservation through an Effective Campaign publication walks you through four steps to help you create an effective campaign to change people’s behavior. One campaign takes a comprehensive approach to protecting a group of endangered species and the other a less extensive approach to promoting rain barrel adoption. These two examples demonstrate different levels of complexity that you can refer to as you create your own effective education and outreach campaign.

Resources:
Using Social Indicators to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Outreach in Two Indiana Watersheds, Journal of Contemporary Water Research and Education
Heart of the Tippy campaign, Purdue Extension
Conserving the Eastern Hellbender Salamander, Human Dimensions of Wildlife
Rain Barrel Information and Program, Wabash River Enhancement Corporation (WREC)
Uninteresting, Strange, or Ugly: Protecting non-charismatic species, Purdue Got Nature? blog

Belyna Bentlage, Research Associate/Outreach Coordinator
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Linda Prokopy, Professor of Natural Resources Social Science
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources