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ISG+ update: Connecting Ocean Conservation and Community Engagement at the National Aquarium
This guest post, by Gabrielle Roffe and Curtis Bennett of the National Aquarium’s Conservation Department is the second in a 3-part series on their Innovative Solutions Grants+ project. This project will be addressing the issue of marine debris by implementing a new approach to community engagement, with a specific focus on building our connection with the Hispanic communities near Masonville Cove in the Chesapeake Bay. Review of Project Goals Through this Community Engagement and Environmental Stewardship Project, the National Aquarium’s Conservation Department is focused on building connections with the local Hispanic communities within the larger Brooklyn and Curtis Bay communities and addressing the problem of litter and debris. The specific goals of the project, as described in our initial post, have been two-fold: Engage members of the local Hispanic populations in the removal of debris Cultivate community champions in order to ensure ongoing engagement Step-by-Step Process The first and most important step for us was to identify “pillar organizations” within the local Hispanic Community. In each and every community, there are existing organizations, congregations or schools who serve community members in a variety of ways. We felt it was important to reach out to and ultimately collaborate with these groups, rather than going at it alone, because they have the prior trusting relationships with the communities and, as a result, they can provide that connection and help to bridge the gap between our organization and the community itself.For our project, we have wanted to ensure that our programs are engaging people of different ages, backgrounds and interests. With that in mind, we specifically targeted three pillar organizations that also shared our interest in addressing the issue of litter and marine debris: The Templo de Alabanza Y Restauración (TAYR) Congregation Lakeland Elementary/Middle School Parent Group and ESL students at Ben Franklin High School at Masonville Cove. Over the course of our project so far we have been fostering relationships with each of these groups and in the following paragraphs we’ll outline our engagement with each group to date. TAYR TAYR is a Hispanic religious congregation that hosts weekly services at the Pathway Church of God, located within the Brooklyn community. We scheduled an initial meeting with the Pastor and his wife, during which we explained our organizational mission and they immediately connected to the importance of community work and protecting the natural environment. It was very relatable to them, because they told us that in the areas where they come from, in their countries, nature is abundant, and they recognize its value and thus appreciate the value of nature in their current communities and at Masonville Cove. TAYR congregation members painting storm drains outside their church Once we had the support of the congregation leaders, we then started to branch out to the congregation as a whole. We attended Sunday school and church services to talk about the various events at Masonville Cove and our community workshops, such as our Watershed 101 workshop, which we were offering in Spanish. The Pastor and his wife also suggested hosting a community cleanup after Church services. The planning of the event was a truly collaborative process, working with them to finalize the structure and flow of the event. Normally for debris clean-ups, our staff is responsible for leading groups of participants; however, for this community clean-up we adjusted the model to allow congregation members to be group leaders. We believed that empowering them to lead fellow congregants and community members would lead to a higher likelihood of sustainability of these efforts. So the Pastor and his wife recommended members of the congregation to be group leaders for this community clean up. A group of TAYR congregation members during a community cleanup Successes Met with the Pastor and his wife 4 times to discuss our collective programming goals. These meetings were a great way to share our collective ideas on what types of programs are of interest to the congregation and methods to best engage their congregants. Talked to 65 adults and 50 youth during two visits with the congregation to inform members about upcoming events. This method of event promotion is successful because you are being directly introduced by the Pastor, a respected leader, and you are then able to reach a larger audience. Engaged 80 adults and 34 youth during a community clean-up on April 24th. Participants also stenciled 5 storm drains during the event. The Pastor and his wife assigned their congregation leaders as our cleanup group leaders for this event. The congregation leaders then brought their cohorts to the cleanup which resulted in a wide attendance. Lessons Learned Hosted a Watershed 101 workshop at Masonville Cove with 3 attendees. The attendees were the Pastor and his two sons. We learned that we had the Pastor’s buy in for our work, but our message had not reached the congregation by simply talking to them about the event at church service. The Pastor felt disappointed that his congregants did not come to an event, however he did see that our work and associated projects are not only important but that they are fun and engaging. After this event, he took a bigger leadership role in order to ensure that his congregation was engaged. Students from the Youth Group were planning to come to our April 2nd Masonville Cove clean-up, however due to inclement weather, they were unable to attend. We learned that targeting a specific group within the congregation is a great way to get a focused attendance. The youth group and the congregation leadership group are tight cohorts who will come together when requested by the Pastor and his wife. Gaby Roffe (right, National Aquarium) and Nia Edwards (left, Hispanic Access Foundation), instruct TAYR congregation members for storm drain stenciling with stencils in English and Spanish. "Basura de nuestra calle contamina nuestra bahía" which means "Trash on our streets today pollutes the waters of our bay" Ben Franklin High School Over the years, we have built a very strong relationship with Ben Franklin High School (BFHS), as their students participate in many of our environmental education programs. Courtesy of this project, we have been able to engage them on a different level, focusing specifically on their community and collectively determining solutions to local environmental issues, specifically debris accumulation. BFHS has a growing Hispanic student population and English as a Second Language Program. Due to the language barrier, our past programs weren’t doing as good of a job as they could be to engage these students. Having staff on board now that are learning to and/or can speak Spanish fluently has been a huge step in the right direction. Now we can truly ensure that our programming is all-inclusive by translating programming into Spanish and making an effort to reach out to Hispanic students. We’ve coordinated various workshops with the Environmental Science teachers and worked with administrative staff to plan Benfest, a community event hosted by BFHS. Successes Engaged 39 students during 3 Watershed 101 workshops. Engaged 52 students during a classroom visit and schoolyard walk focused on stormwater runoff and designing possible solutions. Engaged approximately 800 people at Benfest, during which participants received and decorated 45 recycle bins, stenciled 3 storm drains and picked up trash around the schoolyard. Lessons Learned We targeted the Environmental Science classes which had already been engaged through our Watershed lessons. The teacher informed us that she had many ESL students in her classes and it would be helpful to lead groups in English and Spanish. All of the students were excited about this, both the Spanish speaking students, who were excited to have programming tailored to them, as well as the students who did not speak Spanish, who were excited to hear translations. Partnering with an existing community event is a successful way to engage a wider audience. We were able to pull new community members into our programming and engage larger numbers in hands on community stewardship activities. Lakeland Elementary/Middle School Parent Group Lakeland Elementary/Middle School has a Hispanic parent group that hosts monthly breakfasts. We have attended in order to hand out flyers, highlighting different events, both in the community and at Masonville Cove. Through this group we have connected the Hispanic community members to Masonville Cove and learned about their programming interests. Successes Attended one parent breakfast, during which we talked with 28 people about upcoming Masonville Cove and community events Lessons Learned The majority of the audience was unfamiliar with Masonville Cove and their programming. They did exhibit initial interest in programming, although it has been challenging to follow up with this group because we do not have their contact information and they only meet once a month. We may have to explore and implement different strategies in order to engage this group. Moving Forward In the past we did not use a direct approach to connect with Hispanic communities, so we cast a wider net throughout the community to advertise programs and events. This community pillar strategy is proving successful in allowing for a more direct and focused approach to identifying, selecting and engaging specific audiences and building trusting relationships with them for continued involvement. TAYR congregation members clean the streets of Brooklyn, Baltimore We have learned that in order to build trusting relationships with cohorts, it is important to communicate on a regular basis with the group leaders, who are trusted by community members. When the leaders vouch for your events, community members are more likely to attend. It is also important to attend community events that might not necessarily be related to your work, but helps build a relationship that is a two-way street. Based on the results to date, we will focus the majority of our efforts over the summer towards the TAYR congregation, continuing to involve them in community clean-up events, workshops and field trips to Masonville Cove with their Youth Group. As we progress we will be able to identify community champions from this congregation as well as identify opportunities to partner and engage with other community pillars.
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ISG + Update: Philadelphia Zoo’s energy study goes live!
This guest post by Wei Ying Wong of Philadelphia Zoo is a follow up to the previous blog on Philadelphia Zoo’s Innovative Solutions Grants+ project. They’re exploring a new way of evaluating long-term conservation behavior change, specifically home energy use, in visitors to the zoo’s KidZooU exhibit. We’re live! As a quick addition, we are pleased to announce that we have figured out the logistical and legal details for tracking the efficacy of our onsite messaging in changing offsite behavior, and are “live” with our collaboration with PECO. We officially launched the last weekend of January, incorporating all the lessons learned from the previous segments of the study, while adding to the pledge a permission slip that will allow us to collect information about a participating guest’s energy use and compare it with similar households (all data will be anonymous - we will not receive any personal or identifying information but we will see if energy use goes down as promised!). With our revised approach, we changed the order of our script to foreground the “ask.” And we added a second researcher so we now have one to engage the younger audience and solicit their fingerprinted pledges to “Save Energy to Save Wildlife”, while the other recruits the adults (parents/guardians) to sign the official permission slip for our study. As we are currently in our low season (not helped by some very cold weekends!), our engagement and recruitment activity has been slow. However, both engagement AND recruitment rates have been really promising since we made the changes: More than two thirds (83%) of our visitors whom we engaged are now staying through the entire interpretation (up from 48%), More than three quarters (78.6%) of the groups have someone pledge to take action (up from 42%) And half of the groups who had someone pledge to “Save Energy to Save Wildlife” were willing to sign the permission slip to participate in our study. Unfortunately only half of them lived in PECO service areas and therefore eligible to participate. Nevertheless, that still is a 30% recruitment rate! We will keep doing more of this for the next few months! For our final report under this grant, we will have good data on how willing our guests are to participate. But by the end of summer, however, we will be able to tell you even more about whether we managed to make a difference.
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ISG+ New Project: Tasting Sustainability at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
This guest post is submitted by Debbie Colodner, Director of Conservation Education and Science from the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, and is the first in a 3-part series on their Innovative Solutions Grants+ project where they are partnered with Leading for Good to see if they can move the needle on sustainable seafood in Tucson, Arizona. Some might think sustainable seafood an unlikely conservation focus for a desert city. However, Tucson was just designated the first UNESCO “World City of Gastronomy” in the United States, so there is a strong community focus on food, including seafood. For more than a decade, The Desert Museum has partnered with Monterey Bay’s Seafood Watch program to educate its audiences about declining fisheries and marine habitats, with particular attention to the unique sea at the heart of the Sonoran Desert, the Gulf of California. In previous efforts here at the Desert Museum, we found visitors not very willing to download the Seafood Watch app, but quite willing to take a printed card, and very positive about the idea of using it. Yet we also have heard that using the cards or app has been problematic (e.g. too confusing, too much time, sellers don’t know the answers) and we weren’t seeing any evidence that our efforts had led to larger changes in local restaurants and markets. So we wondered, what else can we do? Perhaps we could work with some of what research by The Ocean Project and others tells us are the most innovative change makers and consumers on the planet – millennials? Perhaps with some enthusiastic millennials we could work closer to the supply side – with not just changing their own buying habits, but also reaching out to restaurants? Asking these questions led us to apply for an Innovative Solutions Grant! Getting started Leading for Good interns in an "ideation" lab. We decided to begin by connecting with some local millennials who are interns in the Leading for Good Program. These interns are college students who want to make a difference in the local community, and, as such, joined this 16-week program for 10 hours each week. Together we’ve created the “Tasting Sustainability” project. As a primary goal, the interns are aiming to engage and persuade local restaurants to take action by altering their menus, and, ideally, becoming Seafood Watch partners, with the hope of recruiting six new restaurant partners by the end of the project. As a secondary goal, the Museum hopes to deepen its engagement with our local millennials, and learn how to work more effectively with millennials to move the needle on this and other conservation issues as well. To help get the interns off to a quick start, Desert Museum staff previously surveyed some students at the University of Arizona. We know our sampling was biased toward students already tuned into environmental issues, based on the classes surveyed, but we found the results nonetheless encouraging. Out of 116 students, 73% reported that they were already generally aware of sustainable seafood efforts, and, important for our project, they also indicated that they would be more likely to eat at restaurants that serve sustainable seafood, whether or not they eat seafood! Armed with this survey data, and with some additional training by LeadLocal’s Kristin Wisneski, and a Sustainable Seafood “bootcamp” by Desert Museum Education Specialist Julie Xelowski-Brooker, the interns now have started their research by talking with local restaurant owners. Here’s an excerpt from their blog, which can be found in full here. Our collaboration with the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum and Monterey Bay Aquarium’s (MBA) Seafood Watch is now in full swing and we are excited to be part of something that is not your normal approach to creating change… We are the Leading for Good interns and…we plan on measuring the success of (our) project in a few different ways. Increase the number of Tucson restaurants serving and promoting sustainable seafood on their menus. Ideally, increase the number certified by MBA’s Seafood Watch. Understand what truly motivates or inhibits vendors from becoming certified. Reflect on our own journey to becoming changemakers in the community. Leading for Good interns present to community members and restaurant owners. In the next weeks, the interns will be summarizing and using the research they are doing with restaurant owners to finalize their restaurant outreach and recruitment plan. Meanwhile at the Museum we are also exploring what incentives and partnerships we might be able to offer to restaurants, and how we might encourage more millennials to engage in this effort, and others like it. Stay tuned for a view from the “test kitchen” next time.
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ISG+ New Project: Zoo ALIVE Teen Volunteers at the Saint Louis Zoo say #ByetoBags … and ask that you do too!
This guest post is submitted by Kirinne Slaughter at the Saint Louis Zoo, and is the first in a 3-part series on their Innovative Solutions Grants+ project. Building on the Better Bag Challenge Zoo ALIVE teen volunteer For more than a decade, the Zoo ALIVE (Active Leaders In Volunteer Education) Teen Volunteers at the Saint Louis Zoo have been educating zoo visitors, zoo campers and the St. Louis community about animals, their habitats and conservation. Now, for the first time, thanks to the support from The Ocean Project’s Innovative Solutions Grant+, these teen volunteers will aim not only to inform, but also to inspire others-onsite and online-to take action on one of the biggest issues facing the environment today: plastic pollution, particularly from single-use plastic bags. To begin, the teens looked to the results of the “Better Bag Challenge.” This challenge was inspiration for what our teens wanted to create, and what was learned provided a strong base for our campaign. The main lessons from the Better Bag Challenge that our teens will apply going forward are: Use a Simple Message: Choose reusable bags to avoid single-use plastic bags. Be Solution-Oriented: Position visitors as part of the solution. In order to instill in our guests the confidence that they can make a difference, the campaign will be framed so that guests feel they can make a difference and be part of the plastic pollution solution. Make a Direct Connection to Sea Life: The most effective messaging connected the action directly to the benefits for an animal. While others referenced sea turtles, our inland zoo is home to California Sea Lions and Harbor Seals, which we think will serve as the perfect ambassadors. Walk the Talk: Another approach to effective messaging connected the action to what the zoo itself is doing, so our campaign will aim to reduce the use of plastic bags in our gift shops. Teen volunteers will be open about this effort, and share its progress with zoo guests. Ask for a Pledge: Our on-grounds visitors also will be given a reusable bag upon completion of a pledge, but instead of asking visitors also to take a follow up survey, which can have relatively low response rates, we thought we’d try a twist! Going Online with #ByetoBags #ByetoBags Our twist? The teens plan to test if they can use social media to amplify the effects of the “Better Bag Challenge.” The teens will measure the extent to which people share their commitment through social media, as well as how many others join in making the pledge back on our own web site. The teens will do so in two main ways: On-Grounds Amplification: How successfully can we amplify the reach and impact of our on-grounds pledge participants using social media? After taking our pledge to use reusable bags, and receiving a reusable bag, zoo visitors will receive an email asking them to use #byetobags on selected social media channels as a way to share the message with their friends and family, encouraging them to join in and take the pledge too. This idea is in keeping with what has been found in research by The Ocean Project: not only do most people want to be green, but they also want to be seen as “green.” We then will measure success by monitoring how the use of #byetobags spreads and how many people sign up at our online pledge page. As an additional measure to our on-grounds tactic, we will be monitoring plastic bag use at our Saint Louis Zoo gift shops, expecting it to go down! Direct Social Media Push: The teens also were wondering if they could skip the on-grounds offer of a bag and still have success by going directly to social media. By having a pledge page that is online and promoted through social media sites, and that once again asks people to use reusable bags and to share their commitment with friends and family by posting with #byetobags, we plan to assess how many people they reach and how many of those signed the pledge. Our teens are eager to launch their campaign and take it to social media. The key next step for the teens will be deciding on the specific social media tools and tactics that they want to test (e.g. share #byetobags post on Facebook vs. share #byetobags video on Instagram) and then talking with the zoo marketing team about how those efforts can best be tracked. Our teens are already planning to share the methods and success of this campaign in presentations at their area high schools. And, we’re just getting started! Keep a look out for our update!
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ISG+ New Project: Connecting Ocean Conservation and Community Engagement at the National Aquarium
This guest post, by Gabrielle Roffe and Curtis Bennett of the National Aquarium’s Conservation Department is the first in a 3-part series on their Innovative Solutions Grants+ project. This project will be addressing the issue of marine debris by implementing a new approach to community engagement, with a specific focus on building our connection with the Hispanic communities near Masonville Cove in the Chesapeake Bay. Part of our mission At the National Aquarium, we view connecting with students and community members as a core function of our mission to inspire conservation of the world’s aquatic treasures. Our Masonville Cove Community Engagement and Environmental Stewardship Project is just one of the many ways we are trying to accomplish this. Masonville Cove is an Urban Wildlife Refuge in south Baltimore that is managed in partnership with the Maryland Port Administration, the US Fish and Wildlife Service and Living Classrooms Foundation. It is a 125-acre natural area, and an important green space for the surrounding communities of Brooklyn and Curtis Bay. Masonville Cove debris cleanup We began this project a few years ago by working with community stakeholders, including residents, local environmental non-profit organizations and even city officials, to identify and address environmental issues. We hosted community meetings that ultimately resulted in the publication of a Small Watershed Action Plan (SWAP). Not only does this document identify environmental issues of importance to the community, it also provides suggestions for how and where to address those issues. For example, it recommends an effort focused on a common concern about the litter and debris that all too often ends up in the ocean. Reaching a new community While we had been doing good work with the communities of Brooklyn and Curtis Bay, we also knew that we weren’t adequately reaching the Hispanic populations within those communities. According to the 2011 Neighborhood Health Profile (Baltimore City Health Department, December 2011), the Hispanic population accounts for 9.8% of the total residents of the area. This percentage is higher than that (4.2%) of Baltimore City overall. Estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that nearly 40 percent of Hispanic residents of our target communities either speak no English at all or “not very well.” Additionally, this community includes individuals from or with ancestry from Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico and other countries. So not only will we need to translate materials into Spanish, but translate projects culturally as well. So under this grant we are specifically focusing building connections with the local Hispanic communities and addressing the problem of litter and debris. In order to accomplish this, we are going to try a more focused and innovative approach to community engagement, as outlined by the following goals: Engage members of the Hispanic populations in the removal of debris throughout the Brooklyn and Curtis Bay communities. We will begin by meeting with community groups, such as Hispanic congregations and local schools with English as a Second Language (ESL) programs. ~We will gather feedback to understand how the issue of litter and debris is important to the community, and work together to ensure that our efforts are collaborative. ~We plan to host debris cleanups that directly address the litter/debris problem, noting the number of community groups/members participating and the amount of trash collected. Cultivate community champions in order to ensure ongoing engagement. ~We will work with community members to develop workshop(s) on topics of mutual interest - such as on the concept of a watershed or gardening for wildlife - fun and interactive ways to build community conservation leaders and engage more residents. Masonville Cove debris cleanup ~Over the course of our program, we also will identify an individual from these communities and recognize them as a community champion, a “Shore Hero," as part of our Living Seashore exhibit at the National Aquarium, as a way to draw even more attention to our collective efforts and deepen the community’s connection to the Aquarium. The next steps to reach our goals are to continue building relationships and developing programs to meet the needs of the community. By forming and ultimately maintaining these relationships within this community, we believe we can provide a “win” for the residents, the aquarium and the ocean too! --Guest post by Gabrielle Roffe and Curtis Bennett of National Aquarium
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ISG+ Final Report: Survey Says… ZooTeens at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden spur visitors to action!
This guest post by Director of Education, Elizabeth Clemens, and Coordinator of ZooTeens and Scout Programs, Syndi Castelluccio, of Riverbanks Zoo and Garden is their final in a 3-part series on their Innovative Solutions Grants+ project, which investigates how engaging with teens and receiving incentives can impact zoo guest behavior. Sailing Along... The Riverbanks Zoo and Garden’s ZooTeen volunteers have been busy over the last year taking direct action and engaging our visitors in efforts to keep trash out of our ocean. You’ve been waiting for the results, and the results are in. Survey Says… We began our journey under our Innovative Solutions Grant just over a year ago wanting to accomplish two main things: Try a different approach to engaging our ZooTeens, one that emphasizes learning by doing Get our teens to take the lead in an “ask task,” encouraging others to join them in taking action As we reported in our last post, the teens responded really well to our new approach to engaging them, and they were eager to lead an experiment in how to engage others. Working with the teens, we decided to compare and contrast the experiences of two sets of individuals, and see which group would be more willing to join us in taking action. A “Control Group,” which we also called our “outside the zoo experience group” as they interacted with our teens at a location other than the zoo, where they were asked to take a reusable bag, use it, and complete a survey. The engagement time for this group averaged about one minute, and was spent almost entirely on the solution step of using the bag. An “Experimental Group” of zoo guests who while onsite engaged much more deeply on the issue with the ZooTeens, learning about the problem of marine debris, typically at an “information station,” before receiving the bag and agreeing to use it and take the follow-up survey. Engagement time for this group averaged about 5 minutes, with much more information about the problem and about the same amount of information about the solution. We all, staff and teens alike, predicted that the “Experimental Group” that engaged onsite with the teens for a longer period of time and received more information about the problem would be more likely to take the next step and respond to the survey. We also believed that this same group would be more likely to report in the survey that they were using the bag and taking additional action. The teens made several comments throughout about their experience approaching both groups of individuals. Some teens reported that it was easier to get others to engage with them at the zoo, where they had the benefit of the information stations, props, biofacts, and activities. Yet other teens surprised us by saying that the location didn’t seem to matter. One of our teens, admittedly a real go-getter, reported that no matter the situation she could get individuals to sign up by just asking. So, in sum, the teens told us that with a prop, and especially the bags to give away, it was almost as easy for them to engage others offsite as onsite. A few weeks after distributing the bags, we began circulating the survey. We received a great response, with more than 30% of those we contacted completing the survey. This was significantly higher than the Better Bag Challenge around World Oceans Day 2015, where, in that effort, which was based on our same concept, only 7% of those contacted actually followed up and completed the survey. That now posed a new and unexpected question for us: Was it simply the energy and enthusiasm of teens being the voice of conservation that made participants reply at a higher rate? Things got even more interesting when we began to compare and contrast our control group with our experimental group, as our results didn’t hold true to our original prediction! We found that not only did both groups respond at about the same rate to the survey request, but also in about the same way in terms of their responses to the survey questions. Having the zoo experience and receiving the extra information about the problem didn’t seem to make much of a difference at all when it came to individuals following up and taking action! Taking the results with a proverbial grain of salt, as these were self-selecting samples taking the survey, we found that members of our control and experimental groups expressed: About the same level of concern for the future of the ocean (Control: 76% agreement / Experimental: 78% agreement) About the same sense that zoos and aquariums are a good source for accurate information about the ways to protect and conserve wildlife (Control: 88% agreement / Experimental: 86% agreement) About the same level of support for zoos and aquariums suggesting ways for them to help solve problems facing the ocean and its animals (Control: 88% agreement / Experimental: 91% agreement) About the same level of agreement between the two groups that by joining zoos and aquariums in taking action the public can play an important role in addressing the problems facing our ocean and its animals (Control: 84% agreement / Experimental: 87% agreement) Moreover, both groups reported using their bags at almost the same exact rate on our five point scale! (Control: 3.2 / Experimental: 3.4) We also received comments from both groups that were very positive in tone, and also hit on many of the same themes: “I’ve been visiting the zoo for 32+ years. I am thankful to see the zoo taking a more active role in reusable items.” "Thoroughly enjoyed our visit as well as the information provided about "Plastic Free Me" Campaign." “Thank you for checking with me. I got the bag at Kids Day in Lexington. I use if for many reasons and very often. It’s a great bag.” “I have heard great things about Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. A visit is high on my list of places to go.” “I really appreciate the awareness information given, it has made my family more aware.” Next we looked at our overall results in rough comparison to the national public opinion research by The Ocean Project, and saw some suggestion that our teens engaging people with a solution-oriented action step appeared to increase not just public concern about the ocean, but also -- and even more promising -- our public’s sense that zoos and aquariums are good sources of accurate information about ways to conserve the ocean, and their feeling that by joining zoos and aquariums in taking action, they can play an important role in addressing the problems facing the ocean. Not enough to say for sure, but certainly indications are that by asking people to join us as part of the solution we are heading in the right direction! We have learned a lot from our efforts under this grant, and in conclusion I would highlight the following “lessons learned” for our colleagues in the zoo and aquarium community: Create a teen program that is a fully immersive “learning by doing” experience as that can inspire participants to take that experience beyond the zoo and become true “Stewards of Our Seas” Having inspired teens makes for a more engaging and meaningful experience and their enthusiasm may just rub off on your guests Keep messaging to the point, as sometimes our guests and others don’t need all the details - they want to do what’s best and we just need to encourage and ask. One final note... We cannot express enough the gratitude we have for being given the opportunity to test hypotheses under the Innovative Solutions Grant+ program. This experience has inspired us to keep testing our assumptions when it comes to developing best practices for public engagement at our institution.
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ISG+ Final Report: Seattle Youth CAN works to combat climate change
This guest post by Eli Weiss of Woodland Park Zoo is the third in a 3-part series on their Innovative Solutions Grants+ project, exploring how teens in the Seattle area can empower each other and their peers for action on climate change. What we have to celebrate As we wrap up our first year with reflection and planning sessions for both youth and staff stakeholders I feel grateful for all that everyone has contributed to making the pilot year for Seattle Youth CAN such a success in 2015. I am also excited we willl have even more to look forward to in 2016, thanks to a second year of funding from the Innovative Solutions Grants + Program! With the partnership and support from youth programs staff and teens from Woodland Park Zoo, Pacific Science Center and Seattle Aquarium it has been quite a year! We have also appreciated the support from a range of community collaborators including local non-profits, agencies and universities who have contributed to our first year. As planned, it was full year of programming with monthly opportunities for Seattle area teens to increase their climate literacy, take action and become leaders in this exciting new initiative. By the numbers, in 2015 we had: A committee of 11 teen leaders planned and launched a transportation focused climate action challenge that engaged 50+ teens during August and saved over 12,000 pounds of CO2 12 climate literacy and action events hosted at the three institutions which provided unique opportunities for more than 150 teen participants! 85 teens attended Seattle Youth Climate Action Summit held at Woodland Park Zoo 20+ local climate leaders contributed as guest speakers, presenters and project advisors 3 teen representatives traveled to the WILD Center in upstate New York to present and participate at the Adirondack Youth Climate Summit Over the past few months we are especially proud of… The Transportation Challenge The first teen led action campaign was a pilot designed by a cross institution leadership committee. The challenge focused on encouraging other teens to reduce their CO2 emissions by choosing to use public transit, carpool, bike or walk. During the month of August, there were 52 active participants who logged their commutes on an online platform hosted by King County Metro. In a post survey we found that just under half of these participants reported an increase in their use of the recommended transportation options as a result of the challenge. After the challenge, King County Metro staff discussed the agencies sustainability efforts with the teens and also led a workshop in which they brainstormed possible social media messages to make a stronger connection between public transit and reducing CO2 as well as encouraging more teens to ride the bus. There are already plans to revise and continue this messaging campaign as part of our efforts in 2016. The first annual Seattle Youth Climate Action Summit On October 10th, 2015 the Woodland Park Zoo and Seattle Youth CAN hosted the first annual Youth Climate Action Summit attended by 100+ teen and community participants from the Seattle area. The event was organized by a committee of 14 teen leaders from the three institutions along with the support of staff from Woodland Park Zoo. The summit included presentations and activities led by teen leaders, a climate careers panel, group action projects and plenary workshop sessions led by local climate leaders and scientists focused on climate science, innovation and ways to take action. This was the first Seattle Youth CAN event in which teens from outside of the founding three partner youth programs were invited to participate. The Summit was the culminating event of year one for Seattle Youth CAN and the also a shift toward a more inclusive model that we plan to expand next year, a model that will provide the opportunity for all interested youth in the Seattle area to get involved and take action! Our amazing Youth Climate Ambassadors Our youth ambassadors had many adventures and successes this year, including: • Three Seattle Youth CAN leaders traveled to the Adirondack Youth Climate Summit in upstate New York to share their experiences and learn from peers. • Niko, a teen volunteer spoke alongside county executives and climate policy leaders at the signing of the Strategic King County (WA) Climate Action Plan. • This past month NOAA’s climate.gov site featured our project as one of their case studies of national youth climate initiatives and our video was featured at the US Center during COP21 in Paris. What we have learned in 2015 1. Developing an authentic youth network takes time. A clear plan and willing partners is always a good start, but we found that for teens to start identifying with Seattle Youth CAN took ongoing communication and repeat participation in events. Teens live such busy lives and we don’t want Seattle Youth CAN to be just one more thing for them to do, rather a place that youth can get involved, meet new people, and take on authentic leadership in something that is of interest to them. We had great success with youth organized events and campaigns and are looking to increase the youth ownership of the project in 2016. 2. When communicating with teens in-person meetings still matter. We have found that some teens prefer Facebook while others will only respond to email, and with so many options for connecting these days, there is no one way to get in touch. Our Facebook group has been a great way to share updates, photos, events and ideas, and although it was used by youth leaders, the majority of the posts were made by staff. We now have a twitter handle https://twitter.com/seattleyouthcan which is followed by some supporters, but has not been a clear way to engage teens. We actually found that by far the most successful strategy for building community and creating connections has been in person events and meetings – that was where most of the magic happened. 3. Institutional support helps. Bringing together three of the most prominent informal science institutions in the city has allowed for us to leverage the expertise, resources and connections of our founding partner organizations. All three institutions have shown past commitment to climate change education and this partnership has allowed us to come together on an area of shared relevance. In addition, the community looks to zoos, aquariums and science museums for answers and through this project we have been able to help teens find their voice as climate change leaders and change makers and this action resonates with the millions of visitors that attend our institutions each year. Where we are headed I think that we are on to something with Seattle Youth CAN and are excited to develop new strategies that will allow broader participation and reach. We plan to do this through creating an opportunity for new partner programs to join the network and by opening up monthly events to teens that are not already affiliated with our partner programs, as well as by revising and expanding our teen led action campaigns. We also plan to strengthen and package our unique model so that we can share it with other regional and national groups that are looking to support youth in climate leadership initiatives. It is exciting to see the growing interest in our local initiative and I hope that through our efforts we can help the national youth climate action movement grow. --Guest post by Eli Weiss of Woodland Park Zoo
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ISG+ Update: Will Philadelphia Zoo guests save energy to save “Nemo”?
This guest post by Wei Ying Wong of Philadelphia Zoo is the second in a 3-part series on Philadelphia Zoo’s Innovative Solutions Grants+ project. They’re exploring a new way of evaluating long-term conservation behavior change, specifically home energy use, in visitors to the zoo’s KidZooU exhibit. Hi! Welcome to our coral reef exhibit. Are there animals you recognize in here? Can you find Nemo? Clownfish like Nemo and many other species of fish depend on a very special type of habitat called coral reefs. In recent months, visitors to Philadelphia Zoo’s KidZooU (KZU) have been greeted with an opportunity take action to “Save Energy to Save Nemo” when they approach our coral reef exhibit. As discussed in our previous blog, we are capitalizing on a prime opportunity to communicate about ocean acidification at our coral reef tank. While our ultimate goal remains one of testing how well we use onsite conservation messaging to affect offsite behavioral change, we’ve found that getting those permissions and systems in place is a challenge. So to date we’ve focused on fine-tuning our messaging while asking visitors to pledge to reduce their home energy consumption. Early in the new year, our hope is to go one step further with our local visitors, asking not only for a pledge, but for permission to track their home energy usage! Asking for a pledge Our intended audience has been mixed age groups based on the research finding that children can be key influencers on household decision-making, and, fortunately, mixed age precisely describes most of the visitor groups to KZU. When visitor groups approach the coral reef tank, a zoo interpreter engages them in a conversation about the reef and other organisms in exhibit using strategic framing techniques that help visitors understand climate change and ocean acidification by overcoming traditional barriers and cuing people to think productively about solutions (see National Network of Ocean and Climate Change Interpreters for more details). On concluding the interpretation, we ask visitors to take a pledge to reduce their household energy consumption (“Save Energy to Save Nemo”), with children “signing” the pledge on behalf of their families by inking their fingerprint on a clownfish cut-out. Initial Findings To date, we have monitored our engagements with more than 600 people (in a total of 198 groups, with group sizes that varied from 1 to 12 people). Here are our preliminary findings: KZU visitors are open to a conservation message, provided there is no language barrier Almost three-quarters (73%) of the total number of groups stayed for at least a portion of the narrative. If they stayed through the first section, they were highly likely to stay on for the entirety of the message. While all visitors appeared to be generally happy when our interpreters approached them, we were not able to engage with about 5% of our visitors on account of the language barrier. Moving forward, we would like to include interpretation in other languages, especially as The Ocean Project’s market research indicates that households where English is a second language are likely to be very interested. KZU visitors are willing to take action on this issue Among the groups that stayed engaged with our interpreter till the final ask (“Pledge to Save Energy to Save Nemo”), 92% of the groups had someone take pledge to make a difference for the animals and their habitat. Overall, that represents almost half (42%) of the total number of people engaged. Engaging the child is critical to engaging the group Graph 1: Showing the percentage of people who left the interpretative station for the respective reasons As noted above, we noticed that if a group stayed through the full message, they had a high likelihood of pledging to take action (twice as likely as if they left early) With that in mind, we looked at why some groups were leaving early and found, as can be seen in the graph, that the biggest factor was whether the child stayed engaged. In most cases, especially when the child was young, adults allowed the child to determine their course. So when they child was no longer interested, the group left. Leaving the ask to the end might not be the best way to go While we continue to look for ways to keep the attention of the children, we’re also going to try moving the ask to the beginning. By doing so, we anticipate a significant increase in the number of groups who will make the pledge. Graph 2: Showing the percentage of people who leave the interpretive stations at various points of the narrative Inking a fingerprint works well for children, but not for adults The act of pledging by inking a fingerprint on a clownfish cut-out is, of course, an activity targeted at children. And as such, it has worked well. We even saw many of the adults who stayed through the interpretation bringing their children back to ‘fingerprint’ a pledge. But the number of adults willing to do so was quite low. Plus, of course, moving ahead we are likely to need more formal permission that a fingerprint would provide! Referencing Nemo was not helpful We had hypothesized that the hyper-personalized linkage between action and an identifiable animal character would increase the likelihood of engagement. We were wrong. Instead, the inclusion of “Nemo” created confusion as some of the younger children have not watched the movie, or the visitors’ attention is less interested in the clownfish than other things in the exhibit. So moving ahead, we have our interpreters paying attention to the organism that is capturing the attention of the visitors and then using that as a springboard into the script. Meeting the visitors where they are at is promising to be a much more successful approach. Next Steps We are now in the stages of finalizing the logistical and legal details for tracking the efficacy of our onsite messaging in changing offsite behavior. While that aspect of the project has taken a longer time than expected, the conversations it has generated both internally and with an ever-expanding number of partners is exciting. Moreover, we have learned all of the above lessons about how best to shape our messaging.
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10 ways your zoo or aquarium can reduce plastic use
There is growing public awareness about the troubling accumulation of plastics in the environment, particularly in the oceans. Luckily, we are in a unique position to turn the tides on plastic use and disposal. Association of Zoos and Aquariums accredited institutions are trusted conservation organizations with millions of visitors annually. We can lead by example through the way we operate our businesses, and as The Ocean Project has reported, our institutional actions can help inspire our visitors, staff, and volunteers to make greener choices too. Reducing disposable plastics is critical for the health of our ecosystems and ourselves. And we know that our institutions want to take action, but where to begin? The AZA Green Scientific Advisory Group (GSAG) is here to help, supporting AZA institutions to make greener business operation choices and offering information on latest sustainability research and trends. The AZA Green Guide was created to help AZA institutions create their sustainability roadmaps, while allowing enough flexibility for individual institutions to identify their operational priorities. And in that spirit, here is a top ten list created by the GSAG, steps to help your operations be less reliant on disposable plastic products. Conduct a purchasing inventory, AND implement 'greener' purchasing practices (e.g. screen products for recyclability, promote bulk purchasing with minimal packaging, and avoid disposable items as much as possible). Purchase for the Planet. With durable plastic items, consider a switch from purchasing new plastic products to products made from recycled plastic. This action helps create a competitive market for products made from recycled materials. Old is New Again. Conduct a waste/recycling audit, AND implement a waste reduction and recycling improvement plan. Be Lean and Green! In food sales, reduce or eliminate single-use plastic bags, beverage bottles, straws, utensils, plates Don’t know where to start? Consider implementing a policy of providing these items only upon request, or stock your break rooms with reusable dishes, mugs and silverware. Bag It! Water station at Detroit Zoo Consider compostable service-ware, and you can largely replace plastic items with paper, cardboard, and bio-based items which can break down in a commercial scale composting facility or in a biodigester. Close the loop by composting the material to keep it out of the landfill. A Toast to Compost! If disposable plastics can’t be avoided, make sure they are recyclable plastics with plenty of bins throughout the campus to make recycling easy. Plastics Numbers 1 and 2 are the easiest to recycle. Styrofoam is very difficult to recycle, so eliminating that material is best. It’s a Numbers Game. In operations, avoid soaps, cleaners and other products with microbeads! Some cosmetics and cleaning products contain tiny pieces of plastic, which are also known as microbeads. These bits of plastic are too small to be captured by water treatment plants and they end up in our waterways where they can be ingested by animals and they accumulate in the oceans. Banish the Bead. Throughout the campus, install water fountains and bottle filling stations- this can help visitors make the better choice to utilize reusable bottles instead of buying bottled water. Provide Free Refills! Gift Shop Ops - Look at the items stocked in your shops and identify ways that plastic gift items can be swapped out with alternative options. Last but not least, work with your education and marketing teams to implement a program or competition to encourage your visitors, as well as staff and volunteers, to follow your lead. The lessons from the Better Bag Challenge offer some good insights here! Be a Muse for Reuse! -- Guest post from Wanda Evans at Saint Louis Zoo and Jennifer Hale at Denver Zoo Banner image credit to Saint Louis Zoo
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Congrats! New Innovative Solutions Grants+ awardees announced
For over 18 years, The Ocean Project has been advancing conservation in partnership with zoos, aquariums, museums, and other visitor-serving organizations around the country and the world. We’ve provided strategic resources and tools to help our network of partners effectively engage visitors, both onsite and online so that together we can solve issues in our backyards and around our blue planet. Thank you to our partner aquariums and zoos for all you are doing to involve your visitors and the public in conservation awareness and action! Together, we are making a real difference, as the movement is continues to gain traction. A few years ago – with great thanks to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – we launched an Innovative Solutions Grants+ Program (ISG+) to test different ways to engage aquarium and zoo visitors. ISG+ has focused especially on reaching teens and minorities, empowering them to help with solutions to ocean and climate issues. Through this program, we award grants to innovative zoo and aquarium leaders; the “+” in ISG+ refers to pro-bono strategic communications coaching we provide throughout the grant period and the catalyzing work we do to enhance peer-to-peer sharing. ISG+ is helping to accelerate individual and societal actions, with lessons learned benefiting the aquarium and zoo community as a whole. Thank you to all who applied for a grant this year. This is the third year of ISG+, and each time we receive stronger proposals from zoos and aquariums around the country. It’s not easy for our Advisory Panel to select the winners. Ideally, we’d fund many more of your excellent proposals, and we’re trying to raise the funding to expand this program (see below). We are pleased to announce the following ISG+ recipients for 2015-2016 support: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum: Awarded $20,000 to engage university students in Tasting Sustainability, a community-based conservation initiative to increase awareness of seafood sustainability and decrease consumption of unsustainably caught or farmed seafood. Working with Tucson-based group, Lead Local, activities will engage the community, as well as enhance opportunities on the Museum grounds for visitors to help with seafood-related solutions. National Aquarium: Awarded $25,000 for a project that engages the Hispanic community in a small Baltimore watershed. Through on-the-ground education and leadership training, they will create a network of community members who will spread plastic pollution and marine debris prevention messaging through their neighborhoods and networks. This project will also connect to the Aquarium’s Living Seashore exhibit, which features five Shore Heroes – individuals and groups who have taken action to protect aquatic resources. They plan to develop a sixth Shore Hero, their first with an urban focus, who will make clear the connection between urban waters and the ocean, and as well as set an example for plastic pollution and marine debris prevention. Saint Louis Zoo: Awarded $15,000 to launch a project directed predominantly by teen volunteers via social media in high school peer networks and with Zoo visitors to tackle the growing issue of plastic pollution and marine debris (100 billion plastic bags are used annually in the United States, with less than 1% recycled). To address these issues in a relevant, actionable manner, staff and Zoo teens will develop a project to reduce plastic bags at Zoo retail locations, within teen volunteer peer networks, and among Zoo visitors. This project has the potential to impact the local community and beyond. Teens at Woodland Park Zoo Woodland Park Zoo: Awarded a second year of funding, at $30,000 to expand their leadership role with Seattle Youth Climate Action Network (CAN). CAN was established with ISG+ support in 2014 as an evolution of Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle Aquarium and Pacific Science Center youth programs. Through collective action, these organizations aim engage local teens in effective climate change leadership opportunities. Achieving their vision for Seattle Youth CAN as a replicable model depends upon their ability to continue to integrate new voices, relationships and resources. In 2015-2016, they plan to build upon the existing structure, by expanding the Network and its efficacy through various activities. Congratulations to the grantees! With all our partners, The Ocean Project looks forward to working with you in 2016 and beyond, to help effectively engage your visitors for conservation outcomes and impact. This round of support is the third year of a three-year grant from NOAA. In total, with NOAA funding, we have provided approximately $260,000 to 10 AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums. We're seeking partners to continue to expand this program for aquariums and zoos. We’re hoping to secure additional support in 2016 from NOAA, and/or other funding sources. The Ocean Project is also looking to partner with key aquariums and zoos to target joint fundraising opportunities through collaborative grant applications. If interested, please contact us!
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