Launching Chicago Wilderness: A Public Education Campaign to Preserve a Region's Rare Natural Areas

Chicago Wilderness is not an oxymoron. The metropolitan area is home to an unusually rich and globally significant concentration of rare native plants and animals. Chicago Wilderness encompasses more than 200,000 acres of protected natural lands, including significant wetlands, glacial lakes, rivers and some of the most pristine tallgrass prairies and oak woodlands surviving in the world. It stretches from the Chiwaukee Prairie in southeast Wisconsin, to Chicago and its collar counties, to the Indiana Dunes.

In an unprecedented collaborative effort, the Chicago Region Biodiversity Council (CRBC) — a group of 34 conservation- conscious public and private organizations — created Chicago Wilderness, a plan to help salvage and preserve this rich natural legacy for future generations. Understanding the importance of public support, the Council asked Public Communications Inc. to create a public relations campaign to raise awareness of Chicago Wilderness and stimulate the much- needed public support for restoration and preservation projects.

Objectives of the program were to:

• Raise awareness of Chicago Wilderness and iis natural areas found no where else
• Generate financial support for its programs
• Build enthusiasm for public participation in the Chicago Wilderness programs

Before planning a public launch, PCI assisted the group in coordinating its internal communications, often a challenge to represent the views of 34 different organizations, including local, state and federal governments, research and education institutions, landowners and conservation groups. PCI worked with several subcommittees assigned to approve different elements of the program. Those elements and tactics included:

Name & Logo Development: PCI developed the name and logo for "Chicago Wilderness, A Regional Nature Reserve." The logo, a wild onion, represents the once abundant wild onions that grew where Chicago now stands and the delicacy of the natural areas now at risk because of urban sprawl.

Poster Design: PCI worked with an artist to create a poster showing an overview of the extraordinary greenways, lake front and wildlife that pervade the Chicago metropolitan area. The poster's colorful front incorporates the logo, member list and threatened plants and animals native to the land. The backside offers a telephone number through which the public could become involved and 12 detailed examples of plants and animals that live in the region.

Message Development: The scope of Chicago Wilderness and the scientific jargon often used by members to talk about preservation projects were condensed into user-friendly language to explain the threat to these natural areas and get the public to act.

B-roll/interviews: Controlled prairie burns administered by Chicago Wilderness volunteers and scenery of tallgrass prairies, savannas and wetlands highlighted the b-roll distributed to television media. Accompanying the visuals were taped interviews with seven spokespersons filmed at various natural areas that are part of Chicago Wilderness.

Media Kit: PCI created a comprehensive press kit, including a news release and editorial backgrounder, fact sheet, Q&A, map, project list, summary statements of the member organizations, glossary of ecological terms, brochure, volunteer opportunities and information hotline.

Government Relations: Bipartisan support from government officials was critical to ensure the long-term success of Chicago Wilderness. Key elected and appointed officials were targeted to attend the news conference and the program kick-off party.

Media Relations: Targeted environmental and conservation reporters were provided advance information about Chicago Wilderness to stimulate interest in the program. PCI also scheduled local editorial board meetings for Council representatives.

News Conference: An April 10 news conference at the Field Museum of Natural History attracted more than 100 people. Banners featuring the Chicago Wilderness name and logo and natural plants created a festive setting. Trained spokespersons announced the launch of Chicago Wilderness, outlined the program and answered media questions.

Site Tours: Immediately following the news conference, media were invited to go on one of two guided van tours of Bunker Hill Prairie/North Park Village Nature Center or Swallow Cliff Woods/Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve and see Chicago Wilderness at work. At each site, volunteers demonstrated restoration work in progress, including a controlled prairie burn which provided excellent visual opportunities for photographers and television media.

Reception: More than 400 guests attended a special kick-off party on April 10 to celebrate the launch. Chicago Wilderness T- shirts, free posters and samples of tallgrass prairie seed mix were given away to guests.

Highlighting the completed placements were a front-page Chicago Tribune story, editorials applauding the Council's vision in theTribune, Chicago Sun-Times and Daily Herald, UPI, Southwest Airlines Spirit Magazine, WLS-TV, WFLD-TV and a live Mara Tapp Show interview. In all, more than 70 placements were completed reaching an estimated audience of 8 million people. The U.S. Forest Service announced a $700,000 grant for Chicago Wilderness programs a result of the launch. And hundreds of new volunteers flooded the volunteer hotline, and many signed up to work on various Chicago Wilderness projects.

The Council believes the successful launch built a solid foundation for securing future funding and enlisting volunteers to help complete conservation projects vital to the area's rare natural communities survival.