Case Study: Saving Species Together
Director: Kevin White
Producers: Kevin White & David Donnenfield
Client:
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, in collaboration with California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and NOAA Fisheries. As part of a legal settlement, the National Fish and Wildlife Fund was tasked with creating an educational media campaign that would help private landowners understand the value of collaboration with a wide variety of stakeholders to protect vulnerable species.
Goal:
Educate the public, including private landowners who manage lands that are habitats for threatened or endangered species, on how to avoid harming listed species, and to recognize and appreciate their role in protecting listed species as an integral part of maintaining California’s rich ecological diversity.
Strategy:
Create a series of four short videos for web release, each highlighting the unique story behind one of the featured listed species. Show that collaboration to protect the species is possible by building conservation communities that include all stakeholders.
Audience:
Private landowners in California (developers, agriculture, solar, logging, and other groups), affinity nonprofits engaged in species work, and engaged citizens.
Approach:
The videos combined interviews with scientists and private landowners with stunning footage of the species, to show positive stories of collaboration and the beauty of the species. The videos were supported by a website filled with relevant content and resources. Through this campaign, viewers can see their own role in being part of the solution to protect and conserve listed species. Private landowners can see how other landowners were able to contribute to species preservation and be given the resources to join in the action.
The videos were posted online by the participating agencies, promoted to private landowners and affinity nonprofits, and distributed through PBS as a half hour show.
Impact:
Viewers have learned about these four listed species, how collaboration is helping to protect them, and that they can also contribute to the legacy of these critters. The videos have collectively received over 200,000 views and garnered positive comments from viewers. The half hour broadcast edit has been aired over 100 times in its first three months of release, covering 20% of PBS markets with a large focus on California PBS stations.
Watch the individual films: