Water Fowl or Foul Water? Advertisement
Organization Information:
- Organization Name:
- Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation
- City & State:
- Charlotte,
- North Carolina
- Organization Website:
- http://www.catawbariverkeeper.org
- Organization's Mission Statement
- The Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation (CRF) advocates for and secures protection and enhancement of the Catawba River, its lakes,tributaries and watershed so that it will always sustain the human and wildlife populations that depend on it for life.
Submission Information
- Impact Essay
- The Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation has been dedicated to the greater Charlotte region’s environmental obligation to preserve, protect and restore the Catawba River Basin’s river, lakes, creeks, and streams for the past 11 years. The Catawba River provides drinking water to 1.6 million people along the Catawba River Basin through North and South Carolina and employment and recreation to many more. As the Charlotte region continues to grow, the Catawba River, as well as the hundreds of plant and animal species it supports, faces increasing threats. The effects of Charlotte’s exploding growth are already apparent. Alarmingly, American Rivers, a national river conservation organization, designated the Catawba River the Most Endangered River in the Nation in 2008. In light of this designation, the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation ran a series of advertisements in local publications highlighting the issues facing the river, encouraging residents to acknowledge the importance of the River and its impact in their lives. These advertisements were designed using Adobe Photoshop, which was purchased through TechSoup. In our 11 year history, we had traditionally targeted only lake front residents with our mission. This ad campaign was designed to bring to light the fact that river issues affect all community members – including city dwellers. We wanted to tie the fact that the river is their drinking water, and therefore, the quality of our water affected them.The "Water Fowl or Foul Water" advertisement was the best received by the community. This advertisement ran in Natural Awakenings, a North Carolina publication. From this advertisement, we were able to expand our mission and reach out to potential members and volunteers that we did not have access to before. This approach to target the Charlotte market and educate them on our mission was very effective, bringing in new members for the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation and expanding our reach to educate the community on the importance of this natural resource. Because of this advertisement we were better able to express that the fact that the next 10 years are critical for the health of the Catawba Basin and to all those who depend upon it. Charlotte is the second-fastest growing urban city in the nation. Forty acres of vegetated land are cleared every day to make way for new housing developments, shopping centers, and businesses. This tremendous increase in development allows higher levels of harmful heavy metals, petroleum products, and nutrients to make their way into the Catawba, our primary source of drinking water.
- Submission Category
- Environmental Impact Print/Photo
- Supporting Work Files
-
