Bringing Youth Power to Watershed Restoration

What’s the connection between commercials for Subaru cars and Apple devices and marketing watershed protection? Just ask a WV Rivers’ OneWatershed Fellow. These high-school and college-aged young adults join watershed leaders for weekend training to learn about branding, identifying audiences, and using social media to attract and keep volunteers for watershed stewardship.

They apply marketing research and branding concepts to develop plans to help watershed groups attract younger volunteers and nurture new leaders.

The fellows critique videos produced by nonprofit groups large and small with an eye for audience, effective messaging, and clear and compelling calls to action. They apply what they learn to help watershed groups craft youth-focused communications.

Many watershed organizations struggle with the same challenges: replenishing leadership, communications and marketing, and attracting younger volunteers.