The National Forest Foundation (NFF) conducts a series of events each year that provide excellent opportunities for corporate partners to communicate to event participants. Corporate recognition is given based on levels of cash, product and in-kind support.
The NFF represents the Forest Service in its outreach programs to forest users. Each of these programs may be viewed as a promotional property, which offers marketing and public relations benefits to corporate partner brands. Forest Service programs are national in scope and market specific at the same time, reaching varied demographics and millions of forest visitors annually.
A sampling of current programs available as properties for corporate or brand tie-ins include:
Friends of the Forest® - Supporters of National Forests and Grasslands
Golden Eagle Passports - Entrance pass for public lands visitors
Nature Watch - Nature-watching events in National Forest System
Urban Treehouse - Environmental education for children in urban setting
Junior Forest Ranger (JFR) - Children complete activities to become a JFR
Natural Inquirer - Middle school science education program
Hands on the Land (HOL) - Field classrooms in seven Forest Service locations
Woodsy Owl Licensing - Spokes-character for environmental quality
“Get Fit with US” - Program to encourage outdoor recreational exercise
Friends of the Forest™ - The Chief of the Forest Service has called for the creation of a constituency of National Forest supporters for the 21st century. This growing group of people engages with National Forests by giving, volunteering, and enjoying incredible outdoor experiences. Becoming a Friend of the Forest is free. Brands can help offer Friends of the Forest membership through their Web site links and through product promotions. Friends of the Forest receive a monthly e-newsletter, tree-mail™ and can participate in Friends of the Forest volunteer days that are available for corporate branding.
Golden Eagle Passports - The NFF offers online sales of this annual entrance pass accepted at some 13,000 locations where a fee is charged to the National Forest and other federal land visitors. Through Friends of the Forest, corporations may offer the annual pass to their customers discounted as a premium – an excellent way to reach a target audience of outdoor enthusiasts.
Nature Watch - “Provides children and adults the opportunity to safely view, and participate in, activities and programs that raise their level of awareness and understanding of wildlife, fish, and plants, and their connection to ecosystems, landscapes, and people.” In 2005, in 32 different locations across the National Forest System, 80,000 children and adults participated in more than 900 distinct events — all opportunities to enjoy nature. Each of these Nature Watch programs (or all of them collectively) are available for corporate sponsorship.
Urban Treehouse - The concern of “nature deficit disorder” - where children do not have access or the motivation to connect with the outdoors - is not solved if the target population has no means to travel outside the urban core. The Urban Treehouse is a simple concept – environmental education structures built outdoors in the city. Every Urban Treehouse is different, but all provide a place to teach conservation. Each has been developed and operated by partnerships with the Forest Service and local businesses, community groups, and nonprofit organizations.
The five Urban Treehouses are in Washington, D.C.; Atlanta, Georgia; Portland, Oregon; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. To harness the energy and environmental education expertise of the Forest Service, a corporate partner committed to offering nature opportunities to urban kids, can help expand that the Urban Treehouse concept nationwide.
Junior Forest Ranger (JFR) - In 1952 the JFR Program was developed as an educational enhancement to engage children with the Smokey Bear fire prevention campaign. The program was originally distributed through Macy’s Department Stores. It included a stuffed Smokey Bear doll, a JFR pledge card and the True Smokey Bear Story comic book. In three years the program exceeded all expectations as one million kids became Junior Forest Rangers. The response was so overwhelming that Smokey Bear was given his own zip code, 20252, to handle the volume of mail.
Today, despite the lack of new materials, any marketing or program promotion, there continues to be demand for the Junior Forest Ranger program. The Forest Service receives thousands of individual requests each year. A redesigned program utilizes the icons of Smokey Bear and Woodsy Owl to motivate children ages 7-13 to explore the natural world and embrace their responsibility to it. Children are able to earn their status as Junior Forest Rangers by completing a series of educational activities at Forest Service sites, classroom presentations and/or through the Internet.
Corporate partnerships can assist in production of the program booklet and fulfillment materials as well as promotions, marketing and distribution on a national scale.
Natural Inquirer - The Natural Inquirer is a middle school science education journal. The Natural Inquirer articles describe research conducted by scientists in the Forest Service concerned with nature, trees, wildlife, insects, outdoor activities and water. Students "meet the scientists" who conduct the research. Students read about a specific research project, written in the format for publication in research journals. Students become scientists when they do the Discovery FACTivity, learning vocabulary words that help in understanding articles. The Natural Inquirer program is distributed to approximately 100,000 middle school science teachers twice a year and is available for corporate sponsorship.
Hands on the Land (HOL) - Is a network of field classrooms stretching across America from Alaska to Florida, involving thousands of students in outdoor classroom experiences. HOL is sponsored by the five federal agencies that manage public lands and work with America’s private landowners, a nonprofit foundation, schools, and other private sector partners. The Forest Service operates seven HOL sites in California, Utah, Michigan, Colorado (2), Kentucky and North Carolina. Opportunities for companies interested in market-specific programs involving conservation education in these areas are available.
Woodsy Owl Licensing - While Smokey Bear is a Forest Service spokes-character that is held in joint ownership with the Advertising Council, Woodsy Owl is a distinct character wholly-owned by the Forest Service. As such, Woodsy is available for more flexible use and offers a broader licensing opportunity for potential corporate promotion partners interested in a conservation-themed character. Woodsy Owl is America’s symbol for environmental quality, established by an Act of Congress in June 1974, to promote wise use of the environment and programs that foster maintenance and improvement of environmental quality. Woodsy’s goals, objectives, and image have since been updated. Woodsy's primary audience is children from pre-kindergarten to third grade with special emphasis on outreach to nontraditional forest-user groups.
“Get Fit with US” - At a time when Americans have great mobility, they are becoming less and less active. And, while Americans place great value on fitness, they often find it too hard to accomplish in today’s world of hectic schedules and hastily-eaten meals. Exercise is becoming a planned event that must fit into prioritized schedules. Children in particular are gravitating from outdoor experiences toward virtual indoor realities.
Hiking, biking, camping, paddling, snowshoeing and skiing on America’s National Forests can permanently change lives for the better. Ninety percent of current outdoor enthusiasts were introduced to outdoor recreation between the ages of five and twelve. Getting families to use National Forests is a key to ensuring healthy, more active lifestyles for generations to come.
In 2003, President Bush launched the Healthier US Initiative to help Americans, especially children, live longer, better and healthier lives. Get Fit with US is a program of the U.S. Forest Service and other organizations such as the American Association of Family Physicians to encourage physical activity through outdoor recreation.
Get Fit with US has local presence in many National Forests that have developed market-specific programs with an array of local partners. Still other forests and market areas are ready to participate, as sponsorship funding becomes available. Get Fit with US is offered as a marketing property for product promotional tie-ins through the Forest Service’s official nonprofit partner, the National Forest Foundation.
For more information about event sponsorship or promotional property opportunities, contact:
Bill Possiel
President
National Forest Foundation
406-542-2805 x11
bpossiel@natlforests.org |
