Preserving communities
Design for the environment
The Brief & context
For this project we are required to choose a South African Non-profit Organisation of our choice and create a practical, functional, and sustainable presence for the NPO that will attract new and existing support from donors and volunteers. A Non-profit Organisation, which is typically a non-governmental entity, is an institution established to help aid the public or socially benefit people without making any type of profit, which can be applicable to schools, feeding programs, support and more.
South Africa’s education system still seems to struggle to recover from the Bantu education law from the apartheid era, as a whopping 27% of pupils attending public school and 41% of children in rural schools who have been attending school for six years still cannot read. Rural schools are suffering especially due to the lack of basic utilities like electricity and books, indicating that the quality of education is negatively affecting education systems.
About the client Eco Children
Eco children, based in the township Acornhoek in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, is operating as a successful rural school. This non-profit offers environmental education and whole school development to the local children and their goal is to give decent education with improved learning environments. This organization is centred around the positive impact of environmental awareness and conservation for students and the economy of South Africa. Unlike other rural schools in South Africa, this organization sees the lack of a classroom as a benefit to help teach their students in a new way. To help achieve Eco Children’s vision and goals this organization needs capital to help sustain their eco gardens, materials to help maintain their quality of education and teachers, donations of building materials (infrastructure of gardens) and lastly volunteers to help build bases for keyhole gardens.
The problem Eco Children faces is that the public not yet realizes the value and overall benefit that eco education has on students, especially of those living in rural areas. And this campaign aims to deliver that education isn’t just happening through books anymore, but rather through the value of eco education, which is a valuable way to offer children the tools and knowledge needed that they could use in real life. Eco Children equips their students with sustainability and responsibility towards their environment. This practical teaching method is also an accessible way of teaching in rural areas. This message is targeted towards individuals who are driven to impact their surroundings in order to create a better future for those around them, therefor the target audience consist of outdoor enthusiasts, specifically families – parents and their children, who are conscious about the environments they are exploring and living in.
The creative strategy
The creative plan is to offer a message of the invaluable systems at play at Eco Children who are functioning and working together as one community to preserve a better future and way of life. The aim is to use environmental centered design to attest to the value of eco education found in nature reserves across the country and how it benefits and preserves both the environment as well as the communities who learn about sustainability and conservation. Without these values the communities and the environment they live in will deteriorate and fall apart and the lessons and skills that students learn at Eco Children will help maintain and protect the environment that the target audience holds very dearly
The concept
The idea is to achieve this by showing nature enthusiasts that Eco Children Preserves and bottles communities. The purpose of this concept is to show how Eco Children, the environment and the target audience themselves are part of one community. All of these elements are connected and together have to protect, preserve and learn from each other in order to continue being. Next the idea of bottling is used to show how something is preserved. The glass elements and bottled illustrations are used to symbolize preservation. This was inspired by the practice by potting fruits, herbs and other foods in jars in order to preserve it. This links to the need for this campaign which is for Eco Children and their way of teaching children to continue so that the target audience’s point of interest (nature and the environment) can also be preserved.
Throughout the campaign’s roll out it was important to draw on the importance of eco education and how it will contribute to sustaining their way of life. The first step of the campaign is to reach the target audience through social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram in order to spread the communication goal.
The second step is to convert the target audience and getting them interested in the workshop that Klaserie Private Nature Reserve hosts each quarter for Eco Children’s students and tourists alike that offers the opportunity for the target audience to experience the method of eco education themselves. More information on the workshop is given via the social media stories and can also be used Rsvp to the workshop so that the target audience can receive an invitation.
When swiping on the social media stories, the target audience is directed to a micro site, where they can Rsvp to the workshop event. This will help the NPO track the amount of people coming. This also gives the target audience the opportunity to donate to Eco Children if they choose to or cannot attend the workshop.
The fourth step is just a confirmation step that shows the target audience that they have filled in a working email address and have successfully Rsvp’d for the workshop.
This invitation must be showed on the day to receive a keepsake which is the final step of this campaign. With two options available. a tote bag or a vinyl sticker, this is something to thank the target audience for coming and interacting with Eco Children. It is hoped that when the target audience returns to their homes and use the keepsakes, further awareness will be raised about Eco Children and their name.
