A new initiative designed to showcase the coastal marine environment was in desperate need of comms support to rally interest for its launch and events running over Wellington’s summer.
Developed by a group of science and marine enthusiasts and launched in late January 2024, Explore Your Coast’s goal is to encourage Kiwis to engage with the sea and coastline and ultimately care more about their preservation.
Events held along 70 kilometres of Wellington’s coastline over three weekends offered locals opportunities to dive, snorkel and swim to explore kelp forests, sponge gardens and the marine life of the Taputeranga Marine Reserve and find out about our coasts from marine scientists and experts.
Founder Dr Nicole Miller says the group were looking for a volunteer who could help support them with communications for the launch and associated events under a tight timeframe.
“It was fantastic that the Community Comms Collective matched us with a volunteer who was keen to get stuck in with whatever was needed and had the breadth of skills and experience to take on any challenge in their stride.”
That volunteer was Miett Fear who says the combination of marketing, media and events on an environmental project really appealed.
Matchmaker Lynne Le Gros says she got a strong sense of the passion from the Explore Your Coast team for their work and the planned events.
“Matching Miett to the project really felt like it was set up for a great outcome, with both Miett’s comms skills and her enthusiasm for the work.”
Nicole says despite the short lead up time, the Explore Your Coast initiative received great exposure thanks to Miett’s expertise in pitching the event to different media channels and connecting with people.
“We secured a radio interview and follow up coverage with some articles still to be published. Perfect timing to keep publicity for Explore Your Coast going over the winter.”
Miett says she also ran most of the onshore public engagement events which included showcasing the Taputeranga Marine Reserve via virtual reality headsets and a kina cooking and eating demonstration.
“Lucky for us Miett was able to give us more of her time during the period of events and beyond than originally briefed in. She is now a key member of our team and supports strategic planning and engagements leading up to next summer’s events,” says Nicole.
“Many community groups do great work but without public exposure it is difficult to realise the full impact. The Community Comms Collective is filling a crucial gap in matching volunteers from their network with needed skills that community groups could otherwise not find or afford to resource”
Miett says although she’s not a diver and doesn’t like cold water, she couldn’t help getting swept up by Nicole’s passion and purpose.
“The impact of overfishing large fish like snapper, blue cod, moki and crayfish has caused a break in the natural food chain with a lack of kina predators. Kilometres of the ocean floor that were once healthy reefs full of seaweed, are turning into kina barren. Seaweeds are vital in the marine ecosystem to provide habitat and nursery grounds for marine life, however, as the sea urchin population grows exponentially, they devour the seaweed leaving only bare rocks.
“Without educating the public and decision makers this demise will continue, but it’s not too late to turn it around.”
Celebrating and exploring the biodiversity under the waves along Wellington's blue belt.
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