Project Task:

54

Grantee:

Northern Virginia Planning District Commission

Project Title:

Northern Virginia Native Plant Social Marketing Campaign

Project Description as Proposed:

Virginia CZM Program partners are reporting that throughout Virginia’s coastal zone an increasing number of gardeners are aware of the water quality and wildlife habitat benefits of native plants and indicate they would be interested in using natives, but real and perceived barriers clearly exist that are preventing people from buying and planting native plants. For example, in Northern Virginia a fall 2009 survey of participants of Rain Garden Workshops hosted by Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC), with funding through a PDC Coastal Technical Assistance grant from Virginia CZM, revealed that many residents are interested in purchasing native plants. However, they identified that it is difficult for them to select native varieties once they are at the store since native plants are often not clearly marked and can be difficult to distinguish among the large amount of plant stock at local retail establishments.  To capitalize on the growing interest in native plants and the growing number of projects and programs focused on natives, the Virginia CZM initiated the Virginia Native Plant Marketing Partnership in August if this year. The partnership’s goal is to identify opportunities to collaborate and partner on Virginia native plant communication and marketing efforts and form a cohesive and coordinated strategy to encourage the use of plants native to Virginia for their many water quality and wildlife habitat benefits. The partnership is considering how current and future informational and marketing materials can be transferable across regions and coast-wide. Market research conducted at the Northern Virginia scale will help tailor messages and products to the region’s audience as well as provide an understanding of the current attitudes, perceptions, knowledge and behavioral barriers of Northern Virginia residents. With this information, NVRC staff will work with local partners to launch a regional pilot that will develop messaging and a multi-media mix that should be most effective at reaching this audience and bringing about the desired behavior – an increase in the use of native plants. The Plant ES Natives campaign on Virginia’s Eastern Shore is serving as a model, and it is possible that marketing materials developed for this campaign might be as effective for the Northern Virginia audience, for example the point of sale items – plant tags.      Through this grant, NVRC will conduct research in the Northern Virginia area and will then develop a regional social marketing campaign.Federal Funding:

$48,500

Project Contact:

Laura Grape, (703) 642-4625; lgrape@novaregion.org

Project Status:

10/1/2011 - 9/30/2012

Final Product Received:

 

Project Summary Provided by Grantee:

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer: This project summary provides the federal dollars initially awarded to the grantee. Due to underexpenditure or reprogramming of grant funds, this figure may change. For more information on the allocation of coastal grant funds, please contact Laura McKay, Virginia Coastal Program Manager, at 804.698.4323 or email: Laura.McKay@deq.virginia.gov

A more detailed Scope of Work for this project is available. Please direct your request for a copy to Virginia.Witmer@deq.virginia.gov