Hello everyone! Welcome back! It’s been a busy few weeks with our project to raise awareness for Ruckle Provincial Park through social media. We’re steadily building up our Instagram page and engaging with the local community. I’m here to give you a quick update on where we stand, some of our small wins, and the hurdles we’ve encountered along the way.
1. Where Are We with Our Action?
We’re in the early stages of the project, but things are moving forward. Since launching the Instagram account, our team has been working on curating content that showcases Ruckle Park’s history and natural beauty. We’ve shared posts about the historic Ruckle homestead and some of the park’s stunning views. One of our main goals is to create content that doesn’t just highlight the park’s landscape, but also brings attention to its cultural and historical significance.
A big win for us was connecting with Brenda, an environmental education expert. She has been instrumental in helping us focus our messaging and ensuring that our content is respectful and historically accurate. We’re starting to see some organic engagement on the page, and it’s motivating us to keep pushing forward.
2. Successes We’ve Had So Far
The biggest success so far has been our initial growth. We’ve gained a small but steady following, and people are engaging with our posts. For example, when we posted a picture of the Ruckle homestead, it sparked a lot of interest in the park’s history, with people commenting on how much they loved learning about it.
Another great success has been how our posts have sparked conversations. One post about the park’s view from the cliffs even got shared by local tourism groups, giving us a small but important boost in visibility. This shows us that there is real interest in the park and its story!
Lastly, we’re proud of how well our team has been communicating. Planning and working together has kept us on track, and we’re excited to keep collaborating as we move forward.
3. Challenges We’ve Faced (and How We’re Overcoming Them)
Like any project, we’ve faced a few challenges. One of the main hurdles has been sourcing quality visual content. While the park itself offers stunning natural landscapes, historical images have been harder to come by. We’ve overcome this by reaching out to local historical societies, who have been kind enough to share some of their archives with us. This has made a big difference in ensuring that we can illustrate the park’s history accurately.
Another challenge has been staying true to our educational goals while also making sure our content resonates with younger audiences. Many of our early followers are locals who already know about the park, but we’ve been brainstorming ways to make the content more engaging for younger, broader audiences. We’re testing out fun posts like “Did You Know?” facts and trivia, which have had a positive effect on engagement.
Lastly, one of our team’s challenges has been figuring out the best balance of content. We’ve found ourselves debating whether to focus more on the natural aspects of the park or the historical elements. It’s still a work in progress, but we’re making sure that both sides get equal attention to keep the content well-rounded.
4. What’s Next and Why?
Looking ahead, we’re planning to build on our early success by posting more regularly and experimenting with different types of content. Our next big step is creating a content calendar, so we can stay consistent with our posts. We’re also going to try some Instagram Stories and polls to make things more interactive.
We’re also planning to reach out to local schools and other community groups to partner on content. We’ve been thinking about doing a special post or series to engage younger audiences more effectively.
Another exciting next step is to collaborate with local Indigenous groups to learn about their connection to Ruckle Park. This has been part of our plan from the start, and we’re excited to bring their stories into the conversation.
Reference for Overcoming Challenges:
I found a great article from National Geographic about how organizations like theirs have used social media to engage younger audiences and create impactful educational content (National Geographic). One of their strategies was to feature interactive elements like quizzes and behind-the-scenes videos, which we plan to use to engage our own followers.
Thanks for following along as we continue our journey! We’re just getting started, and I can’t wait to share more with you soon.
– Dara Casillas