Speaking for the trees

A class of University of Delaware communication students put theory into practice last semester by partnering with a nonprofit organization in Lewes, Delaware, on a project to save the last forested area in the popular coastal town.

The students in professor Steve Momorella's public relations campaign planning class joined forces with the Greater Lewes Foundation's Open Space Alliance to create a public relations campaign about the Fourth Street Preserve project. The foundation is fundraising to buy a 30-acre parcel of land in the city that has both environmental and historical significance.

Once 100 acres, the property was the first piece of land deeded to Delaware's earliest settlers, more than 350 years ago. It serves an important role as a habitat for a variety of wildlife, including bald eagles, and protects the surrounding area from flooding.

The foundation has a goal of raising $8 million by Sept. 15, 2025, in order to buy the land from the current owners. To date, the group has raised about 70% of the amount and is optimistic it will meet the goal. Once sold, the city of Lewes will own the land, which will be designated as conservation space.

"This was a great opportunity for the students," Momorella said. "They learned to understand the audience, the strategy, how to focus the tools to meet goals."

From classwork to real impact

The students began by researching and conducting surveys and interviews with Foundation and community members about the project. The goal was to raise awareness in other parts of the state, especially northern Delaware.

Then the class divided into four teams, each working on a different public relations tactic. One group focused on increasing traffic to the project's website, another created an Instagram account, and another wrote a press release sent to media in northern Delaware. The last group hosted a webinar for UD's environmental student groups featuring the Delaware chair of the Surfrider Foundation, a national environmental activist network dedicated to protecting the world's oceans.

Megan Emmerling, a senior honors communication major with a PR concentration, led the team that created an Instagram account for the project. They narrowed their target audience to other UD students "because that's who we have the greatest access to," and then built a following by posting flyers about the project in the student centers, following and tagging UD registered student organizations and environmental groups they thought would be interested in the topic, and holding a raffle where contestants had to tag others to follow the account in order to qualify for the prize.