The Trust for Public Land Launches National Campaign - and Social Media Push - to Protect Land and Create Parks

SAN FRANCISCO, June 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Trust for Public Land, the only national conservation organization dedicated to creating parks and protecting land for people, today announced the launch of #OurLand (tpl.org/ourland, #ourland), an outreach campaign designed to spur a movement to inspire people to share why nature matters to them. 

The #OurLand campaign invites all Americans to help protect "our land" by posting personal photos and statements expressing why they love parks and open spaces at tpl.org/ourland. The posts will become part of a robust digital, social, and traditional media campaign to raise awareness about the essential connection between people and nature and to drive a national dialogue about the importance of protecting our natural places.

"Open space in America is disappearing at a rate of 6,000 acres each day. This campaign is designed to change that by giving people a platform to express why nature—and our land—matter to us all," said Will Rogers, The Trust for Public Land's president and CEO. "Public land is our land—yours and mine. We designed the #OurLand campaign to spur a social movement to protect nature and to create parks that will strengthen and revitalize our neighborhoods. We want Americans to inspire each other and help The Trust for Public Land to protect the places we all love—for the health of our families, communities, and future."

The #OurLand campaign, the first of its kind in the organization's 40-year history, will support The Trust for Public Land's work with communities across America to protect land and create parks—from neighborhood playgrounds in cities, to family farms and working lands, to the vast wilderness escapes that keep our air and water clean.

Research demonstrates that parks and open spaces create healthier and more vibrant communities. Proximity to parks improves physical and emotional health, and open space enhances the value of residential properties and produces increased tax revenues for communities. Open space also provides under-recognized services such as capturing precipitation, minimizing stormwater management costs, and reducing the cost of drinking water up to ten-fold.

The #OurLand campaign was developed for The Trust for Public Land by the award-winning, pro-social advertising agency, Citizen Group (citizengroup.com). The campaign is running on Hulu, YouTube, and Tapjoy as well as through a national PSA distribution program. The focus of the effort, however, is to build a strong presence and community on the dominant social media channels, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. The campaign is recruiting people from all walks of life to support the effort and become advocates to help promote the cause. For example, rising country music star Holly Williams (www.hollywilliams.com), granddaughter of the legendary Hank Williams, provides voice-over for the current crop of TV spots and web videos.

"This is all about people-power," said Sean Connolly, The Trust for Public Land's Chief Marketing Officer. "#OurLand offers everyone an easy, fun way to express why nature matters to them through sharable digital postcards and social media badges that feature their own names, belief statements, and photos. The goal of the campaign is to give diverse audiences across America a platform to tell the world why parks, gardens, trails, and natural areas are worth saving."

Webcast

Trust for Public Land will hold a live Webcast at 10 a.m. Pacific/1 p.m. Eastern today to discuss the #Our Land campaign in greater detail. Attendees can join the audio portion of the presentation by calling 415-655-0001 and entering the access code 199 516 757.  For access to the audio and visual portions of the presentation, click here.

To learn more about the campaign, check out this behind-the-scenes look at the making of #OurLand.

About The Trust for Public Land

The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come. Nearly ten million people live within a ten-minute walk of a Trust for Public Land park, garden, or natural area, and millions more visit these sites every year.

#OurLand, is our new nationwide outreach campaign designed to galvanize the public and spur a movement to create parks and protect land for people.

SOURCE The Trust For Public Land