Mini Strategic Plan – Fort Worth Nature Center & Refugee

The Fort Worth Nature Center & Refuge’s Mission

To enhance the quality of life by enrolling and educating the community in the preservation and protection of natural areas while standing as an example of these same principles and values in North Central Texas.

Situation Analysis

For 50 years, the Fort Worth Nature Center & Reserve has dedicated its 3,621 acres to the preservation of natural areas, natural resources and educating the community. The FWNC&R offers a variety of educational programs for individuals, schools and families. Described as a “hidden jewel,” the FWNC&R is one of the largest municipal-owned nature centers in the United States. With programs such as Summer Natural History Adventures, Buffalo Boogie and Nature Hikes it takes quite an investment to accommodate the resources provided in the nature center. The FWNC&R is funded by the Friends of the Fort Worth Nature Center, a nonprofit organization which is the FWNC&R’s main contributor. In the past decades the FWNC&R has underwent changes to increase revenue of the park. The FWNC&R is impacted by a lack of awareness which results in low attendance. A well constructed plan to increase attendance would benefit the nature center because it would raise revenue. By increasing revenue the nature center would be able to keep the entrance fees low, pay wages to the dedicated staff and create new ideas that would benefit the FWNC&R for years to come.

Research

In 2003, a market analysis study was conducted and found that the nature center’s primary visitors were residents of relatively close areas who represented a local market and those who lived further away that comprised as a tourist market. The nature center’s facilities are visited by school groups and offer more advanced research programs for advanced participants. In recent years the nature center has developed more programs that are offered on the weekdays for organizations, schools and daycares as well weekends for families and individuals. In a survey conducted by the urban institute outdoor activities were favored by 79 percent as opposed to all other types of activities. Running was favored as the most popular form of exercise amongst other activities. An analysis showed that Caucasians had a higher visitor rate than African Americans, Latinos and Asians.

Competitors

Joe Pool Lakeo Lynn Creek Parko Cedar Hill State Park

River Legacy Park Fort Worth Botanic Gardens Admission to FWNC&R is lower compared to some of the competitors The FWNC&R offer educational programs that some of competitors do not

Key Messages

In maintaining the integrity of the FWNC&R’s mission, the strategic plan…

Strive to educate the importance of the nature center to the younger audience Strive to maintain the preservation of the nature center without devaluing the center’s

natural habitats and natural resources

Target Audience

The primary audience for the FWNC&R has been open to anyone wanting to be educated about the natural ecosystems in the Fort Worth community.

However, the research showed to gain interest in today’s highly competitive nonprofit category, the plan would have to 1) target active adults who would utilize many of the facilities to their health advantage while being able to use the other facilities to their educational advantage and 2) reach out to a younger demographic to increase participants in many of the nature center’s activities.

The communication tactics and activities described in the strategic plan are designed to engage the following audiences:

External Audience:

Fitness Enthusiasts o Hikerso Runnerso Bikerso Canoers / Kayakers

Nature Enthusiasts Picnickers Senior Citizens Dog Owners Photographers Schools

o Elementary o Middle Schoolo High Schoolo Private / Charter

Families o With children 2 - 5o With children 6 - 12o With children 13+o Low – medium income level

Motherso Stay at home motherso Working mothers

Internal Audience:

Friends of the Fort Worth Nature Center Volunteers Naturalists Wild Ambassadors

Goals

Increase engagement - Incorporate more activities that would draw in more visitors and ensure that first-timers would return to the nature center.

Increase awareness - Increase knowledge of the nature center’s mission amongst the community and surrounding cities.

Reach a new and diverse audience and gain new members. Increase revenue to accommodate the nature center’s resources.

Objectives

Increase the number of visitors by 25 percent Increase the number of enrollment in educational programs by 25 percent Issue at least three news releases for niche audiences Increase volume of social media impressions Increase membership sales by 15 percent

Media Audit

The latest media impression found online was during the 50 year anniversary celebration in 2014. The Star Telegram wrote an article about the celebration that featured a brief history about the nature center. The FWNC&R has four social mediums they use to communicate to their external audiences. They have a YouTube channel, Twitter, Facebook and Flickr. Of the four mediums the FWNC&R uses the Facebook account the most with about 5,800 likes and nearly 8,000 tagged visits. The Twitter, Flickr and YouTube accounts have not been updated since 2013. The Twitter account has potential with close to 750 followers but no tweets posted since 2013. While the YouTube account has been deserted, there are a few videos with less than 200 views each it is easy to see that it is the nature center’s weakest medium. Lastly the Flickr account has photographs of the nature center’s scenic views posted on the page. While each photo has numerous views the nature center has not updated anything since 2013.