The marketing committee has been hard at work developing the "Grow Wild Ones Marketing Plan." This is a working document that is being updated and expanded constantly. Please read over this document and send any comments or suggestions to the marketing committee at the "Grow Wild Ones" e-mail address.

Another Year to Grow Wild Ones -- WILD ONES ANNUAL APPEAL

Thanks to on-going support from our members, Wild Ones has come far in the three decades since nine enthusiasts met at the Schlitz Audubon Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to champion native plants. Since then, we have grown beyond their backyards to nearly 50 chapters and more than 3300 household members spread across much of the USA and into Canada and Australia. In just the past few years we have:
• Established the WILD Center
• Created important programs such as the Ecoscaper Certification
• Streamlined the Seeds for Education program
• Improved the Annual Photo Contest
• Started using social media
• Developed a Wild Ones Vision and Values Statement
• Hired a marketing consultant
• Contracted to have the website redesigned
• Strived to partner with like-minded organizations

All in preparation for the next steps:
• Move ahead with the website redesign
• Develop more social media outlets
• Cultivate more news media outlets
• Encourage more networking opportunities for partners at large (PALs)
• Work closely with chapters on promotional efforts
• Create partnerships with like-minded organizations
• Expand our networking opportunities with landscaping professionals
• Free up current staff to be more responsive to current member needs

If we are to take advantage of the “green” movement, we need to ensure we are part of it by increasing present staff and volunteers and thinking more smartly. With your continued support through donations and your advocacy, we'll be able to do just that. To add your support, go to Making It Happen!.

Wild Ones celebrates its thirty-third anniversary with a new premium -- access to the Top 12 Journal articles, a how-to-do-it sampling for all new and renewing members. New and renewing members at the “wilder” level also get notecards, and at the “wildest” level, members will also get the 2013 calendar. This is our way of saying thank you for continuing your support even though we have had to increase dues. Thank you! and enjoy! To get your premium(s) go to Support Wild Ones!.

At our recent Strategy Planning Meeting, the national board approved a Vision and Values Statement for Wild Ones.

Wild Ones Mission: Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes promotes environmentally sound landscaping practices to preserve biodiversity through the preservation, restoration and establishment of native plant communities. Wild Ones is a not-for-profit environmental education and advocacy organization.

Wild Ones Vision for Our Future: To become a widely recognized voice for native plants and the sustainable landscaping movement, promoting increased use of native plantings that create living landscapes through grassroots efforts by example, education, marketing, and personalized support.

• We will raise public awareness regarding the benefits that native plants, including trees, shrubs, wildflowers and grasses, offer in a variety of settings so landscaping with native plants becomes the norm rather than the exception.

• We will persuade the general public that including native plants in home and public landscapes is aesthetically pleasing and healthier for our environment, and that reducing unnecessary turf grass reduces stormwater runoff and unnecessary use of water, fuel, and lawn chemicals.

• We will see the use of native plants extend into an increasing number of areas where plants touch the soil - such as pollinator support and public places.

• We will join forces with others to preserve native plants and biodiversity from loss due to development and other forces, including displacement by non-native invasive plants.

Interpretation:

• Widely recognized: Means getting our name and what we do in front of the general public over and over until it is as commonly understood as "Audubon Society = Birds."

• Leading voice: Means that we are the group most people think of first when they need information, advice, or support on the "how to" or benefits of landscaping with native plants.

• Join forces: When it comes to preserving native plants from loss due to habitat destruction and other related causes we will collaborate with other groups who take on such efforts as their primary mission to lend our support. We understand that the survival of native plants in the long term may depend on these efforts. However, Wild Ones' core focus will be to support native-plant community restoration through education.

Wild Ones Core Values:

Respect: Our mission stems from our respect for the other species on this planet and future generations. We will treat each other - our staff, members and volunteers - with respect at all times. We respect different tastes in landscaping but also ask that others show respect for the common good by considering how they can conserve resources and improve the environment via the inclusion of native plants in their landscapes.

Personalized support: our members value the opportunity for direct contact with other Wild Ones members and the ability to "learn locally." This sets Wild Ones apart from many similar organizations. Networking and education are our most important functions.

Appreciation - Volunteers R Us: To keep our dues low and our efforts local, Wild Ones is a grass-roots organization that runs primarily on volunteer effort. We will continue to rely on volunteers to carry our mission forward. We will support our volunteers and recognize their efforts, especially those in volunteer leadership positions.

All members are valuable members: At the national level our income is largely derived from member dues and donations. We appreciate all members, respecting that everyone has varying priorities and demands on their time which impact their ability to volunteer.

Fresh and Adaptable: While we stay focused on our core abilities and goals we will continually look for and solicit ideas from our Board, our members and honorary directors for new strategies that we might use to further our goal of promoting sustainable landscape practices.

A RARE OPPORTUNITY has befallen Wild Ones as we have become the owner of a valuable property on the west shore of Little Lake Butte des Morts which we are proud to use as our headquarters.

Wild Ones was able to assume ownership of this property through grants from the Trustees Council for the Fox River and from the Habitat Area funds from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program and very generous donations from Wild Ones members. Besides serving as Wild Ones national headquarters it will also function as a demonstration area for Wild Ones mission -- natural landscaping using native plants.

Additional goals include providing both an indoor and outdoor “home” for organizations, individuals and students who are working on projects and/or learning about about ways to protect and restore the environmental quality of life in our communities.

HELP US MAKE IT HAPPEN!

For more information about the WILD Center, go to Wild Ones EcoCenter.

Please join us in our good fortune to be part of this rare opportunity. If you have questions e-mail us at Executive Director.

If you want to volunteer your services in developing the Center (grant writing, invasive weeds removal, carpentry, gardening, etc) e-mail us at the Help Us Make It Happen!.

If you wish to donate toward the development of the amenities (gardens, boardwalk, computer center, laboratory, library, etc) which will eventually be part of the WILD Center site please go to Help Us Make It Happen!.