Abstract
Community outreach can be defined as “the practice of conducting local public awareness activities through broad … and targeted … interaction” [1]. It is a method of reaching potential partners or members that is based in a variety of social sciences. Outreach and education programs are both vital to any non-profit group because they engage the community and get that group’s message out to the public and the people who can make decisions about an issue. This can provide benefits in the form of more funding, volunteers, or even changed political policies [2, 3].
Outreach campaigns generally fall into two categories: those working for policy change, or those working for behavior change [4]. Sometimes a large campaign will target both of these changes, but it will require more time and different techniques. Education is a great way to inform people about the environment and their impacts, and is often used as a stepping-stone within an outreach campaign. Educating the public is one way to encourage a change in attitude about a particular topic. This in turn could lead to behavior changes or even their assistance in convincing a decision maker to alter a policy. For many people, education is a way to spark their interest in a particular topic, such as the environment.