Putting people into images of National Parks – case study

The Campaign for National Parks (CNP) partnered with Climate Outreach to shift its visual strategy from landscape-centric imagery to a people-focused approach. By applying 'Nature Visuals' principles, CNP tested how diverse representation affects engagement across different social media platforms and integrated these principles into its 2022 Park Protector Awards. Initial results indicate that while Instagram audiences respond strongly to diverse human representation, Facebook audiences still engage with traditional landscapes. The strategy led to a visible increase in the diversity of people and storytellers in CNP's visuals and a significant increase in mailing list sign-ups.

• The Campaign for National Parks (CNP) transitioned from an ad hoc approach—which relied on a limited archive of nature and landscape images often lacking people—to a strategy that places "stories of diverse people and activities at the heart" of its visuals.
• Digital testing revealed that engagement varies by platform: a younger, more diverse Instagram demographic is more engaged by images featuring a variety of people, whereas older supporters on Facebook continue to respond well to traditional landscape images.
• Applying Nature Visuals principles to the 2022 Park Protector Awards, including a new 'New Perspectives' category and specific guidance for photo submissions, increased the diversity of people in the visuals and contributed to over 1,000 new sign-ups for the organisation's mailing list.
• The partnership emphasized that diversifying who is 'behind the camera' is the most critical principle of the Nature Visuals framework, as new stories require new storytellers.

APA

Powell, D. (2022). Putting people into images of National Parks – case study. Climate Outreach. https://climateoutreach.org/national-parks-case-study/

Chicago

Powell, David. Putting people into images of National Parks – case study. Climate Outreach, 2022. https://climateoutreach.org/national-parks-case-study/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Powell |first1=David |title=Putting people into images of National Parks – case study |publisher=Climate Outreach |date=25 July 2022 |url=https://climateoutreach.org/national-parks-case-study/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{powell2022putting, author = {Powell, David}, title = {{Putting people into images of National Parks – case study}}, institution = {Climate Outreach}, year = {2022}, month = jul, url = {https://climateoutreach.org/national-parks-case-study/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }