Name: Harnessing Passion and Collaboration: Elevating Community Engagement and Education to New Heights through Social Media
Start: 2025-03-01T10:15:00-0600
End: 2025-03-01T11:00:00-0600

The Wild Things Conference Returns Saturday, March 1, 2025 - SOLD OUT

We’re thrilled to welcome you again to learn and share your expertise with our community. We’ve put together an exciting lineup of workshops and sessions from regional and national experts, plus meet & greets, video content, exhibitors, and sponsors. With over 140 presentations and discussion panels to choose from, the in-person program engages a diverse range of topics, research, and skills, and plenty of opportunities to meet with friends, old and new.

Thank you as well to our sponsors, scholarship supporters, and exhibitors who are all helping to make this another tremendously successful Wild Things.

Tickets for Wild Things 2025 are sold out. For additional information on the 2025 conference, visit wildthingscommunity.org.

**PLEASE NOTE: Some details are subject to change.**

NOTICE: Please be advised that photos and videos will be taken during Wild Things 2025. By attending, you consent to be photographed, filmed, and/or otherwise recorded. Your attendance on this event constitutes your agreement to the use of any resulting media by Friends of Illinois Nature Preserves for promotional, marketing, or any other purpose in perpetuity, without further approval or any compensation.

Saturday March 1, 2025 10:15am - 11:00am CST

Room 50

In the dynamic landscape of social media, the convergence of passion, expertise, and creativity can result in powerful collaboration to transform public engagement and education from ordinary to extraordinary. This session explores how organizations can effectively leverage social media to share information, enhance learning, and meaningfully engage communities. A case-study of a viral series created by The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County will share ways individuals from multiple disciplines came together to harness their passion, technical and creative skills, and knowledge to develop compelling, fun, and educational social media content that increased awareness of the District’s conservation mission.

Presenters

Jennifer Rydzewski

Ecologist, Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

Ecologist focusing on invertebrate species management at the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.My projects include: -Mosquito management and West Nile Virus monitoring -Bumblebee surveys especially rusty patched bumblebees -Conservation Dog Detectors partnership -Invasive... Read More →