1. Non-native Species – Communications in GB
Lucy Cornwell
GB Non-native Species Secretariat

2. Policy Review 2001 - 2003 8 Key Recommendations Co-ordination
Risk assessment
Codes of conduct
Education and awareness
Legislation
Monitoring and surveillance
Policies for control
Stakeholder engagement
Importance of education and awareness recognised back in the review of non-native species policy.

3. GB Framework Strategy 2008 Sets out a high-level policy framework
Chapter on Building Awareness
Assess Public Attitudes
Prioritise key audiences
Establish Working Group
INNS strategy launched in May 2008
Includes a chapter on building awareness, and a number of recommendations – to assess public attitudes, prioritise key audiences and establish a media and comms working group.

4. Media and Comms. Working Group
2008
Task and Finish group
15 months to report
Composition
Government Policy
Government Comms
NGOs
Trade/Industry
Media and comms working group was set up in March 2008, as a task and finish group.
Included members of government policy, government comms, NGOs and trade and industry

5. Media and Comms. Working Group - Aims
Identify
Key messages
Key target audiences associated with important pathways
Advise on
Optimal ways of reaching key target audiences
Codes of practice
Public awareness baseline survey
Stakeholder Analysis
Aims were to identify key messages and target audiences, and to advise on the optimal ways to reach these audiences, codes of practice and a public awareness baseline survey

6. Public Awareness Survey
Baseline data on public attitudes
Qualitative –
Focus groups
Hort/Pet Trade
Quantitative
600 of general public in England
Face-to-face interviews
+ 150 anglers – telephone interviews
The questionnaire was drafted through consultation with focus groups and the hort/pet trade, and carried out on a stratified random sample of the English public.

7. Awareness of Terms ⅔ – ¾ familiar with native and non-native species
alien/invasive alien the least familiar terms
Around 2/3 ¾ of participants were familiar with the terms native and non-native species but less with alien, invasive alien, and invasive non-native (the best understood of the three)
less than half familiar with INNS

8. Sourcing Plants (base: ‘Gardeners’; n=416)
Most gardeners got their plants from garden centres and DIY stores

9. Disposing of Plants (base: ‘Gardeners’; n=416)
4 respondents admitted to disposing of plants into the wild
2 admitted to planting them in the wild
1 admitted to putting aquatic plants into a pond, river or lake
It looked at the ways gardeners get rid of plants, a small number admitted to disposing of them, or deliberately planting them in the wild

10. Biosecurity: cleaning equipment
Majority claim to air dry their nets after every trip
In contrast, rest of gear tended to get cleaned less often – match/specialist anglers were more likely to state they clean their gear after every trip (68%)
Of the anglers interviewed, the majority said they air dried their nets after every trip, but the rest of their kit was cleaned less often.

11. Media and Comms. Working Group
Key Conclusions
New definitions (non-technical)
Branding
NNSS
Specific ones for campaigns
Training
The final report of the M&C group contained recommendations for new non-technical definitions for non-native and invasive non-native species
Suggestions for branding, and that training in INNS would be critical to success

12. Key Target Audiences
aquatic plants, pet owners and recreational water users

13. We now have two awareness raising campaigns
BPW was launched Feb 2010

14. Launched Feb 2010
Launched Feb 2010 with an initial PR push generating extensive media coverage

15. Launched Feb 2010 100% favourable or strongly favourable
95% included at least one key message
17,659,527 UK adults
37% of gardeners
£1 per 824 people
100% of this was favourable or strongly favourable
95% included one or more key campaign message
Charlie Dimmock was the face of the campaign
It reached over 17 million UK adults,
37% of UK gardeners at a cost of £1 per 824 people

16. Since launch 230 retailers involved Materials Events 800 BPW packs
152,000+ leaflets
Events
Chelsea flower show
AQUA
Since the launch over 230 retailers have been involved, and 800 BPW packs and over 150,000 leaflets have been disseminated through partners.
The campaign has been promoted at numerous relevant events including Aqua, an aquatic trade fair, and last year the campaign messages were built into the Fera show garden and leaflet at Chelsea Flower Show

17. The Killer shrimp was first recorded in the UK in September 2010
The Killer shrimp was first recorded in the UK in September Defra and the GB working group on non-native species identified the need for a comms campaign to draw attention to the need for aquatic biosecurity measures to prevent this and other species from causing problems in British waterways.
Photo credit: Michael Grabowski

18. The Check Clean Dry campaign was launched in March 2011
Minister Richard Benyon
Olympian rower Ben Hunt Davies
Mark Owen AT

19. Since launch 60+ NGO and trade partners Materials
20,000+ leaflets
2900+ posters
1700 fixed biosecurity signs
Events & installations
Over 60 NGOs and trade partners have helped support the campaign
20, 000 leaflets have been distributed
Nearly 3000 posters
1700 fixed signs
Campaign has been promoted at large events inc CLA game fair, Southampton Boat Show, London boat show and Head of the River Race helping reach large relevant audiences
Bristol Zoo gardens and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust centre in London have awareness raising installations

20. Biosecurity signs 1760 across GB England Scotland Wales 857 Angling
277 Boating
Scotland
288 Angling
113 Boating
Wales
44 Angling
12 Boating

21. NNSS e-learning