How do the stories outdoor culture tells about nature shape what it ultimately chooses to care for?
Emme Hayes works with conservation and environmental organizations to examine that question, bringing a view across the whole landscape that no single organization can see from the inside.
About
Over the past several years I've spent hundreds of hours in conversation with people working across the outdoor, wildlife, and climate ecosystem. Those conversations have given me a broad view of how outdoor narratives are evolving and where they are falling short of the ecological realities unfolding across wildlife and landscapes today.
I work across conservation science, climate and outdoor recreation policy, wildlife advocacy, and environmental media. That range gives me a view of how the same issues are being framed very differently depending on who is doing the talking, and where those differences are quietly confusing the audiences organizations are trying to reach.
The audience has changed. They are more climate aware, more politically engaged, and more attuned to the gap between what organizations say and what is actually happening on the ground. Messaging that once felt reassuring now gets examined much more closely.
I bring a creative background to this work alongside a close understanding of what that audience now expects. They want transparency. They want honesty. And they can tell immediately when an organization is performing those things rather than living them.
WHAT I CAN OFFER
Culture & Narrative Strategy
Outdoor culture has changed faster than most organizations realize. The audience that grew up around the outdoors is more climate aware, more politically engaged, and more attuned to the gap between what organizations say and what is actually happening on the ground.
I work with conservation and environmental organizations to examine where their messaging is falling short, where it is quietly contradicting itself across the broader landscape, and what their audience actually needs to hear from them right now.
It starts with a closer look at whether the story you are telling is doing the work you think it is. I research your audience, audit the platforms you are communicating through, and make sure your messaging is focused and aligned within the context of what other organizations in your space are already saying.
Creative Strategy
& Art Direction
Most environmental and conservation organizations are working with visuals that don't reflect where their audience is. The design feels dated, the imagery doesn't move people, and the creative isn't doing justice to the urgency of the work.
I provide art direction and creative strategy to assess what isn't landing visually, and define a clear direction for where the creative needs to go. From there I oversee the creatives brought in to execute it.
Speaking
I speak at climate festivals, outdoor sporting events, film festivals, and cultural gatherings where the conversation about what the natural world actually needs is ready to happen. From film festivals to climate weeks to cultural events like SXSW, I bring a perspective shaped by years of research across the outdoor, wildlife, and conservation landscape.
WAYS WE CAN COLLABORATE
If your community is already gathered around something they care about, Articles In Common gives them a way to act on it. We partner with established outdoor events to run community gear drops where every sale funds a cause directly connected to the work your audience already believes in.
Articles In Common
Climate circles are intimate, lightly facilitated conversations that give people space to ask the hard questions about climate change and the issues they care most about. I bring these into existing events and gatherings for organizations who want to offer their community something more than a panel — a real conversation.
If you are working in the conservation, wildlife, or climate space and something on this page resonated, I'd like to hear what you are building.
Wild for Climate
Granola Dogs
A passion project centered on rehabilitating shelter dogs through backcountry experience. Granola Dogs activates alongside environmental film festivals and outdoor events where the connection between animals, wild places, and the people who care about both is already in the room.
