WEF's Director of Creative Projects Lori Harrison and Art Director Jon Harrison blog about the release of WEF’s first-ever children’s storybook, Why Water’s Worth It.
This little girl has a big story to tell. That’s the tagline we’re using to promote the release of WEF’s first-ever children’s storybook, Why Water’s Worth It. This new educational book is an adaptation of the PSA video that we produced and launched as part of the WATER’S WORTH IT® campaign refresh and relaunch last October.
We initially created and launched the campaign back in 2012 to help tell the story of water and the importance of working together to protect it. It’s a story and a message that stands the test of time and more than ever, it needs to be spread as far and as wide as possible. Thanks to the enthusiasm and ongoing support of WEF members and Member Associations over the years, WATER’S WORTH IT became an amazing grassroots effort that continues to have value and resonance.
When we were presented with the opportunity to give new life to the campaign, we put a lot of thought into how to honor this commitment. We wanted to remain true to the original brand and messaging while giving it a clean, modern look and expanding into new topic areas such as stormwater, resource recovery, and workforce development. We also put a lot of thought into what we might have missed the first time around and realized that we hadn’t specifically addressed an essential foundation of our communities: our children.
We are privileged to be able to collaborate on many creative and public outreach projects. By osmosis, our son and daughter hear, see, and learn about water in many different ways. On their own, they have started sharing these messages with their friends, classmates, and teachers. In fact, the video concept and book illustrations were inspired by a little water hero that was drawn by our daughter.
That little drawing helped us realize how much children instinctively “get it” and the responsibility we all have to educate them about water, include them in the conversation, and inspire them to get involved. Small hands can be big heroes, too.
As we worked to update the campaign, we made sure to include children in the visuals and purposely developed the video PSA to appeal to people of all ages. Almost immediately after releasing the PSA, we started receiving requests to buy “the storybook from the video” and we knew that we were onto something!
We are excited to officially release the book for sale on World Water Day, Friday, March 22nd and look forward to adding more K-12 resources to the campaign in the future. While this project has a lot of personal meaning for us, the story of water belongs to everyone. We hope you will use the book and all of the resources available at www.WatersWorthIt.org, to help WEF spread the word about water and empower the next generation of water protectors.
You Need Water. Water Needs You. WATER’S WORTH IT!
Written for 4- to 8-year-olds but appealing to all ages, Why Water’s Worth It is a high-quality, print-on-demand paperback book that can be purchased as a single order or at a bulk discount directly through www.e-WEF.org. It is also linked through www.WatersWorthIt.org where you can access other campaign merchandise and an online toolkit of free resources.
Lori Harrison is an author and former director of creative projects for the Water Environment Federation (WEF). She has more than 20 years of experience in strategic communications, media, branding and creative development with a focus on water and environmental issues. During her tenure at WEF, Lori has taken on several roles within the communications department. She regularly collaborates with her colleagues in the communications, marketing and creative services departments to help expand the WEF brand and promote the organization’s mission, vision, core values and critical objectives. Lori led WEF’s communications department until 2016 when she shifted her professional focus toward creative development, messaging and branding initiatives. Some of her most recognizable accomplishments include the conceptualization and development of the WATER’S WORTH IT® and #MyWaterLegacy campaigns, writing the Why Water's Worth It children's book, and producing the Opening General Session for WEFTEC as well as a series of award-winning motivational videos. 