Assistant Professor and Curator Florida Museum of Natural History Gainesville, Florida
Education and outreach programs are essential to help foster public interest in biodiversity conservation and create an informed, involved citizenry. Effectively reaching new audiences, however, requires increasingly innovative approaches that create fun and enriching learning environments. The rapidly growing craft beer industry has a history of supporting environmental and social causes, as well as helping create a sense of place within their local communities – and offers unique opportunities for collaboration. We partnered with a local brewery to produce a series of “butterfly beers” highlighting at-risk species in an effort to raise awareness and funds to support their conservation. Beer launches were highly social events that involved hands-on programming and photography exhibits to wildlife-friendly plant giveaways and merchandise sales. Since launching the initiative in 2016, we have created over a dozen beers, generated tens of thousands of dollars, and successfully expanded our demographic reach. Here, we present highlights and lessons learned from our program.