Graphical records of events, talks, and training session stimulate learning, increase audience engagement and post-event sharing, and assist with memory of the content. View visual notes by Justin Tung on Flickr and see a snapshot of some below. Vive la doodle revolution!
Are you interested in water quality and the environment in Toronto? Then you would have been interested in a 2014 Jane’s Walk called “A Raindrop’s Journey in Rosedale Valley“.
The walk traced a how a raindrop travels along Rosedale Valley Road to the Don River and taught walkers about the valley’s history while learning about water quality and conservation.
A list of stops along the walk where the environment’s 
water and local history was discussed along with notes for the walk. Landmarks are pointed out along the walk and details on these interesting places are found in the references section after this article mainly from Riversides and the Toronto Star.
A wide open park with a concrete stage to stand up on to easily talk to the walk group as they gather.
Cross the road carefully to reach the sidewalk 
and descend into the valley on Park Road slowly as the path can be steep or slippery when wet.
Look at sign at the west end of the park at the bottom of the valley. The sign is close to Rosedale Valley Road.
A good spot to talk about:
Bluebells are growing along slope in valley and are visible 
in spring, summer and fall. There are gardens growing on the top of the valley from houses.
Walking west along the path, we reached a parking entrance with glacial rocks in front showing the area’s geological history.
There was a brewery here on the on south side of valley where the hill is. Observe the garbage than came from run 
off in the area. The brewery dammed the river in the past creating a lake for water sports throughout the year.
Along path, see how many storm sewers you can spot.
Approaching the Parliament bridge, look at subway tunnel 
overhead which is a completely covered bridge for noise reduction.
Note the large amount of soil run off near the foot of the bridge.
Under the Parliament bridge, take a path to the right that climbs up towards St. James Cemetary. Along the
path, you’ll see some fallen logs and an area that looks like a campsite.
The campsite shows the multiple uses of area of the ravine for sport, living, and recreational activities. Under the bridge, you’ll find evidence of people temporarily using the bridge as a shelter/living area sometimes. The campsite is a near the connection on Parliament for the mid-Toronto interceptor sewer. A discussion on where water goes in a storm and why disconnecting downspout is important.
Climb up the ravine path to end up near Parliament and Bloor at the parkette. The path is rough, though well traveled and should be visible by the many rocks on the path. Head across the bridge towards the Don Valley offering a good view of Rosedale Valley from above.
The approximate location of the original Castle Frank house has a red stone market by the Don Valley (now Toronto Regional) Conservation Authority. Place to talk about recent history of Castle Frank and how the region got its name.
The End of Walk!
So how was this walk created? With help from people, the
library, and internet resources 🙂
In particular, generous library and online resources from people who genuinely care about the water quality and health of our environment in the city. The Jane’s Walk Toronto Walkshops held prior to the walks in 2014 gave me access to volunteers and staff who identified themes walkers would be interested in and gave advice on how to hold a safe, fun, and engaging walk.
After that, it was:
I’ve lived in the downtown area for more than 30 years and went to school/played with friends as a child in the Rosedale area.
In a quest to learn about the city and its history, I’ve extensively explored the downtown area by bike, foot, and online too! I’m a civil servant and passionate about sharing our environment and a healthy city.
Battersby, Helen. “Rosedale Valley Road’s bluebell glade”. Toronto Gardens. 16 April 2009. Web. 17 April 2014.
Brown, Alan L. “Eulogy to Beauty Historical Plaque”. Toronto Historical Plaques. n.d. Web. 2 May 2014.
“Box Art and Bright Green Balloons”. Walking Woman. 3 April 2013. Web. 17 April 2014.
“City of Toronto and Bell Canada step outside the box with one-of-a-kind urban art on the box”. City of Toronto. 14 June 2006. Web. 17 April 2014.
“Controlling Invasive Plants”. City of Toronto. 2013. Web. 15 April 2014.
Hare, Peter, Toronto Green Community and Toronto Field Naturalists. “Castle Frank Brook”. Lost River Walks. n.d. Web. 14 April 2014.
Limeback, Rudy. “Six ravines and an abandoned rail line”. Rudy.ca. 21 April 2012. Web. 14 April 2014.
Powers, Lucas. “Urban flooding likely to worsen”. CBC. 11 July 2014. Web. 14 April 2014.
Mayers, Adam. “The Real Castle Frank”. Toronto Star. 8 March 2007. Web. 14 April 2014.
RiverSides: Where Water Quality Begins. RiverSides, 2009. Web. 13 April 2014.
“Rosedale Ravine Trail”. Ontario Trails Council. n.d. Web. 14 April 2014.
“Rosedale Valley Road”. Toronto Public Library. n.d. Web. 14 April 2014.
Ontario Streams. Ontario Streams, 2014. Web. 22 March 2014.
“The Water in the City Walk: Self-guided Tour”. RiverSides. 2007 Web. 13 April 2014.
The Vanishing Point: water underground. Vanishing Point. 2013. Web. 12 April 2014.
The plan is the 2012-2013 OPS Dragon Boat Club Integrated Marketing and Communications Plan and reflects actual plans executed during the 2011-2012 dragon boat season.
Introduce people to dragon boating for fun, health and wellness, and to allow members to meet and work with people from various ministries and backgrounds within the Ontario Public Service (OPS).
Organize teams for people in the sport of dragon boating to provide a fun and affordable experience and exposure to competitions and diversity of events.
Raise awareness of the club and attract paddlers to join the club and register for club programs.
This objective is accomplished through the following goals:
The goal is SMART as outlined below:
Specific: Growth in registration and revenues by 5% assuming an additional team is created.
Measurable: Percentage change from 2011
Attainable: New teams were created with the 2012 season, allowing growth in registration and possibly revenues to occur.
Realistic: New teams can be formed given the size of the target audience. A new team of 20 people is small percentage of the possible audience estimated as 40,000 people.
Timely: 2012 calendar year (Dragon Boat season) is the evaluation time period.
The OPS Dragon Boat Club was formed in June 2002 by experienced dragon boat enthusiasts and people with a great spirit for health, team work, and fun. They were people from the Ontario Public Service (OPS) who wanted to introduce other people to dragon boating which is now one of the world’s fastest growing water sports.
Traditionally, the club forms several teams each year catering to beginners and experienced paddlers alike. The club is responsible for constructing the programs, gather funds from paddlers to pay for team expenses, and ensure continued operations of the club.
The club has since grown to include individuals from within and outside the OPS (OPS Dragon Boat Club, 2011).
These are people working for the Ontario Public Service (OPS) and often includes their friends and family. They are motivated by:
Past survey results indicate many paddlers find that club through the internet and word of mouth from friends. These people usually live in Toronto and occasionally surrounding cities like Scarborough,
Mississauga, Oakville, Richmond Hill, Pickering, etc. and are actively looking the following things in dragon boating:
These people commonly say the practice times, frequency, and price of the club programs fit the criteria they were looking for or searching online for.
Previous members of the club, friends, and leaders of previous teams usually comprise about 50% or more of team registrations in a given year. They represent the core of the club and its teams and drive performance and consistency in the club’s operations.
Media includes mainstream public media as well as corporate communications editors in the OPS.
Collect feedback > Assess existing communications > Build Awareness > Action on Promotional channels > Create a conversation > Improve Communications
Here is a selection of messages speaking to the club’s goals, approach, and history of operation (Tung, 2012).
Diversity – “In Toronto, the OPS Dragon Boat Club has 5 teams offering various practice times, competitiveness levels, and locations.”
Popularity of dragon boating – “Dragon boating is one of the fastest growing watersports since it is suitable for anyone.”
Accessibility and Open Nature of the Sport – “Our teams have had people in their 20s to 60s paddling and we welcome beginners and advanced paddlers alike on all teams.”
Team building – “Dragon boating is all about team work. There is no better feeling than when 20 paddlers cross the finish line as one cohesive team.”
Affordability – “All the club’s programs are at cost to ensure the lowest possible price for paddlers. We’ll work with you to arrange payments that are convenient to your schedule.”
For paddlers, by paddlers – “Experienced dragon boaters and enthusiasts are the ones running the club as volunteers and we welcome feedback and contributions from members.”
Utilize communication channels to collect feedback, communicate, build awareness, and promote the club’s programs and its improvement. Timings of tactics are based on a regular club season which usually begins in December with a new executive, goes into the New Year with active team programs in May to September, and a season closing period from October to November.
| Description | Vehicle & Audience | Timing & Budget |
Executive (exec) Meetings and Informal conversations Discuss club planning and operations. Invite members, team captains, and previous executive members as needed. Much feedback is received simply from conversations people have at practices, regattas, and other club events to be described in other sections. |
Face to faceExecutive members, All club members, people attending events/regattas. | Year round$0, requires meeting facility |
Registration Surveys Ask paddlers about how they heard about the club, their goals, and their needs for team programs.Surveys are counted as registration to a team and provide information to paddlers about payment, practices, etc. |
Online survey(e.g. Survey Monkey)Paddlers registering for programs | April – June or longerFree or $125-228 annually for Survey Monkey account |
Annual General Meeting (AGM) Held at the end of the season, the AGM offers a place for: conversation, review of surveys, discussion of important issues and the future of the club, and recognizing people. |
Face to faceAll club members | End of season$0 if event funded by members or TBD by exec, $20 for recognition materials, $100 for member rewards |
Digital Channels Continuous feedback is possible in email, website forms, social media. See section below for details and links to the club website and social media channels.Traditionally email is the primary vehicle for feedback and comments through Facebook in 2012 is growing as a channel to push announcements and a place for conversation between paddlers and sharing media such as pictures and video. |
Online including website, email Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube*, Google+* Note* YouTube and Google+ channels have not been developed yet.Club members, People in Toronto, OPS staff | Year round~$100.00+ annual website costs. Free for social media. $24.95 annually for Flickr account (optional) |
End of Year survey This survey is used evaluate paddler experiences, club programs, communications, and teams. The survey is not scientific, but is the top source of feedback with metrics.It offers discussion points with the exec and members. |
Online survey (e.g. Survey Monkey)All club members | September to OctoberSurvey Monkey account, costs covered in registration tactic. |
| Description | Vehicle: Audience | Timing & Budget |
Email / Word of Mouth Surveys consistently place email and word of mouth as the primary channels (greater than %50 versus other channels) of hearing about the club. Email is also the primary means of day to day and announcement based communications to and from members. |
Emails and word of mouth. Emails done via Google Apps)All audiences, especially previous club members | Year round, specifically during promotion of events or teams.$10-30 for Domain/email hosting |
Web Channels OPS Dragon Boat website and social media (OPS Dragon Boat Facebook page, Twitter, and Flickr) are used for the delivery of information that have been promoted via email and face to face communications.Web channels should be used with email, events, and physical media (e.g. posters) which will drive people to visit the websites.A digital communications plan can developed for an early season awareness campaign including blog articles, exec minutes and decisions, engaging photos, videos, email newsletters, annual chair’s/presidents message, seasonal (holiday, spring) messages, annual reports, and creative graphics. Later posts can contain program promotions (e.g. discounts) based on existing team registrations |
Online including website, email Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube*, Google+*, OPS Intranets and articlesPeople in Toronto (especially people searching on dragon boating), All audiences (especially younger people for social media) | Year round~$100.00+ annual website costsFree for social media. $24.95 annually for Flickr account (optional) |
Dragon Boat Information Sessions Historically the club as participated in a variety of information sessions held for other organizations like a Ministry division, a school, or sports showcase.These events provide an opportunity to promote the sport and the club’s teams. |
Face to face eventOPS staff usually, Toronto community | Ideally early in season April to June$0, 5-10hours of preparation time for presenters |
All tactics in the “Distribute Information and Increase Awareness” objective can be reused to also obtain registrations for programs (dragon boat teams) and events.
Tactics in this section are more specific as they describe communications and marketing essential to the success of teams and programs by obtaining registrations.
| Description | Vehicle & Audience | Timing & Budget |
| Email / Word of Mouth Early Season CampaignEmail, talking to, and phoning previous paddlers is a primary channel to encourage people to register for teams in the club. Emails usually include official information from the club exec on teams with registration links, waivers, and other information for paddlers. |
Email (can use Mail Chimp or manual) and phone callsPrevious club members | Early to mid season March – June$10-30 for Domain/email hosting |
Club Showcase A whole or half day event centering on an informational presentation at lunch time in a public OPS space. Common agenda items are a raffle for a free membership, guest coaches/speakers, description of dragon boating and the club’s teams, and introductions of people involved in the club. |
Face to face, usually conducted in OPS provided spaceAll OPS staff, usually located in downtown Toronto near or at 900 Bay Street. | March or before teams begin$0, promotional materials costs are covered under other channels |
Digital Advertising Facebook – Promote likes on the OPS Dragon Boat page, increasing reach of Facebook announcements and promoting conversation. Google AdWords (includes ads for Search, YouTube/Video, and Display Network with websites across the internet) – Keyword based advertising based on member survey data (e.g. dragon boat, Toronto, ashbridge’s bay, paddle) |
Online ads on Facebook, Google, and others if desiredPeople in Toronto and surrounding cities interested in dragon boating or similar sporting experience. | March to May, Early Season$0 or TBD by exec., recommend $50 to $100 available from Google for new accounts for free. |
Press Releases & Media Kit Opportunities for issuing announcements include the following: OPS Dragon Boat Club Showcase – issue release during early March, major OPS regattas (i.e. the Dominion Day Regatta) – issue release in June. Significant changes to teams or creation of new teams.Releases can be traditional or social media ones with videos of regattas, pictures of teams and races, graphics (logos, posters), and the club’s social media channels.The club frequently partners with OPS staff in certain teams to issue releases for OPS internal digital communications (e.g. EANG, ministry teams). |
Email, website, optionally newswireMedia, Internal OPS communications staff operating news intranets like Topical and Ministry intranets, Operators of funontario.ca and dragon boat news sites | Early to mid season, See description$0 |
Promotional Materials, Signage, and other Physical Media These materials complement face to face conversations and events and can include awards, medals, pictures, posters, brochures, banners, t-shirts, dragon boat equipment, lanyards, etc.Posters, brochures, and digital presentations (PowerPoint, PDF) have been the most popular forms of promotional communications. At the AGM, the exec usually presents recognition awards to outstanding padders, captains, and volunteers.Advantage of having signage is the opportunity to reuse it at events and regattas to aid in visibility of the club and help paddlers identify club branding and information. |
Physical media (see description), digital mediaAudiencePeople in Toronto and OPS staff in areas like offices, sports centers, gyms, dragon boat sites, learning events | Year round, though mainly early to mid season$30-$50 or more depending on physical media to be printed. |
Web ChannelsOPS Dragon Boat website needs to update audiences on these items as they change:
|
Online including website, email Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube*, Google+*, OPS Intranets and articlesPeople in Toronto (especially people searching on dragon boating), All audiences (especially younger people for social media) | Year round~$100.00+ annual website costs. Estimate around 85+ hours need for website maintenance in year. Free for social media. $24.95 annually for Flickr account (optional) |
Sponsorship and Fundraising Sponsorship and fundraising help manage costs and can be applied to the club, events, teams, or paddlers. Sponsorship can be in the form of a team or regatta/event. Fundraising has traditionally been done through selling tickets to a club organized event and selling small items towards keeping costs low for paddlers. |
Online, Face to Face, Website pages, eventsAll club members, friends/family of members | Year roundResult in money ($) collected by the club related to communications activities. |
Key Measures
| *Every* website page has been improved | Amounts to 85+ hours just for web content development, not including many hours spent reviewing and improving pages after initial publication. |
| Correspondence & Events regularly done with target audiences. |
We’ve published articles promoting dragon boating and monitor websites and hold events which include the dragon boat showcase and panel events for an OPS audiences and reach out to the dragon boat community for joint events and races. |
| We use multiple media channels to maximize our reach and level of interaction | This practice is core to strategic communications and best demonstrated by the Ontario Government and Dragon Boat Canada. Every communication channel including the website, email, OPS intranets, events, Facebook, Twitter, etc. is important to the organization and takes time to develop. |
Center, A. H., Jackson, P., Smith, S., & Stansberry, F. (2008). Public Relations Practicies. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education.
OPS Dragon Boat Club. (2011). About Us. Retrieved September 6, 2012, from OPS Dragon Boat Club: http://opsdragonboat.homestead.com/2011/2011AboutUs.html
Tung, J. (2012, March 19). OPS Dragon Boaters to Showcase 2012 Programs. Retrieved 07 03, 2012, from OPS Dragon Boat: http://opsdragonboat.homestead.com/2012/2012-OPS-Dragon-Boat-Showcase.html
Wilcox, D. L., & Cameron, G. T. (2012). Public Relations Strategies and Tactics (10th ed.). Toronto: Pearson Education, Inc.
The plan was written by the OPS Dragon Boat Club communications coordinator Justin Tung in 2012. The plan aims to make future communications for the organization easier by planning common goals/messages, ways to communicate, budgets, schedules, and recording how the club has operated in the past.
It incorporates lessons learned by the club from event planning, writing press releases, website development and operations, social media community management, and good practices in PR, marketing, and communications.
The plan outlines the OPS Dragon Boat Club digital communications for 2012 which is part of the club’s larger integrated marketing and communication planning (IMC plan).
The following are suggest channels the club should create for a diversified social media presence
Thanks to Liz Oke for suggesting channels for local businesses to attract customers online.
Use an editorial calendar to plan the timing of these messages.
Media is stored on a variety of platforms and shared document folders listed below.
Includes past meeting minutes, photos, and club administration documents.
Oke, L. (2012, November 4). Local Bricks and Mortar Business Listings – some tips on attracting customers online. Retrieved November 30, 2012, from Liz Oke Inc.: http://www.lizoke.com/your-business-listed-online/
The plan was written by the OPS Dragon Boat Club communications coordinator Justin Tung in 2012. The plan aims to make future communications for the organization easier by planning common goals/messages, ways to communicate, budgets, schedules, and recording how the club has operated in the past.
It incorporates lessons learned by the club from event planning, writing press releases, website development and operations, social media community management, and good practices in PR, marketing, and communications.
Going on a Jane’s Walk this May 2014, leading a walk, or planning a walk?
Get inspired by these visualizations below of the Technology, Arrivals, Gender, and First Nations walkshops (workshops, no walk though) held by Jane’s Walk Toronto over the last few months. The themed walkshops had speakers and brainstorms about people, resources, and organizations related to those themes.
Walker? – Get an idea of what you might see on your walk and questions that come up for people in the city.
Walk Leader/Volunteer? These visualizations will give you ideas on questions to ask, places to see, and how to plan and what to do your on walk.
While drawing the visualizations at each walkshop, I learned a lot about Toronto, how to plan awesome walk, and heard about people and organizations doing great stuff in the city.
See you out on a Jane’s Walk and if you’re interested in water and nature in the city, join me on my walk called “A Raindrop’s Journey in Rosedale Valley“!
Click on each image to see a larger version.
Pamphlet for the OPS Urban Gardeners for local fairs about gardening, outdoors, food security, and city life.
Complete redesign, content refresh, search engine optimization, and technical upgrade of the Studio Jonah architecture firm website.
