Project
SIARC

Protecting Wales’ 27 species of sharks, skates and rays

Wales’ sharks, skates and rays are essential to helping maintain balance in our marine ecosystems however they’re often villainised and used as horror tropes – which is why we stepped in.

Over the past couple of months, we’ve been supporting Project SIARC amplify its mission - to deepen understanding of the species within Wales’ coastal waters and foster collaboration amongst target audiences.

As a multidisciplinary project led by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and Natural Resources Wales (NRW), Project SIARC works to identify and address barriers to experiencing, engaging with and accessing the coast and sea locally. With a team that has limited capacity and undertakes extensive fieldwork across Wales, we were tasked to arm them with smart and resourceful tools that they could use to amplify their communications.

Tactics:

Communications strategy — from audience mapping and segmentation to the development of key messaging and communications tactics tailored to audiences, we developed a communications strategy aimed at delivering maximum impact with minimal time and capacity.
A 12-month master comms plan — proposing added-value creative tactics to support Project SIARC’s overarching strategy incl., PR opportunities, collaborative events and partner activities.
Communications toolkit — we created a set of bilingual tools and resources to be used by fishers, local communities, education establishments and young people/children to champion Wales’ coast and sea and collaborate with Project SIARC. This included the development of social media graphics, caption templates, accessibility guidelines and more.

Sarah Davies, Project SIARC Coordinator, said: “Working with Equinox has been a valuable experience for Project SIARC. With our team spread across Wales and beyond, and often undertaking fieldwork, we needed strategic communications support that was both smart and practical. Equinox quickly understood our challenges and our ambition to elevate awareness of the Project alongside the important role Wales’ elasmobranchs play in our marine ecosystems.

"They developed a comprehensive communications strategy that set out clear, resource-efficient tactics that fit the reality of our capacity whilst the bilingual communications toolkit will be essential in helping us, and our partners and collaborators share stories, spark engagement, and bring the stories of our coast and sea to wider audiences.

"Equinox have been collaborative, thoughtful, and solutions-focused throughout. Their support has strengthened our ability to communicate with impact, not just now but well into the future.”