It's my Panda-versary! My first year as the social media coordinator at WWF-Canada

WWF

Hi friends,
If we haven’t ‘met’ yet on WWF-Canada’s Facebook or Twitter pages, hello for the first time!
I am the Online Content and Community Coordinator at WWF-Canada, and this week I’m celebrating my 1-year Panda-versary. I started in this role a year ago today and am happy that it’s here on the blog that I get to share with you some of the highlights (and lowlights) of the past year.
In my job, I spend time turning the work of our conservation scientists (which is sometimes really sciency and a bit hard to digest) into more reader-friendly blog posts, as well as chat online with Panda supporters throughout the country via Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest and Instagram.

Sometimes, we even get to get dressed up and go to fancy fundraisers, like this year’s Panda Ball (that’s me, on the far right.)

 
Pretty sweet gig, right?  But as fun as hanging out on Facebook at the office sounds, the role has come with its challenges too.
Over the past year at WWF, we’ve engaged with you on tough topics including (but definitely not limited to):
–The potential development of the proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline through Canada’s most pristine and spectacular ecosystem, the Great Bear Rainforest, which WWF has just this week spoken out against at the public hearings in Vancouver.

Photo: Protestors gathered on Kitsilano Beach hold up their hands to show their opposition to the Northern Gateway Pipeline and the use of oil tankers in local waters in Vancouver, British Columbia June 3, 2012. (© ANDY CLARK/REUTERS)

 
–Recently, the entrapment of a pod of orca whales in the ice in Hudson Bay.
— And perhaps the most important stoy of our time; the climate we are changing.
But through all these (sometimes tough) conversations with our donors, supporters and friends who connect with us through social media, I’m constantly inspired by the resiliency and determination that I’m witnessing.
A changing climate, over-consumption, and short-term thinking are putting the squeeze on planet Earth. The time has come to fundamentally transform the way we manage our oceans, fresh water, and energy, and I am so happy to have the opportunity to be a part of that change, and talk to Canadians about these issues where they now communicate – on social media.
Got a question about my job, or what it’s like to work at WWF-Canada?  Message me on Twitter! My handle is @katieedmonds1 – let’s keep in touch.