Samples:
I was hired on a freelance basis by Toolbox Design to write the copy for this Oakridge https://issuu.com/toolboxdesign/docs/oak_theedition_digitalpagesCentre magazine:
In 2018 and 2019, Ocean Wise hired me to manage the wordsmithing of its #BePlasticWise campaign, which asked people to commit to reduce their consumption of single-use plastic. Each week I wrote short emails to be sent to those who signed up and each month I wrote an update on how these changes would benefit ocean health. You can find them at: https://ocean.org/plastic-wise/challenge/
For several years I privately wrote news releases for a number of BC wineries, hotels and restaurants under the auspices of a local P.R. firm. I’d be happy to discuss this if we have an interview.
https://citypalate.ca/feature-2019-jul-aug-posh-and-painless/
A company called Punch Cards that was producing gift cards that people could give each other for personal services hired me to write the blurbs to go on the cards. Here’s one example:
Honey Do card
Web Description
Are there things around the house that need to be done but you just haven’t been motivated to do them? You know you’ve been asked several times, but something always gets in the way. Give your significant other permission to ask you to finally do the stuff that’s important to her, with none of your bellyaching. The recipient of this card has the right to expect eight hours of project work. These hours are broken up into two 30-minute projects, one one-hour project, one two-hour project and one four-hour project.
Back of Card Description
Lucky you! Someone thinks you’re really special. This card entitles you to get a few projects knocked off your “honey–do” list. At long last, ask, and it shall be done. Put this in your wallet and don’t lose it. (40 words)
Fine Print
The bearer of this card (that’s you!) has the right to eight hours of project work, broken up into two 30-minute projects, one one-hour project, one two-hour project and one four-hour project. Some projects may require planning, materials and Internet consultations, so please give me a little notice for each task you have in mind. Please also note that while obliteration of bee, hornet and wasps’ nests cannot be performed in the nude, other tasks may demand nudity, possibly supplemented by a strategically hung tool-belt. You do have the right to refuse this special treat, especially when others are present. (100 words)
A longtime contributor to communications at the Vancouver Aquarium, for several years, I wrote the Vancouver Aquarium’s annual report. Here is a section:
We want our students to bubble with ideas
We believe that it’s the Aquarium’s educational programs that truly connect people to the ocean. So we’re constantly developing programs that help students understand aspects of nature that aren’t usually in their line of vision.
“I’ve heard people describe the ocean’s surface as a huge barrier to people’s imagination,” says Dolf DeJong, our Vice President, Conservation and Education. “We let people break that barrier and see what’s really going on underneath.”
In 2013, some 22,000 students took advantage of education programs at the Aquarium, with another 40,000 students taking self-guided tours. Our AquaVan has taken our curriculum-based programs on the road to more than 10,000 students in communities as far from the Pacific Ocean as the Northwest Territories.
Whether in wet labs, galleries, online or on the road, we’re ceaselessly trying to increase student understanding and appreciation of our oceans.
The feedback suggests we’re on the right track, says DeJong. “If we could have total ocean awareness, we’d be in a beautiful place.”
