DU’s Campus Waterfowl spotlights collegiate conservationists
Popular online waterfowl hunting content creator keeps growing
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Jan. 4, 2023 – With a presence on all major social media platforms, Campus Waterfowl showcases the lifestyle of collegiate waterfowlers and shows the outdoor industry that these students should not be overlooked.
Established in 2014 by outdoor media writer and television host Jason Cruise, Campus Waterfowl, the largest digital community dedicated to collegiate waterfowl hunters, officially became a part of Ducks Unlimited in June 2021.
“Today’s collegiate waterfowl hunters are tomorrow’s industry leaders and influencers, so partnering with them is absolutely essential to ensure the future of wetlands conservation,” said DU Chief Brand Officer Doug Barnes. “Campus Waterfowl has created a loyal and passionate community of collegiate sportsmen and women. Ducks Unlimited’s acquisition of Campus Waterfowl is a natural progression in our ongoing R3 efforts (recruitment, retention, reactivation) with the next generation of hunters and conservationists.”
Derek Christians, a graduate of South Dakota University, was one of the first interns, along with Wesley Littlefield from Rogers State University and Logan Smith from Mississippi State University.
Over the years, Campus Waterfowl became much more than just a social media page. Christians realized Campus Waterfowl was indirectly contributing to the R3 movement. In 2019, Christians started the Collegiate Waterfowl Tour. In this YouTube video series, Campus Waterfowl travels to college campuses to capture and share the raw lifestyles and stories of a group of collegiate waterfowl hunters.
“Each stop on the tour is an opportunity to shine a light on what life is like for college-aged waterfowl hunters. You can see everything that goes into a hunt,” Christians said. “You see how this passion for waterfowl extends beyond the field into conservation efforts in their local communities.”
During the most recent Collegiate Waterfowl Tour, Christians met students across the Midwest, including collegiate DU volunteers and DU staff. Christians is familiar with DU’s Ducks University program from volunteering for his collegiate chapter and knew both organizations had a similar purpose. They both knew the importance of the R3 movement and their role in growing the collegiate audience.
Today, Campus Waterfowl continues to be a place where collegiate waterfowlers can share their stories with the entire outdoor industry, learn from other like-minded hunters and connect with students across the country.
The Collegiate Waterfowl Tour continues to be the featured video series on Campus Waterfowl.
During the 2021-2022 waterfowl hunting season, Campus Waterfowl traveled to 12 colleges across the country, including Texas A&M University, Lake Superior State University, University of Mississippi and more. Campus Waterfowl has a total of 220,000 followers/subscribers and has accrued over 5.2 million views in the last year.
Watch Campus Waterfowl on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/CampusWaterfowl.
Listen to the DU Podcast about Campus Waterfowl here.
Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 15 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. For more information on our work, visit www.ducks.org.
Media Contact:
Gregg Powers
(901) 758-3774
gpowers@ducks.org
Irwin Greenstein is Publisher of Shotgun Life. Please send your comments to letters@shotgunlife.com.
Comments