Applying 3M skills to promote outdoor learning

Four pro-bono consultants from science-based technology company 3M spent two weeks working on a skills-based 3M Impact Local project to help Nature Nurture market new fitness and wellbeing programmes.

Annabel Parker, Victoria Jacobs, Camilla Sully and Joanna Buddin used their skills to develop a marketing strategy to maximise the impact of the Wild Workout and Mindful Mouse programmes that are run in green spaces for primary school children.

Their project was one of four supporting non-profit organisations across South-East England as part of 3M Impact, an international pro-bono consultancy programme that gives 3M employees the opportunity to use their skills to help solve some of the world's most pressing problems.

Speaking on behalf of the team, Annabel said: “It was fun scoping the project and brainstorming ideas. We created three go-to-market models for each of the programmes to maximise their impact.

“The experience taught us to value our own skills and the benefit of stepping away from our day jobs and doing something completely different. We really enjoyed the energy and passion of the Nature Nurture team and appreciated the chance to experience for ourselves the value of spending time outdoors.”

Thanking the 3M team, director of Nature Nurture, Natalie Ganpatsingh, said: “We came up with the programmes a couple of years ago and they were well received, but we didn’t know how to take them forward.

“The 3M volunteers were professional and friendly and used their skills and experience to turn our fun initiatives into a viable proposition.”

The experiences of the volunteers and hosts were shared during an online closing ceremony held at the end of the two-week programme, where it was announced that the four participating non-profit organisations will also benefit from a $5,000 grant from 3M to help them implement the new strategies developed by their pro-bono consultants.

The Impact Local programme was facilitated by Pyxera Global, one of 3M's pro bono implementation partners, which identified the host organisations and skill-matched them with the 3M employees.

UK programme manager, Nataliya Boiarchuk, said: “It was an amazing experience collaborating with the 3M volunteers, who were taken out of their comfort zones, and connecting them to the non-profit organisations who identified some very worthwhile projects. We were truly impressed with the results.”

Speaking about the programme, Human Resources leader for 3M in North Europe, Katherine Parks, comments: “We are delighted to have hosted a 3M Impact Local programme. Our volunteers contributed skills and expertise ranging from talent acquisition, digital operations and marketing intelligence, through to finance, product development, sales, procurement, engineering and supply chain management.

“The programme provides a great opportunity for 3M employees to apply their skills, collaborate, explore creative thinking and make a contribution towards improving sustainability, while giving local community members in need better life chances.”