Tag: Environment

Reclaiming connection to public lands: A youth nature photography competition supported by Yeti and US Forest Service

Posted on by CESAR in Community, Creativity, Environment, Photos, Youth
Chicago teens in Manistee National Forest
Teen capturing photo of Chicago teens enjoying public lands at Manistee National Forest

At a time when the government continues to divest in our national forests, green economies, and youth programming, change is urgently needed. At Creative Capitol, we were motivated to create a space where young people of color, who are often excluded from environmental decision-making, can connect with public lands, contribute to their care, and imagine themselves as part of a future rooted in sustainability and justice.

Turning an Idea into Action

We envisioned a youth-centered environmental camping trip—a chance for Chicago teens to step away from city life, challenge stereotypes about who “belongs” outdoors, and connect deeply with the natural world.

The idea began taking shape during a casual dinner conversation with Bill Neff, the Head of Marketing at YETI. After hearing our vision, Neff immediately offered his support. From there, key partners came on board:

  • U.S. Forest Service — guided stewardship activities and provided wilderness expertise
  • Bus for Outdoor Access & Training (BOAT) — ensured safe transportation & smooth camping experience
  • Faith in Place’s Eco-Ambassadors — brought together the youth participants (ages 14–18)
  • Jaylyn Gough, professional wilderness photographer and founder of Native Women’s Wilderness — led creative photography workshops
Photo a Chicago teen took in the Manistee Forest during the YETI photoshoot workshop.
Youth holding YETI water bottles during nature photography workshop

A 4-Day Immersive Experience in Manistee National Forest

In the summer of 2025, the camping trip itself opened a space for genuine connections. As youth coming from a busy urban life, like the one most have in Chicago, there’s hardly time to decompress and reconnect with the Earth around us. For these youth, who felt that the city life can sometimes force one to mature at a young age, this trip offered an opportunity to engage with nature in ways they hadn’t been able to experience before. One of our youth stating that “It was the first time in a long time I felt like I could just be a kid again”, after finishing the camping experience. 

Photography as a Tool for Belonging

Bus for Outdoor Access and Training in front of Eden Place Farms in Chicago

Each youth received YETI water bottles, backpacks, and Olympic TS6 digital cameras from Urban Connections, giving them the tools to explore and document the forest through their own lens. Under Jaylyn Gough’s guidance, they learned the basics of nature photography, composition, and visual storytelling, turning the forest into both a classroom and a creative studio.

To make it exciting, we framed it as a YETI Photography Competition: capture the YETI in a way that best reflects the theme of belonging outdoors.

The Winning Shot

Over the course of the trip, the youth produced stunning images, some from perspectives and angles we hadn’t even considered. Creative Capitol organized a powerhouse selection committee consisting of representatives from YETI, U.S Forest Service, and Native Women’s Wilderness. We then invited Calid Bowen, Creative Director at Golin, to cast the winning vote and break the tie. After much deliberation, we’re proud to announce the winning photo, perfectly embodying the spirit of the trip.

Winning photo from YETI competition hosted by Creative Capitol in collaboration with many others .
Winning photo from YETI youth photography competition

As part of the prize, the winning photographers will receive a personalized YETI care package filled with outdoor gear and merchandise.

Beyond the Trip

We intend for this camping trip, or rather outdoor media campaign, will produce lasting outcomes such as increased social cohesion among participants, greater cross-community understanding of public lands, and strengthened networks of youth leadership. Beyond the trip, youth will stay connected through follow-up gatherings, digital storytelling platforms, and environmental advocacy campaigns, multiplying the project’s impact. We even partnered with youth illustrator, Joshua Pleasure, to recreate a digital rendition of the photo, adding graphic design components to the project.

Your Turn: Submit a Yeti Photo

We invite you to join the movement! Submit your own photo and share what belonging in nature looks like to you. Whether it’s in a forest preserve, a city park, or your own backyard, these moments help us redefine the outdoors as a space where everyone belongs. Together, we can challenge stereotypes, expand narratives, and celebrate the simple joy of finding ourselves, YETI and all, out in nature.

submit a photo

If you’re interested in hosting your own creative workshop, Creative Capitol is here to help. It can be for the youth or the Chicago community at large. Partner with us today and get started on an initiative with long lasting affects.


Behind the Scenes: Marketing the Midwest’s Premier Environmental Film Festival

Posted on by CESAR in Community, Environment, Film
Speaker at One Earth Film Festival

Chicago is a hub for the arts. It attracts both aspiring and established creatives. It is a place where one can find genuine community-building at any corner. Creative Capitol loves Chicago because this city strengthens the relationship between the people and our environment. This is achieved through several environmental events and organizations. One organization that captures this motivation is the One Earth Collective. 

One Earth Collective’s annual event, One Earth Film Festival, is the Midwest’s premiere environmental film festival. It brings communities together across the city and world. The One Earth Film Festival hosts about 25 film screenings across various locations (breweries, houses of worship, museums, etc.) in Chicago over the span of one week. They feature award-winning films like: Common Ground, Bad River, The Sacrifice Zone, and many more. An initiative as vital as this no doubt needs an efficient and motivated creative team behind the scenes.

A 360° Marketing Strategy for Impact

Participants at One Earth Film Festival watching film

Creative Capitol planned and executed a full 360° campaign that included securing a major Google Ads Grant to run performance-driven ad campaigns, launching email and social media campaigns, and producing innovative promo videos and content for festival screenings. 

The creative team worked effortlessly to secure a $120,000 ‘Google Ads for Nonprofits’ grant, and then launched a data-driven Google Search campaign. These ads generated over 34,000 impressions and 3,000 clicks, directly driving engagement and event attendance. The results spoke for themselves—a 50% increase in average attendance across 25 events in just one week. This showcased that strategic marketing has the ability to mobilize communities around environmental storytelling.

Creative Capitol made sure to show up and show out beyond online marketing. The creative team captured b-roll film & photography of each event, designed and printed festival t-shirts, and hosted t.v style interviews with attendees and audiences.

Building Capacity for the Future

Presentation at One Earth Film Festival

The milestones are outstanding as Creative Capitol delivered a fully integrated marketing campaign, including social media, email, print and digital design, media partnerships, and live event coverage—all from one coordinated team. Moreover Creative Capitol built long-term marketing capacity for the One Earth team—streamlining workflows, upgrading outreach infrastructure, and setting the stage for future growth well beyond the campaign window. One of the tools Creative Capitol implemented during the campaign was Later.com, a platform that offers free subscriptions to non-profits to manage all social media platforms on one account, making social media outreach a much easier process. 

Influencer Marketing Platform | Later

More Than Marketing—A Movement

This campaign wasn’t just about filling seats—it was about strengthening a cultural force in the Midwest’s environmental movement. Through compelling storytelling and intentional outreach, we helped position the One Earth Film Festival as more than a series of events and film screenings—it’s a catalyst for change.

The collaboration between One Earth and Creative Capitol affirmed the power of strategic storytelling to drive environmental action. As a mission-aligned agency deeply embedded in climate justice work, Creative Capitol is proud to amplify a festival that brings urgent conversations to the screen—and to the community.

If your organization has a mission worth amplifying, let’s tell your story in a way that inspires action.

contact us
checkout our services

Beats in the Forest: Connecting 500+ Chicago youth to outdoors 

Posted on by CESAR in Creativity, Environment, Music, Youth
Founder Creative Capitol, Cesar Almeida, helping youth and family get familiar with audio engineering equipment.

Chicago is home to some of the nation’s most beautiful community green spaces—parks, nature preserves, river trails, and botanical gardens that bring life to the city. Yet, despite this abundance, many youth and families in the city rarely experience these spaces. Barriers like limited accessibility, lack of awareness, and the ever-present lure of screens have widened the gap between the city’s young people and the natural world.

In 2024–2025, an unprecedented collaboration set out to change that. The Forest Preserves of Cook County, Chicago Botanic Garden, Friends of the Forest Preserves, Friends of the Chicago River, and Thrive Outside Chicago joined forces to create an unforgettable program—Beats in the Forest (Hip-Hop Outdoors). This event didn’t just connect people to nature—it brought the beats, rhymes, and creative energy of hip-hop into the heart of Chicago’s green spaces. 

Merging Music, Media, and the Environment

After School Matters Member teaching youth about the importance of music through drum lessons.

Creative Capitol has consistently advocated for equitable access to the outdoors, a natural right of every member of society. So, it’s no surprise they took the initiative with leading this approach to open the door to youth and families alike. This was an opportunity to connect media and the environment to youth and families in a unique way, while also teaching them valuable and applicable skills in the media industry. Some of the skills these participants got to explore were:

  • Beat production – crafting original tracks inspired by their surroundings
  • Music recording – using professional equipment in outdoor environments
  • Filmmaking skills – turning their creative process into music videos and short films

Creative Capitol’s Role in the Movement

The unique approach the team took with this event was to set up an outdoor recording studio in public spaces to teach beat-making, music recording, and filmmaking techniques. These outdoor recording studios offered a personalized approach to each youth/community member to get hands-on instruction. Simultaneously, Creative Capitol worked to produce a photo archive, promotional videos, sample packs, and music videos to promote the program. 

Impact Beyond the Program

Creative Capitol used their creative method to introduce more than 500 youth and families to green spaces in the Chicagoland area. It was their first time experiencing these areas. Creative Capitol’s environmental impact as it bridges the greater Chicago community to their own green spaces doesn’t stop here, environmental justice will always be a pillar for the organization, and if you have a project, you need coverage on, don’t hesitate to reach out for the best media services around.

get support for your program today
check out our services