Nathan Vadeboncoeur

Nathan Vadeboncoeur shares how Manitoba’s Brokenhead Wetland was saved by a slight language adjustment and a different tack in public relations.

HOME TO EVIL SPIRITS and trolls, to say nothing of mosquitoes, swamps face a public relations problem. Wetlands, on the other hand, are adored for their myriad environmental benefits. But wait. Aren’t they the same thing? They are, in that a swamp is a type of wetland. But as supporters of Southeast Manitoba’s Brokenhead Wetland learned, the lexical difference between swamp and wetland represents a broad cognitive divide. ...