The BC Parks Foundation is skewing NSFW in support of a wholesome cause.

After catching a ride on the viral wave of ParkTok – a TikTok trend that uses “thirst-trap” videos to boost support for public parks – the foundation is launching a merchandise line inspired by the semi-salacious online movement to raise money for its various conservation efforts.

The Tea Communications worked on media and influencer outreach for the rollout of Wildside Collection, which was designed in house and features slogans such as “Nature is my kink” and “Keep Parks Sexy” on its T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats and totes.

Ashley Aubrey, marketing director at BC Parks Foundation, tells strategy that touching on edgier content and online meme culture created connections with Gen Z and millennial audiences that the organization had managed to establish before.

“To be honest, we didn’t have big expectations,” Aubrey says. “But once the campaign gained traction, it became clear: parks can lead culture, drive meaningful conversations, and be sexy doing it. Going forward, we’ll be more flexible and agile in our content calendar and marketing strategy overall, you have to be.”

ParkTok videos began to take off in May in response to the Trump administration’s ambitions to cut funding for national parks and public lands in the U.S.

Since becoming one of the first Canadian conservation groups to join in, the BC Parks Foundation’s videos have spiked beyond 1.5 million views, earned 107,000 likes and attracted more than 22,000 new followers.

Aubrey says the foundation is using the attention boost to build out a long-term funnel strategy to turn engagement into donations, program participation and advocacy. One-hundred per cent of profits from the Wildside Collection will go directly to the independent charitable organization’s sustainability efforts for the province’s parks and Indigenous protected areas.

“This was a zero-dollar ad spend, just a lot of effort from the team. The return has been significant in terms of engagement, reach and website traffic,” Aubrey says. “Traditionally,
conservation messaging has been doom-and-gloom, ParkTok flipped the script. It shows that
conservation can be fun, relatable, even playful.”