Earlier this summer, the Alliance for a Sustainable Future introduced two vibrant new faces to its digital audience—-Spike and Arva. Modeled after real-life plants in the Alliance’s office, this dynamic cartoon duo is designed to highlight both local and global sustainability issues to students and faculty. In doing so, Spike and Arva aim to serve as effective mascots, fostering heightened engagement within the GW community.
The creation of Spike, a tall, funny African Milk Tree, and Arva, a stunning, sassy Norfolk Island Pine, by Alliance student associates Kaitlyn Gang and Jenna Xavier was a journey rooted in their shared passion for sustainability and a desire to broaden the Alliance’s audience. Since the Alliance is a fairly new organization at GW, Gang and Xavier sought to generate some friendly faces who followers could connect with and grow to associate with the Alliance over time. Ultimately, this project strives to make the principles of sustainability accessible and memorable for all, particularly GW’s students.
In developing these characters, Gang and Xavier set out to create figures that not only represented the core values of the Alliance but also embodied diverse, inspiring traits of nature. Spike and Arva, the office’s green friends, perfectly assumed this role, with Spike symbolizing resilience and adaptability and Arva representing longevity and growth. Coming from Gabon, Africa, Spike draws on his experiences with severe flooding, erosion, and temperature spikes to fuel his passion to combat climate change. Meanwhile, Arva advocates for biodiversity preservation as she reflects on her roots in Norfolk Island, which faces challenges involving endangered species, invasive pests, and water scarcity. Each of their backgrounds shapes their missions at GW: to advocate for their native habitats and remind the community of the urgency to address local environmental crises and pursue sustainable development.
The process of bringing Spike and Arva to life involved a collaboration of ideas, creativity, and purpose. In today’s digital age, where creative marketing efforts have grown increasingly essential, Gang and Xavier prioritized creating visually appealing, clean content to accompany concise, informative descriptions. Spike and Arva’s expressive faces and engaging reports were crafted to resonate with the student audience and communicate messages of urgency and hope, helping convey complex sustainability topics in a more accessible and relatable manner. By imbuing them with deep values, Gang and Xavier envisioned them not just as mere mascots, but as ambassadors for worldwide sustainability.The juxtaposition of their unique designs—Spike’s ragged, tough exterior and Arva’s powerful, evergreen branches—represents the diversity of nature and the importance of protection for all kinds of environments. Altogether, this balanced approach allowed the Alliance ghostwriters to create lovable and eye-catching graphics of Spike and Arva.
With the help of its new ambassadors, the Alliance hopes to accelerate its communications strategy through large-scale community outreach efforts. After making their debut in mid-July, Spike and Arva now look forward to disseminating news alerts, fun facts, event updates, and Alliance-related information to a curious audience, all to educate and inspire effective action. Recently, Arva made an appearance on the Alliance's Instagram to highlight surprising sustainability initiatives at this year’s Paris Olympics. Through timely updates and exciting alerts, the newest recruits are set to become big voices of the Alliance for a Sustainable Future moving forward.
As the fall semester approaches, Spike and Arva hope to gain more traction as students return to campus and explore new opportunities for involvement. The duo will continue offering insights into global sustainability issues and will soon delve into topics closer to home, such as GW’s newly revamped Sustainability Minor. Through their engaging posts, they will share details about the program, encourage student participation, and emphasize the empowerment that comes with staying informed and active in the world of sustainability.
Spike and Arva represent the values of the Alliance and serve as a bridge between our organization and the greater GW community. As they continue to grow and evolve, Gang, Xavier, and the rest of the Alliance team look forward to supporting them in fostering meaningful connections with students and followers, ultimately helping deepen understandings and commitments to sustainability in DC.
Check out their introduction post here!
https://www.instagram.com/p/C9VO7fbJs_6/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==