Educational Overview




Education




Educational Overview

The educational program will highlight issues and solutions that are critical to public lands partnerships and relevant to the work of land management agencies and nonprofit partners. This year’s thematic areas are:

Sustainable Business Practices

How can nonprofit organizations and companies committed to supporting America’s public lands reduce their environmental footprint while remaining economically and socially strong? We will facilitate discussions and highlight examples of how organizations, vendors and partners in the public lands community are implementing socially responsible and environmentally sound practices and policies into their operations and partnership work with one another.

Equity and Access in Outdoor Recreation

Those of us who have the privilege to help steward our public lands today are called to be inclusive and accessible in our work: to invite and welcome all people and communities to experience and enjoy their parks, forests, and wildlife refuges. We want to explore how we can make recreation on public lands more equitable and accessible to all.

Engaging Tribal Communities

As the first inhabitants of today’s parks, forests, and wildlife refuges, Tribal communities have an important role to play in interpreting the values of and participating in the stewardship of these special places. Those lands and waters contain cultural and natural resources of significance and value to Tribal citizens, including sacred religious sites, burial sites, wildlife, and sources of indigenous foods and medicines. Traditional nonprofit public lands partners have often played critical roles in creating spaces for Tribal knowledge and insights to reach visitors.

Investing in Visitor and Employee Infrastructure

Surging visitation and rising prices across the country are creating enormous challenges for land management agencies and their partners. How do we work together to meet needs of future visitors – in our visitor centers and contact stations, trails, entry stations, education centers, parking areas, alternative transportation, and so much more? How can we provide the needed housing and accommodations necessary to attract and retain the staff that will serve these visitors and steward our public lands?

The educational program will cover topics including, but not limited to:

  • Advocacy

  • Agency Partnership Forums

  • Board Development

  • Fundraising and Philanthropy

  • Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI)

  • Marketing and Communications

  • Membership Recruitment and Retention

  • Nonprofit Management and Operations

  • Product and Program Development

  • Program Evaluation and Research

  • Retail Operations

  • Sound Financial Practices