| How to Conduct a Workshop For Landowners
 Tasks to consider when planning a conservation tool workshop are listed below. This information was initially derived from Workshop Primer for PBRS Outreach Program, Wetnet of Audubon: Washington (12/2000), and updated based on recent workshop experience.
Conservation and Stewardship Tools Partners: Conservation tools education requires the participation of many partner organizations. WSU King County Extension has worked with the following partners to delivered conservation and stewardship tools education:
- WSU Extension offices
- County governments (Planning, Natural Resource, and Tax Assessor Departments)
- Conservation Districts
- Land Trusts
- Fishery Enhancement Groups and other Non-profit organizations
- State agencies (Ecology, Natural Resource, and Fish/Wildlife)
- USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service
- Tribal Organizations
- Puget Sound Action Team
- Washington State Tree Farm Program
The above organizations have partnered to deliver educational programs in King, Pierce, Jefferson, Island, Mason, and Snohomish Counties. Contact information for many of these agencies is included at Summary of Land Conservation Options for Landowners and Summary of Stewardship Tools.
Determine Workshop Area and Audience: Talk with your partner organizations about their conservation and stewardship priorities. Consult documents that identify conservation priorities, such as comprehensive plans, watershed plans, and salmon recovery plans. For example, two Jefferson County workshop locations were identified by consulting a Salmon Refugia study, which identified watershed areas with high quality salmon habitat. A Snohomish County workshop focused on forest landowners and on shoreline parcels that could qualify for the conservation reserve enhancement program. Several King County workshops focused on rural watersheds areas experiencing rapid land development. The interests of local partners and landowners should drive the selection of the workshop area.
Once a workshop area has been selected, landowners living within the priority area can be identified via county planning, natural resource, or tax assessor departments. Many counties can provide address lists that also include parcel information such as acreage size, participation in current use taxation programs, or proximity to a stream or shoreline. You may be asked to sign an agreement of confidentiality that the list will only be used for workshop invitation purposes. Try to obtain the list in a spreadsheet format (Excel), to facilitate formatting the list for address labels and for sorting the list. For example, you may want to sort the list by size and just invite landowners of a certain acreage size or greater. Or you may want to just invite landowners living along a water body. Select your audience based on the conservation tools that you are presenting at the workshop.
Line up workshop speakers and develop presentations: One of the keys to a successful workshop is to begin the planning process with partner organizations that have a keen interest and need to conduct educational outreach. Line up speakers from partner organizations, and work with them to develop presentation materials that meet the educational needs of the audience.
Keep the presentations short! It is best to reserve plenty of workshop time for questions, and for individual consultations with landowners.
An example workshop agenda may include:
- Workshop facilitator (introduce workshop goals and presenters)
- Overview of the functions and values of the prioritized conservation feature(s) (e.g. shorelines, forests, wetlands, working lands.)
- Land Trust Tools (easements, donations, sales)
- Current Use Taxation Programs (forestry, open space, agriculture)
- Conservation District programs (stream side conservation reserves)
- Testimonial from landowner participating in conservation programs
- General question and answer period
- Individual consultations with landowners (Ask them to bring parcel maps; best to have descriptions of improved land and of natural features.)
Workshop Invitation: If you have a printing and mailing budget, you can directly contact landowners by sending an invitation to the workshop. In addition to providing workshop logistics you can use the invitation as an opportunity to provide short summaries of conservation tools and contact persons. Typically, only a small percentage (e.g. 1 to 5 percent) of the invited landowners may attend a workshop. The invitation can thus serve as a tool to educate landowners about conservation tools and who to contact for more information. For example, include presenter names, phone numbers, and short program descriptions for those landowners who do not attend workshop but who may still be interested in conservation.
Be sure that important workshop logistics are included on invitation, such as workshop location (including directions), workshop time (7 to 9 PM on weekday evenings works well), and what to bring. Look for accessible public places such as community centers, libraries, or schools to hold workshops. Such locations frequently offer free workshop facilities.
Leave a space on your invitation to recognize partners (e.g. include their logos.)
Mail the invitations about 3 weeks before workshops. See example workshop invitations:
Quilcene Fall 2004 (pdf)
Snohomish Spring 2004 (pdf)
Issaquah Spring 2003 (pdf)
Press Releases and flyers: In addition to direct invitations, press releases and flyers can be utilized to publicize your workshop. You can prepare standard format press releases, or write a news release about a landowner already enrolled in a conservation program (250 words or less.) Try to arrange a newspaper article for about 2 weeks before the workshop; or a calendar listing 1 week before the event. Send your press release to available press outlets in the workshop area.
You can also prepare and post flyer at relevant locations: grocery store, library, ferry terminal, community bulletin board, post office, others.
Phone Calls: If resources are available, phone calls to landowners following mailings can boost attendance. Use phone book and local calls.
Handouts and Displays: You and your conservation partners likely already have handout and display materials that provide further details on conservation and stewardship tools. Additional documentation on how to care for natural resource features can also be presented. Also have available copies of applications required for enrollment in conservation programs. Include an information table, and have the documentation explained during the workshop.
See these pages for examples of handout materials:
Food and Drink: Light refreshments will help keep your audience energized, especially during evening meetings where people may have missed dinners. It’s a great idea to provide coffee, juice, and/or water, along with some simple protein and carbohydrate snacks. Refreshments usually cannot be paid for by grant funds, so be creative. You may need $10 to $20 dollars worth of refreshments, depending on audience size. Local stores may donate food items (recognize their donation at the event). Check about any restrictions on having refreshments at workshop facility.
Workshop Setup: Leave plenty of time to set up for the workshop, considering the following:
- Room set up; include seating for presentations as well as tables for laying out maps during individual landowner consultations.
- Include a sign-in table and a table for handout materials. Let the participants know how you are intending to follow-up with them when they sign in (e.g. "We'll give you a call to see if you need follow-up information, but we won't be putting you on any mailing lists.")
- Audiovisual setup; check with your presenters on their needs, provide or arrange for audiovisual equipment, and bring an extension cord. Confirm how lighting can be dimmed for slide shows.
- Clean up and lock up; make sure you leave the facility as you found it (or better!)
Workshop Follow-up: Your workshop was successful in informing the audience about conservation tools, and providing individual consultations for landowners. After the workshop, you now want to follow-up with the landowners! Some may have already indicated an interest in a site visit from a particular conservation partner (try to schedule such visits at the workshop.) Call all workshop participants and ask them if they need more information or are interested in a site assessment visit.
Send thank you letters to presenters. Pay your bills (room rental, etc.)
Evaluation Forms: Develop a method for evaluating the workshop. A written form is recommended that give the attendees an opportunity to comment on the topics presented, the quality of the presentations, what programs they are interested in, and how the workshop can be improved. See example evaluation form: Evaluation Form (PDF)
Photo information: Ellis Conservation Easement in Pierce County, by Great Peninsula Conservancy.
|
