Outdoor Recreation/Public Lands/Volunteering

[ResourceStewardship]

Hi all,

Just thought I'd start a thread for people within this industry to connect.

-Erickson Smith

Raptor Monitoring Volunteer Coordinator

Colorado Parks and Wildlife - Resource Stewardship

[Nick_S]

Hey Erickson, 

It's nice to meet ya. Thanks for starting this thread. I'm curious to see if we get any other recreation and conservation experts in here. I can certainly appreciate some nature in my life!

How does online marketing work to improve your conservation efforts? 

[ResourceStewardship]

We use Constant Contact to send both quarterly newsletters and educational newsletters to our roughly 230 volunteers focused on monitoring birds of prey across Colorado's state park system.  We rely on our newsletters to communicate important programmatic updates, bring attention to common questions and solutions to issues volunteers are having, alert them to upcoming events and opportunities, and provide them with education that can deepen their understanding of the natural resources they are studying and protecting.  It's been a particularly invaluable resource this year, as we've had to bring a lot of our program online due to COVID-19, so we've used our newsletters to communicate COVID-19 updates, help launch our online training program, and keep volunteers engaged in lieu of having face-time with them.

Cheers,

Erickson

[Nick_S]

Thank you for the overview, @ResourceStewardship. Maintaining our natural habitats and the denizens in it is important work, and it seems like you have a firm grasp on how to stay in touch with your audience and keep them engaged. I look forward to the next time I get back to Colorado and explore the nature!