Engaging Youth in Conservation Commission Activities Creating Meaningful and Lasting Connections Evy Nathan -Kingston Conservation Commission & Sarah Sallade -Sanborn Regional High School

Outline ● Discussion: How do you currently engage the youth your community in conservation work? ● Seven keys to success to engaging youth in your community... o A few examples of youth engagement with the Kingston Conservation Commission that explain the keys o Follow a specific large-scale project from start to finish

How do we engage the youth in our communities in conservation work?

Seven keys to success… A few examples

Seven Keys to Success 1.Be open minded and flexible 2.Create excitement 3.Establish mutual benefits 4.Gather supplies 5.Recruit volunteers 6.Get the word out 7.Reflect and celebrate

1.Be Open Minded and Flexible: Projects can be simple or complex, involve 1 person or a 100+.

Kingston Girl Scout Troop places plant identification signs and bird houses at South Kingston Town Forest Kingston Girl Scout Troop plants habitat trees for Arbor Day Girl Scout and Boy Scout Troops

Eagle Scout Kyle Gelina cleans up trails and creates trail map for Old Frye Farm Town Forest Gold Award & Eagle Award Projects

Sanborn Regional High School Student Amanda Moulasion joins KCC and Completes Invasive Species Project Extended Learning Opportunities for High School Students

Sanborn Students Plant Wildflower Garden at South Kingston Town Forest Before… During… Connecting with Individual Teachers and Classrooms After.

● A collaboration between KCC, and Sanborn Regional High School ● 180 Sophomores from Sanborn Regional High School learn about invasive species, discover the impact humans have on local forests, develop informative presentations for the community and then implement a solution Rescuing Frye Forest from Alien Invasion Working with a whole grade or school

2.Create Excitement: Engagement opportunities should provide something to look forward to.

Hosting annual events Arbor Day Events Wild Kingston Photo Contest for adults and kids. Photos judged and prizes awarded at Kingston Days.

Sophomores divide into teams, collect samples and make measurements of water and soil to be analyzed in the classroom Going Outside as part of the Learning Experience

Amanda introduces the Frye Forest invasive species project to invited community members Sharing Research with the Community Students create educational flyers about water quality to be posted on the Kingston Conservation Commission website

3.Establish Mutual Benefits: The process and the final outcome have to benefit all involved parties in meaningful ways

Senior Day of Caring Community Service Hours Boy Scouts

County Forester: Fred Borman Connecting Youth to their Environment and Community Conservation Commission Chair: Evy Nathan

Students explore pond ecology close up Connections to Lessons Learned in the Classroom

Students working hard and making a positive impact: Frye Forest & Pow Wow Pond Creating a Culture of Stewardship in the Community Through A Ripple Effect

Kingston Rec Summer Camp Marker Buoys for Powwow Pond Milfoil Raising Youth Awareness About Environment and Conservation Issues

Sophomores remove hundreds of invasive plants from Frye Town Forest Increasing “boots on the ground” to Accomplish Large Projects

4. Gather Supplies: Donations, grants, and more. ● Plants can be picked up from the state nursery ● Fill and compost delivered by the local road agent ● UNH cooperative extension, NH Fish & Game, the Stewardship Network, and volunteers can be a good resource for tools

5. Recruit Volunteers: having enough relevant volunteers will make your project a success ● Everyone involved works to find willing and relevant adult volunteers to assist students o Volunteers should:  feel comfortable working with youth  be willing to take direction from teachers/leaders and students/youth  be able to provide some direction to teachers/leaders and students/youth  if possible, have some experience with the topic o Volunteers can be from a variety of locations:  garden clubs, UNH cooperative extension, conservation commissions, recreation departments, college students in applicable majors, land or water protection groups, etc.

6. Get the Word Out: use the press & social media ● Send press releases throughout the project ● Use social media to share progress regularly ● Involve school administrations or organization leaders ● Engage local journalists in your story

7. Reflect and Celebrate ● Celebrate! ● Reflect ● Allow youth time to step back and review their work ● Follow up discussions between group leaders and conservation members

Seven keys to success… Following a project from start to finish: 2014 Field Ecosystems Project

Seven Keys to Success 1.Be open minded and flexible 2.Create excitement 3.Establish mutual benefits 4.Gather supplies 5.Recruit volunteers 6.Get the word out 7.Reflect and celebrate

1.Be Open Minded and Flexible: Projects can be simple or complex, involve 1 person or a ● The 2014 collaborative project between KCC & SRHS focused on field ecosystems and the importance of pollinators in our community ● 180 sophomores participated in the development and implementation of field management plans over a 6 week period

2.Create Excitement: Engagement opportunities should provide something to look forward to. ● Students brainstorm about local NH ecosystems and we discuss the importance of fields/grasslands as part of the “mosaic” ● Teachers pose the Unit Question: “How are our ecosystems changing, why do we care, and what can we do about it?” ● Students read articles and hear a lecture about the problems that these environments face - teachers reveal that we will be working on local solutions to them ● Students are separated by Biology teacher into 3 separate groups of 60 that would focus their attention to specific chosen locales in the community Figure from NH Wildlife Action Plan

2.Create Excitement: Continued… ● Bring experts to the field sites to assist in the survey ● Bring experts to the classroom to provide specific information about habitat needs of species found ● Preliminary ecosystem visit to survey the presence of plants and animals ● Allow students to research ideas in small groups in order to develop a full class management plan that will be implemented

3.Establish Mutual Benefits: The process and the final outcome have to benefit all involved parties in meaningful ways ● Kingston and Newton have few field ecosystems, and even fewer with management plans ● Highlighted the importance of including these ecosystems within the town’s master plan ● Through field work, students were able to express the interdependence of species to maintain balanced ecosystems ● Students had opportunities for interaction with experts in a variety of related fields Figure by:

4. Gather Supplies: Donations, grants, and more. ● ConCom worked with towns and private landowners to identify properties suitable for the project ● Worked with town budget committee to fund education projects ● Found resources within the given budget ● Native plants from multiple locations ● Enough tools for 3 sites, 180 students & volunteers ● Other nuts and bolts

5. Recruit Volunteers: having enough relevant volunteers will make your project a success ● Conservation members and teachers network ● Volunteers came: UNH Cooperative Extension, ConCom and town committee members, UNH Bee Lab grad students, Kingston gardeners, Project Learning Tree, Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge, Stewardship Network, Sanborn upper classmen ● Volunteers fulfilled roles throughout the duration of the project

6. Get the Word Out: use the press & social media ● Honors students wrote and submitted press releases ● ConCom and Sanborn used Facebook to inform the community of project progress ● Eagle Tribune reporter wrote a synthesis story of the ongoing collaboration ● UNH Cooperative Extension highlighted the project in their June newsletter

Implementation DAY! – Busch Farm

Implementation DAY! White Cedar Farm

Implementation DAY! Kingston Fairgrounds

● Students who stayed at the school worked with Tufts PhD student Kelsey Graham on creating informational fliers about pollinators for our community Implementation DAY! Sanborn Regional High School

7. Reflect and Celebrate ● Students returned to the school for a school sponsored BBQ ● The following day students completed a written reflection about their work and were given the opportunity to share some ideas

After ---Questions?