Inspiring Environmental Action Through Nature Art

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Art has the power to inspire, educate and provide new perspectives. In particular, art focused on nature not only teaches adults and children about wildlife, but also galvanizes audiences to take action for conservation. Telling stories about the value of nature through fine art or literature creates a strong connection between the audience and the environment, and inspires them to want to protect it.

In this webinar, we’ll hear from two nature artists about where they find their inspiration, how art and storytelling help people learn more about nature, and how depicting wildlife through art encourages conservation.

What you’ll learn:

  • The connections between art and nature
  • How art can encourage and inspire conservation efforts
  • Ideas for incorporating art into educational or awareness activities

Who should take this webinar:

  • Anyone interested in learning more about nature art
  • Site teams that use educational activities with students and community members

Presenters:

  • Rebekah Knight, wildlife artist
  • Rebekah Lowell, author and illustrator

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Certification 102: Keys to a Good Certification Application

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This webinar will focus on items that have the biggest impact on the overall strength of a certification application. Using real-life examples, we will present some of the key areas that can strengthen certification applications to improve scores and best capture your on-the-ground work. We’ll review what you need to know to successfully apply for conservation while avoiding some of the common shortcomings. This webinar will build on information presented in the Certification 101: The Basics webinar; participants are encouraged to view that webinar first.

You’ll learn:

• How scoring and recognition work
• What areas of the application to focus on for a high score
• What other applicants are doing well (with real-life examples)
• Insider tips on how to avoid common shortcomings when completing the application forms

Who should take this webinar:

• Anyone who is planning to submit an application
• Applicants looking to strengthen their application

Presenters:

  • Hannah Tailor, Senior Manager, Certification, Wildlife Habitat Council
  • Sophie Maass, Conservation Coordinator, Wildlife Habitat Council

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Looking out for Pollinators: Strengthening Pollinator Projects through Monitoring and Citizen Science

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Pollinator projects empower corporate conservation teams to address global biodiversity issues through site-based action. Providing native pollinators with host and nectar plants is an important part of such conservation efforts, but the work doesn’t stop once milkweed and bee balm have taken root. From there, participants must regularly monitor the habitat. Tying these monitoring efforts to larger citizen science initiatives provides employees and community members with an opportunity to contribute data to large-scale efforts that track species distribution and movement.

In this webinar, a natural resource specialist from Maricopa County Parks and Recreation will discuss the importance of citizen science and other monitoring efforts, reflect on her experience with citizen science efforts in Arizona, and provide resources on starting and monitoring a pollinator project anywhere.

What you’ll learn: 

  • The important role that citizen science plays in pollinator conservation
  • Best practices for monitoring monarchs and other native pollinators
  • Ideas for creating or enhancing pollinator habitat at your workplace

Who should take this webinar: 

  • Anyone interested in starting a pollinator project at their workplace or improving their monitoring efforts 
  • Site teams looking to incorporate citizen science into their conservation work 

Presenters:  

  • Juanita Armstrong, Natural Resource Specialist, Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department

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Community-First Environmental Action – How Crossing the Fence Line Can Create Mutually Beneficial Partnerships

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As companies in the U.S. and worldwide make or revisit their overall commitments to equity and community engagement, many are recognizing the opportunity to address local environmental concerns through their sustainability initiatives and conservation programs. To successfully cross the fence line and connect with local stakeholders, companies must be open to community members’ ideas and concerns and respond accordingly. Community leaders and organizers can serve as critical liaisons between companies and communities.

In this webinar, leaders from a community development organization and the owner of a business committed to resident empowerment will discuss the importance of community-first environmental action and the keys to meaningful corporate-community relationships.

What you’ll learn:

  • Challenges that companies face in community engagement, and how an awareness of local needs can help address them
  • Ways that education efforts can strengthen corporate environmental initiatives and foster trust between communities and companies
  • How community organizations approach, and can benefit from, corporate sustainability and stakeholder engagement initiatives

Who should take this webinar:

  • Site teams anywhere interested in crossing the fence line to collaborate on environmental action
  • Corporate employees who wish to empower site-level staff to engage with adjacent communities
  • Community leaders and organizers who wish to develop relationships with the industrial facilities within their neighborhoods
  • Detroit-based teams curious about how local companies are engaging with communities

Presenters:

  • Vickie Lewis, VMX, President/CEO, VMX International
  • Kim Theus, President, Canfield Consortium
  • Rhonda Theus, Vice President, Canfield Consortium

Moderator:

  • Patricia Billette, Manager, Conservation & Community Engagement, WHC

Science For Everyone: Selecting and Implementing Engaging STEM Activities

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In response to increased calls for immersive and inclusive STEM education opportunities for youth, companies across the U.S. and around the world have mobilized their workforce and land to provide their communities with unique learning experiences. While STEM education can take many forms, well-developed, unique and audience-aware lessons form the basis of most initiatives.

In this webinar, educators from the SciTech Institute will explore how companies can get involved in education initiatives. The presentation will include a live demonstration of an interactive education activity, as well as overviews of other engaging lessons that can be customized for learners of all ages.

What you’ll learn:

  • The value of STEM education initiatives to companies and communities
  • How knowledge partners can maximize the educational impact of corporate STEM initiatives
  • New ideas for lessons, and insights on adapting activities to different age groups

Who should take this webinar:

  • Conservation teams that wish to start STEM or environmental education projects
  • Teams looking to enhance their existing projects with fresh lesson plans or novel teaching approaches

Presenters:

  • Amanda Rincon, STEM Ecosystem Hub Coordinator, SciTech Institute
  • Claire Conway, STEM Ecosystem Project Manager, SciTech Institute
  • Kaci Fankhauser, Program Coordinator, SciTech Institute

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Certification 101: The Basics

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This webinar will cover the basics of WHC Conservation Certification®, the website and application process. Learn what’s involved in applying for certification (both initial and renewal applications), requirements for projects to qualify, and how to build and submit an application using the Certification website. This webinar is recommended as a primer to the webinar, Certification 102: Keys to a Good Application.

You’ll learn:

  • The structure of Conservation Certification and what it means for you
  • How to determine project types
  • What the base requirements are for projects to be eligible for certification
  • The application and renewal process
  • Insider tips on using the Certification website

Who should take this webinar:

  • First time applicants
  • Applicants who need a refresher on the website and application process
  • Anyone new to Conservation Certification and/or the application process

Presenter:

  • Caitlin Banigan, Manager, Conservation Certification, Wildlife Habitat Council

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Trees at Work | Driving Conservation, Equity and Empowerment through Urban and Community Forestry

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Sponsored by Ontario Power Generation

Trees in urban and suburban settings are increasingly being seen as critical infrastructure, bringing a variety of positive benefits to a rapidly urbanizing world. This white paper explores some of the many ways that corporations around the world have utilized community forestry work to provide biodiversity uplift, ecosystem services and resident empowerment within a wide range of communities, as well as how strategic UCF projects can serve all three purposes.

This white paper serves as an extension of the WHC Across Fence Lines initiative, a U.S. Forest Service-funded effort focused on engaging corporations in a best-in-class, community-centered approach to urban and community forestry.

To download this white paper, please fill out the form below.

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Proactive Conservation: Supporting At-Risk Species through Collaborative Action

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While reversing population loss among threatened and endangered species is critical, it is also important to proactively address the needs of species that are at-risk of potential listing. Voluntarily working to keep at-risk species from being listed benefits not only wildlife, but also agencies and landowners by supporting their conservation goals and decreasing the need for regulatory action.   

In this webinar, leaders from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the conservation coalition Conservation Without Conflict will discuss the case for conserving at-risk species and how voluntary collaborative efforts between nonprofits, agencies and corporate landowners lead to mutually beneficial environmental outcomes.    

What you’ll learn:  

  • The importance of mitigating the threats that at-risk species face and how corporate lands play a key role 
  • How partnering with nonprofits and regulatory agencies supports corporate conservation goals 
  • Best practices for species recovery and how to find relevant species management tools 

Who should take this webinar: 

  • Conservation teams whose sites are home to at-risk species 
  • Anyone interested in how cross-sector collaboration can support species recovery goals 

Presenters:  

  • Lauren Ward, Executive Director, Conservation Without Conflict 
  • Wendi Weber, Regional Director, North Atlantic-Appalachian Region, FWS 

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Bird-Safe Glass and Native Grass: Why Avian Projects Aren’t Just About Nest Boxes

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Nest boxes have become a common sight on corporate lands around the world, providing cavity-nesting songbirds a safe place to raise their young. Given the wide range of challenges that birds encounter, however, it is important to consider the many other ways that companies can take action. From planting native vegetation to spreading the word about birds’ needs, conservation teams in any location have a variety of opportunities to provide habitat for birds and mitigate the threats that they regularly face.  

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In this webinar, experts from the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and avian advocates from the corporate world will explore various tactics for supporting native birds. Whether your site has a long-running nest box project but wants to do more, or you’re just beginning to research conservation options, the speakers will provide ideas to get your team thinking outside the nest box.  
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What you’ll learn:  
  • Common threats to native birds and how to address them 
  • Ideas for creating or enhancing avian habitat on a wide range of corporate lands 
  • How to incorporate bird-friendly design elements into new and existing buildings 
  • Tactics for teaching others about avian conservation  
Who should take this webinar:  
  • Conservation teams that wish to create or enhance on-site habitat for birds 
  • Anyone interested in supporting native birds via changes to their site’s purchasing or property management practices 
Presenters:  
  • Dr. Ruth Bennett, Research Ecologist, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center 
  • Kirstin Hill, Bird Friendly Program Manager, Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
  • Paul Messing, Test Lead, General Motors
  • Kim Morse-Harvey, Tech Specialist, General Motors

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All About Monitoring – Capturing Strong Data for Your Certification Application

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Monitoring is one of the foundations of a successful habitat or species conservation project, helping teams assess their progress and adjust their management practices accordingly.  

This webinar will explore what good monitoring is, why it’s important for documenting your success, and how to integrate monitoring into the management of your project and Conservation Certification® application. WHC staff will discuss the basic strategies for monitoring conservation projects, including using baseline data and designing a monitoring protocol that fits your project. During the webinar, WHC will also debut new, standardized habitat and species monitoring templates that teams can utilize for various project types. 

What you’ll learn:  

  • The importance of monitoring conservation projects  
  • What monitoring is needed for a strong Conservation Certification application 
  • Tactics for designing a comprehensive, but easy-to-use, monitoring protocol  
  • Instructions on recording monitoring observations using the new WHC templates  
  • How to use the monitoring data to evaluate and improve a project over time 

Who should take this webinar: 

  • Anyone new to conservation projects 
  • Site teams or partners looking to refresh or improve their monitoring skills 

Presenters: 

  • Caitlin Banigan, Manager, Conservation Certification, WHC 
  • Doreen Tadde, Conservation Specialist, WHC 

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