From Visitor to Participant: Building a volunteer stewardship program
Author:
Wilcox, Kathy
We often hear that organizational partnerships,community engagement and meaningful volunteer stewardship are the cornerstones for successful programming. This presentation from the 2009 Parks Conference hosted by the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association, demonstrates how Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation, The Friends of Kananaskis Country and Bow Valley WildSmart joined forces to design and implement a program that places volunteer ambassadors on trails surrounding Canmore.These volunteers are able to engage the public on the topic of human-wildlife conflicts using sound natural history knowledge and animal artifacts. The true success of this program is a result of 1) being locally relevant;2) being built on the motivations and diversity of the community; 3) fostering emotional connections to parks;4) providing thorough training of volunteers; and 5)building strong relationships with the volunteers and the community as a whole.
Publication Date:
2009
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