Breakout session 1, Tuesday morning: Understanding What’s Missing

(Driving questions: What are public agencies' maintenance backlogs and needs? How do we address those needs?)

Goals:

-Find a way to be more internally involved in monitoring and evaluating needs
-Find a better way to work around federal reporting timelines in order to address needs on the ground
-Be more consistent in organizing and quantifying needs to relay them to the public. Have a centralized database of needs for all agencies
-Build an infrastructure to match volunteers who want to help with work needed

Actions:

-Cooperate amongst agencies and non profits to engage the funders
-Define target audience and then expand it
-Tell the story of this forum/movement(define stewardship)
-Use VolunteerOutdoors.net as the clearinghouse
-Develop Leadership amongst this collaboration. We need leaders and people lobbying for more $
-Provide volunteers with training so they can have as a transferable, tangible skill
-Provide staff training for working with volunteers
-Create long term training incentives (for volunteers as well as staff) ex: certifications for resumes
-Creating Internship opportunities in a pipeline setting to keep individuals engaged in the natural resources field
-Agencies and non profits need to “drop their shields/lose the turf” and cooperate

Resources:

-VolunteerOutdoors.net as the clearinghouse
-Land manager survey 2010 analysis (executive report coming soon from VOC)
-Extending Your Reach manual (volunteer management and coordination guide coming soon from VOC)