Conservation Economics Webinar Series Update
Resilience and adaptability have become widely-used terms during our work with clients adopting conservation. Those two words also resonate during any planning effort over the past two years of the coronavirus pandemic. COVID travel restrictions halted in-person trainings and forced trainers to quickly adapt to virtual methods of instruction.
In 2021, aspiring Level III conservation planners and over 1,000 legacy planners needed to complete required economic training before the end of the calendar year. The demand for the course was higher than the available supply of course instructors. What appeared to be an insurmountable task was a challenge the Economic Training Cadre was eager to solve.
The Economic Training Cadre, comprised of NRCS National Technology Support Center (NTSC) and State Economists across the nation, strategized the best method to meet the demand within this short period of time. The Cadre decided to develop a webinar series, consisting of 12 recorded videos that provided comprehensive economic training for Level III planners. The team decided on course topics, developed a work plan that specified tasks and due dates, and established webinar teams. Twice a week, the Cadre convened to give progress reports, presentation reviews and ask questions about the process.
The Cadre worked diligently for six months developing the course and coordinating with university and extension instructors that could bring additional perspectives to the training. Webinar teams met outside of the weekly cadre meetings to develop the webinar presentations and webinar quiz questions, and to practice and record the training video. The Cadre also coordinated with the Employee Development Section for video editing, adding webinars and quiz questions to AgLearn, and troubleshooting any technical problems.
To ensure legacy planners had time to complete the course before the December 31 deadline, the webinar series was released in three phases. After Phase I was released in September 2021, momentum carried the team through to meet the Phase II deadline in October and Phase III deadline in November.
As of January 4, 2022, more than 1,900 people have completed the Conservation Economics Webinar Series. The Cadre successfully met training demands and, better yet, created an on-demand, virtual economic training for aspiring planners. The course is now available through AgLearn and meets the economic training requirement for Level III conservation planner certification.
Successful planning and implementation of the Conservation Economics Webinar Series is reflective of the adaptability and resiliency of the Economic Training Cadre team members, which includes: Lakeitha Ruffin (West NTSC Economist), Bryon Kirwan (Central NTSC Economist), Lynn Knight (East NTSC Economist), Alan Lauver (IA Economist), Charles ‘Zach’ Taylor (AR Economist), Aaron Waller (WY Economist), Austin Hunt (WV Economist), and Louis Landre (OR Economist).
Employee Spotlights Encouraged
The National Conservation Planning Partnership (NCPP) would like to recognize the hard-working, highly-skilled and creative field employees who are critical to the conservation planning process. If you know someone who has gone above and beyond that you would like to feature in an upcoming NCPP update, let us know.
We are asking that you share the following details:
- Employee name, position, location and length of service
- Partnership involvement
- Current projects/activities completed
- What makes this employee's approach to planning effective?
- Why should this employee be highlighted?
Please send your submission, along with their photo, to coordinator@ncpp.info. There is not a limit on the number of submissions.
NCPP is eager to shine a light on employees dedicated to conservation.
Do you have new ideas to improve conservation planning?
NCPP’s primary goal is to reinvigorate conservation planning at the local level. Whether you have a direct planning role or a support role, you may be in a position to make observations, recommendations, or suggestions that will contribute to achieving this goal.
Please visit www.ncpp.info to make a suggestion. We will pass it on to the appropriate person or group to respectfully consider and take the appropriate action. (We are unable to address personnel matters)
Thank you in advance for taking the time to improve the conservation planning process.
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