Project Lead: Katherine Howe

Contact Information: 317-951-8818

Objectives

The objective of this project was to promote Cooperative Weed Management Areas (CWMA) as a strategy to combat invasive species by developing training materials and presenting them via WebEx technology to the Eastern U.S. where CWMAs have not been widely adopted. These workshops provide information on how and why to develop CWMAs, with information tailored specifically to the Eastern region, such as which government agencies have jurisdiction over invasive species, what noxious weed laws are on the books in each state, and which groups and agencies are likely to be key potential partners. The project’s intended audience includes all individuals working to decrease the impact of invasive species – local municipalities, state, federal, NGO, and corporate entities.

Project Management

The starting point for this project was a very effective ‘cookbook’ on CWMAs developed for the western states edited to better address the eastern landscape and issues. This was then presented at four trial training sessions and the feedback received from it was used to fine-tune their final course. The project was a result of collaboration of many, including the Butler University, Wisconsin DNR, Center for Invasive Plant Management and the U.S. Forest Service. In addition to partnering with organizations experienced in the subject, they also sought input from several eastern CWMAs and used their success stories in their course materials.

The materials produced in this project were made available on the Midwest Invasive Plant Network Web site and they will be encouraging people who have attended their training sessions to use these materials to teach others to ensure continuous value of this project. In addition, they will also hold a conference in December 2006 to promote creation of CWMAs and to address issues that people have encountered in their efforts.

Technology

Originally the project team planned to use Purdue University extension satellite system; however, it became apparent that doing so would require participants to travel to an extension satellite class office, which negated the goal of offering a class without the need to travel. As a result, they decided to use Nature Conservancy’s WebEx system, which enabled them to present their lesson over the internet. Prior to using WebEx they have also used a simpler method, where each participant received a PowerPoint presentation on a CD and the presentation itself was conducted over a conference call with each participant moving through the presentation by him/herself.

Prior to the beginning of this project, none of the project leaders were very familiar with this kind of technology with only two of them having taken classes via WebEx technology. Although overall the technology has worked well, the presenters pointed out some issues that they encountered, such as people not able to connect because of technical problems and inability to establish a personal rapport with the participants. Overall, their experience with the technology has been positive, with WebEx being relatively simple and fairly effective for training. However, they had to do more extensive research into the capabilities of different media than originally expected. They also emphasized that sometimes a less expensive and less technically sophisticated option serves just as well.

Experience to Date

Overall, their experience to date has been very positive. They were able to develop a network of CWMA coordinators across the eastern US and at the same time promote their own organization, the MIPN. This project has also had the unintended benefit of allowing the project team to network and make connections between different groups trying to accomplish the same things.

The key to their overall success was the partnership they established that decreased the burden on MIPN staff. Having a variety of people develop and edit the materials also enabled them to include a wide variety of examples and different viewpoints. Having two trainers also made the class more interesting for students, and decreased the work for each trainer. Although face-to-face training is still the preferred method, this solution is excellent for situation where travel simply is not possible.

Advice to Others

“When planning a project involving technology, make sure to try it out before committing to it - that’s the only way to assure it is the right technology for your project.”