Project Lead: Lisa Niemi and Lisa Brush

Contact Information: Lisa Niemi

Objectives

The overarching goal of this project was to promote restoration/protection of native plant sites through information exchange facilitated via a multimedia online learning network. The network’s purpose is to facilitate communication and to make information sharing easy by utilizing tools and technology to accommodate different learning styles. The intended audience includes conservation practitioners, academics, conservation volunteers, and general public interested in the topic.

Project Management

Before embarking on this project, the project team reviewed the latest Web technology as well as existing Web tools/networks regarding native plant restoration. In addition, they initiated discussions with target audiences regarding topics and tools of interest through informal Stewardship Network partner conversations and through four community-wide brainstorming sessions at the Stewardship Network’s local cluster kick-offs. There are three primary partners with whom the project manager communicated via a conference call once a month and more frequent email exchanges.

The tools developed and implemented through this project will continue to be available via the Network’s Web site. The calendar and the online searchable restoration database will also continue to be maintained, publicized and populated. The Web casts were received very positively and it is the intention of the project team to continue to offer these, contingent upon securing funding.

Technology

The project encompassed a variety of technologies, including virtual field trips, Web casts, a searchable project database and a calendar. The Web casts were facilitated via Instantly Global which enables the presenters to upload a PowerPoint presentation that can then be viewed and heard, through audio stream, by participants. There is a live text chat component as well. The searchable project database is be hosted on the Stewardship Network’s Web site provided by Kintera. It is searchable by a number of parameters and provides a location on the Web where conservation practitioners can share information. The stewardship calendar offers a central location on the web to post volunteer workdays, workshops, and other conservation events for dispersal.

The initial project lead has had previous experience with alternative modes for information sharing due to his remote physical location from his colleagues; however it was the whole core team that came up with the practical suite of technology to be used in this project.

Experience to Date

Although the project overall has been successful, some of the specific outreach components could not be completely fulfilled because of the loss of the two main collaborators due to job advancements. The original project planned for the virtual field trips to be developed by a range of partners throughout the Eastern U.S. but due to the limited resources and the tight timeframe of the grant period, the virtual tours are being developed by the Stewardship Network and have a Michigan geographic focus. In addition, the virtual field trips are proving to more involved both technologically (PC and Mac incompatibility) and inter-organizationally (the coordination of very busy partners to develop learning objectives, meet their organizational needs, capture footage, etc.).

In addition, the project team faced the task of finding a niche and turning potential competition or repetition into an opportunity to reach a greater audience. For example, the Global Restoration Network is in the process of launching a restoration database. The challenge will be to identify how the searchable project database developed through this project fits within the global network. The project has also fostered some unanticipated benefits, such as increased levels of collaboration among the partners on future projects, and the added benefit of exposing the project team to new IT tools that are likely to be utilized in their future endeavors.

Advice to Others

Planning is critical – It is worth spending a great deal of time upfront planning, developing a schedule in advance Publicity and marketing of the tools and resources are important components Be open and flexible - you will not always be able to achieve exactly what you would have liked given the complexity of the desired outcome. Build a solid network of technical advisors to guide the process