2021 Learning Sessions

WildlifeUnite is the largest gathering of grassroots wildlife conservation advocates in the nation. To help movement leaders to share ideas, build their skills, and amplify their impact, the 2021 meeting included dozens of concurrent learning sessions. These sessions included presentations, panel discussions, and workshops with leaders from around the nation and experts from across the conservation movement.

Youth Programming in Frontline Communities

Want to work with youth from urban and frontline communities? Learn, network and strategize with NWF educational youth programing leaders focused on environmental justice, in frontline and communities of color. Learn about our programs and tactics for working with frontline communities. Network and strategize with others interested in or doing this work.

Why Organizing Matters

In this session, we will create a shared understanding of what organizing is, why it matters, how it fits in with other advocacy tools, and how it leads to social change. We will define what it means to organize, how organizing relates to political power, share some examples organizing in action, and reflect on how these concepts relate back to our work in conservation.

Building a Board that Works

To be effective, affiliates must recruit board members who support their ideals, represent the diversity of the community, and bring a wide range of skills. This workshop covers: How boards change as organizations grow and change; finding and filling the gaps on your board; creating and using a board “job description”; board orientation strategies; training and motivating your board to raise money.

21st Century Campaign Planning Tools u0026amp; Methods

The NWF Campaigns Team will share a comprehensive toolkit for individuals or organizations interested in planning issue-driven campaigns. This session will walk through the toolkit as well as the methodology behind it from setting clear goals to identifying strategies, targeting, power-mapping, when to engage partners, and selecting tactics.

Indigenous Sovereignty, Federal Law, and History

This session will provide a review of the history, law and policy of the relationship between Indigenous nations and the United States. Through case studies and a review of the major eras in US-Native relations, we will explore the main issues and essential concepts of sovereignty.

Social Media 101: Introduction to Posting u0026amp; Graphics

Join experts from the NWF digital engagement team for a helpful walk-through of social media best practices. This session is oriented towards affiliates who are looking to launch social media channels or are just getting started. We will cover posting on social media and creating graphics with free software and have plenty of time for questions and answers

Federal Wildlife Policy Briefing

NWF’s 2016-2021 strategic plan includes many wildlife policy priorities that continue to be aggressively implemented, advanced, and achieved. Join us for an update on where we are at in accomplishing our goals in terms of wildlife conservation policies. Topics will include funding, movements & corridors, migratory birds, species recoveries, tribal wildlife conservation, and threats such as wildlife disease.

Vote with Your Wallet: Drive Sustainability and Safeguard Wildlife with More Responsible Purchases

People buy food, clothing and other products every day. Those purchases represent a powerful vote with our wallets that translate into significant signals for businesses. How can we harness this power to drive more sustainable outcomes for people, wildlife, and the planet?

Early Childhood Health Outdoors (ECHO) – Nature Play and Learning Spaces

NWF’s ECHO envisions a world where young children experience nature daily—for the health of our kids, our communities, and our planet. Join us to learn more about the program and explore opportunities for more engagement.

Reconnect the West Strategy Session

Join us for an interactive session to help finalize our joint NWF-Affiliate strategy to maintain, enhance, and restore migration routes among core wildlife habitats for ungulates across the West, known as the ReConnect the West Initiative. Anyone interested in maintaining, enhancing, and restoring migration routes for ungulates across the West is encouraged to join this session!

Nonprofit Lobbying Rules of the Road

Navigating the IRS rules that govern lobbying activity is essential to the success of any nonprofit organization. This session will help you understand what lobbying is (and what it isn’t), how the IRS measures it, the differences between direct and grassroots lobbying, and how to keep your advocacy between the lines.

How to Find New Revenue with GrantStation

Join us for a brief overview of everything available for grant researchers on GrantStation. We will be covering: how to access and use our grant databases; research approaches; and a look at how you can use our tools to simplify your grant research. (NWF affiliates all receive a deeply discounted rate for an annual subscription GrantStation.)

Recovering America’s Wildlife Act: Creating a Winning Campaign for your State

As America’s wildlife crisis grows, state wildlife agencies need new and more funding sources to help address the immense current and expected future challenges, ensuring a rich outdoor experience for all the citizens of their state. Learn from NWF and fellow affiliates about Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, partnering with state wildlife agencies, and creating a customized action plan to grow your state’s wildlife conservation, recreation and education funding. Learn tips on how this will also help you grow your own membership and funding!

Spanish Hunting u0026amp; Fishing Regulations: Making Change Happen

The Kansas Wildlife Federation and National Wildlife Federation worked with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism to translate and distribute Spanish hunting and fishing regulations. This session will cover how it was done, what hurdles you might face in order to do it in your state, and what resources and partners can help.

Climate-Informed Forest Restoration in National Forest Plans

Are you engaged or thinking about engaging in a National Forest plan revision process? Come learn about a brand-new resources from NWF providing detailed, practical guidance to make sure newly revised plans adequately address climate considerations and concerns. This session will include an overview of the science behind climate-informed forest restoration, and there will be ample time for questions and discussion.

Launching a Legacy Giving Program

In 2020, NWF and a team of affiliates worked together to develop and launch planned/legacy giving programs. Working through a facilitated “how to” process, each affiliate developed a strong, branded program to add a new dimension to their fundraising program. Join this session to learn more and see if your organization would like to get involved in the next round of program development.

Advancing the Next Generation of Conservation Leaders

NWF develops the next generation of conservation leaders through national programs for project-based leadership and career development. Learn, network and strategize with the NWF staff who are leading these programs and explore opportunities to engage high school and college students and other young leaders at your organization.

Fish u0026amp; Wildlife Conservation Relevancy

The “Wildlife Conservation Institution” – the collection of agencies and organizations that manage and protect wildlife – is at a crossroads. People are enjoying the outdoors at unprecedented rates. How can we turn those experiences into passion once a “new normal” post-pandemic settles in and how do we capitalize on that passion to ensure conservation is relevant to all Americans now and in the future?

Wildlife Crossings in Washington State: Creativity, Innovation, and Perseverance

Join Conservation Northwest (CNW) staff as they share ideas and methods for locating, implementing and funding, wildlife crossing structures. Even in the most uncertain of times, wildlife crossings are essential and the work of building them must go on if wildlife are to thrive in rapidly changing and fragmented landscapes

Local Affiliate Networks: Innovation, Engagement, and Challenges

Many NWF affiliates have state-level networks of affiliates and/or chapters, which provide channels for on-the-ground action, political influence, and grassroots leadership. Find out how three affiliates manage their local affiliate networks and hear more about the experiments and innovations they are undertaking to make their structure more inclusive and effective.

The Power of Regional Collaboration for Wildlife Conservation

Conservation succeeds when it ignores political boundaries. However, delivery is best accomplished at the state and local level by conservationists and wildlife biologists. State Wildlife Action Plans have become building blocks for wildlife conservation but need to be stitched together regionally to provide more accessible information to agencies, NWF, affiliates, and other partners.  Regional efforts underway by state wildlife agencies present a tremendous opportunity for NWF regional offices and affiliates, to engage  and help shape on-the-ground conservation efforts.

Growing a Community of Conservation Leaders

Every conservation organization faces the constant challenge of identifying and developing new leaders to keep growing and moving forward on their mission. This session will present three innovative efforts underway across the Federation to find and grow future conservation leaders.

Restoring and Strengthening the Clean Water Act

The Clean Water Act is the bedrock environmental law designed to protect our nation’s waters – from the smallest headwaters to the mightiest rivers and lakes – from pollution and destruction. The Trump Administration dramatically weakened the Clean Water Act, taking us back to the lowest levels of protection we have seen since it became law in 1972. Join us to learn about the current state of play, opportunities to engage your networks, and ways that we hope to restore and strengthen Clean Water Act protections. 2022 is also the 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act, and NWF is working with partners to plan a year-long campaign to celebrate this major milestone.

Leveraging Opinion Media

Newspapers may be declining in circulation, but the opinion pages still carry great weight with local and federal elected officials. Learn how you can increase the profile of your organization and/or issue by getting your ideas in the opinion section. This session will cover Editorial Board meetings, opeds and letters to the editor. We will also discuss how diversifying the voices that carry your message can increase placement success—and grow the “Conservation Army.”

Working Authentically with Indigenous People u0026amp; Communities

This 90 minute affiliate peer-to-peer learning session will explore lessons learned from both affiliate and NWF teams in working to build conservation partnerships with local Indigenous and Tribal communities and how to do that in a mutually respectful, inclusive and equitable manner.

Organizing on Climate/Clean Energy Issues in 2021: Case Studies

History shows that organizing the “environmental” base often isn’t enough to gain movement on climate and clean energy issues. Even when it is enough, it often doesn’t lead to environmentally just solutions. The three speakers in this learning session will give insight into developing partnerships with (1) workers displaced by the move towards green energy, (2) tribes and indigenous groups, and (3) hunters and anglers.

…and it’s not to late to suggest another session for this year! Get in touch with Dave Chadwick with your idea.