USBN Workshops Connect People with Nature and Each Other

Four Biosphere Regions (BRs) took center stage on August 11, 2021 at Organizing Your Biosphere Region to Inspire Action, the third and final virtual workshop in the series Enhancing the Well-being of People and the Environment. Champlain Adirondack (NY-VT), Congaree (SC), Golden Gate (CA), and Southern Appalachian (based in TN) described their organizational structures for achieving the USBN vision, i.e., a healthy environment where people and communities prosper based on shared knowledge and stewardship of the beauty and benefits of nature.

BR representatives and partners hailing from Alaska, Hawai’i, the continental U.S., and U.S. Caribbean met their peers virtually from across the country and learned from each other during the series. Over 150 participants attended Workshop One: Convening our Community of Practice on November 10, 2020. Conservation scientist and Senior Fellow at the United Nations Foundation, Tom Lovejoy, and Sharon Farrell of the California Landscape Stewardship Network and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy provided inspiration for communities and regions to cooperate to address rapid environmental change.

Speakers from BRs also shared their voluntary approaches to local challenges, including protecting sensitive groundwater resources in Mammoth Cave BR, Kentucky, engaging respectfully with indigenous communities at Mount Arrowsmith BR in British Columbia, and using science and nature-based solutions for achieving coastal resilience at Virginia Coast BR.

Held on April 19, 2021, Communications and Outreach for your Biosphere Region: Story and Value Proposition, focused on specific skills and practical communication strategies for engaging communities and stakeholders in Biosphere Regions to sustain the benefits of healthy lands, air, and water.

The workshop series was facilitated by CDR Associates on behalf of the USBN. In case you missed it, watch the recording of Convening our Community of Practice workshop.

For more information contact Cliff McCreedy or Desirée Fiske.