Connect and Promote Strategy 2027-2029
The Society for Ecological Restoration – Western Canada advances ecological restoration throughout British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the Yukon and Northwest Territories. We strive to build an ecologically sustainable relationship between nature, community, and the economy.
More directly, we aspire to be western Canada’s interdisciplinary hub for ecological restoration science, practice, and collaboration. We work to deliver high quality education opportunities including webinars, journal clubs, and help to facilitate higher education through our Indigenous student scholarship. We work to empower our membership to initiate and carry out activities that will foster communities of restoration practitioners. That empowerment comes from ensuring accessibility: local, short-duration, low or no cost, all ages and knowledge-levels. Fostering communities comes from face-face meetings, where people participate in an activity together – whether it is sharing a meal, planting a tree, releasing a fish, or making sense of a new guideline. Communities learn from and help each other, and celebrate the events with photos and stories to share with others.
Our board works to facilitate knowledge sharing, in person networking opportunities, connecting with local communities and groups and supporting student chapters, where they exist.
To advance the Promoting part of the mission, we need a membership informed and supportive about SER standards and guidelines, certifications, and scientific publications developed by the international membership. We succeeded with a major conference in October 2024, and we can maintain and further promote SER through one or more partnerships in the coming three years without exhausting our volunteer base.
To advance that mission we need a board that is willing to engage with like-minded organizations to organize, deliver, and participate in larger events that qualify as professional development towards professional certification. The board needs to solicit help from the members to distribute the volunteer effort, encouraging both the use of experienced volunteer strengths and development of new volunteer skills.
For 2027-2029, we have a Connect and Promote Strategy to help kick-start the membership into action and support SER-WC’s mission.
Objective 1:
Hold more frequent (annual), but smaller (1-day) events that overcome or cater to the geographic locations where our members reside (day-trip within 250 km). There are distinct clusters of members in the lower mainland of B.C., southern Vancouver Island, the B.C. interior, and the corridor between Edmonton and Calgary.
Approaches for Objective 1:
- Identify cluster areas to host events or target outreach
- Create opportunities to piggyback small meet-ups like trivia night after existing regional events
- Host networking panel or professional development event for student chapters
Objective 2:
Partner with similar organizations to share in delivering at least one major conference or webinar presentation, special session, or workshop to a broad audience that promotes ecological restoration.
Approaches for Objective 2:
- Seek partnership opportunities and options for consideration by the board and membership as capacity permits
- Promote SER-WC at partner events
- Promote SER Membership perks like SER Connect; how to use membership benefits, gather testimonials, newsletter promotions
- Use newsletters and social media to reach out to SER-WC membership and solicit volunteers willing to deliver presentations or otherwise help organize events – as what we do depends upon the membership.
- Experienced volunteers should be partnered with inexperienced volunteers for the mentoring opportunity to build capacity of our volunteer on a regional basis
- Advertise any SER-WC endorsed and branded activities as professional development opportunities outside the membership
- Always consider a cost-recovery fee for service, or sponsorship opportunities to continue supporting a media coordinator contract position.
- Post photos and stories of all activities in real time (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) and on the SER-WC web showcase or monthly newsletter to show our members engaged.