Attend the Coffee Hour
Join us every other month for a coffee hour on current wilderness issues. Upcoming:
Inclusivity in Wilderness: Friday, September 24, 2021, 1:00 pm MDT
A foundational way to increase inclusivity within the wilderness movement is to ensure that the narrative we tell about wilderness is honest, relevant to diverse affinity groups, and accurately contextualizes conservation’s colonialist and discriminatory past. A small, nimble task team including people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and outdoor enthusiasts with disabilities is creating an inclusive language screening tool intended to help agencies and wilderness non-profits communicate in a more inclusive way to employees, volunteers, and wilderness visitors. This coffee hour will introduce concepts of inclusive language and communications through a series of interactive learning exercises. Your insights will help shape the tool’s development and application.
A foundational way to increase inclusivity within the wilderness movement is to ensure that the narrative we tell about wilderness is honest, relevant to diverse affinity groups, and accurately contextualizes conservation’s colonialist and discriminatory past. A small, nimble task team including people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and outdoor enthusiasts with disabilities is creating an inclusive language screening tool intended to help agencies and wilderness non-profits communicate in a more inclusive way to employees, volunteers, and wilderness visitors. This coffee hour will introduce concepts of inclusive language and communications through a series of interactive learning exercises. Your insights will help shape the tool’s development and application.
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Recordings
Please click on the headers below to be taken tot he YouTube recording of each coffee hour.
Ways We Help
Meaningful Work. Unforgettable Experiences.
Want to know what's coming down the pike for wilderness? Join us on Thursday, July 22 at 10 am MDT to discuss current wilderness legislation, the political climate for wilderness designation, and how wilderness fits into 30x30. We will hear from Athan Manuel, Director of the Lands Protection Program at the Sierra Club. For the last 15 years, Athan has led national efforts on wilderness issues, including legislation protecting more than 3 million acres of new public land in 2019, energy policy, safeguarding the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and protecting the outer continental shelf and our nation's forests. Following Athan's talk, we will ask questions and break into small group discussions.
Coffee Hour on ecological change and restoration in wilderness, hosted by Dr. Robert Dvorak, professor in the Department of Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Services Administration at Central Michigan University. The Coffee Hour will include break-out room discussions on the following topics:
Where is there flexibility to address human-caused ecological change?
How do we act with restraint, humility, or not act at all as wilderness stewards?
How to we proactively manage wilderness with moving ecological baselines?
How do we as wilderness stewards adapt to inevitable and significant ecological change?
Supplemental readings for the Coffee Hour include:
Untrammeled Wild and Wilderness Character in the Anthropocene, By Roger Kay, International Journal of Wilderness April 2018
Nondegradation and the Wilderness Concept: Interpreting the Wilderness Act, By Doug Scott, International Journal of Wilderness April 2014
Non-Profit Career Coffee Hour: Thursday, March 25th, 2021
At Society for Wilderness Stewardship, we are dedicated to stepping up our efforts in addressing this issue. Support is by no means an easy feat, but through cooperation and community empowerment we believe we can facilitate progress in this area. We are always striving to make a difference, and invite you to learn more and lend your support.