Cooperative Conservation Commissions in Orange County
The Randolph and Braintree Conservation Commissions have been working together to extend our reach with a number of public outreach activities. Over the past year we've led a winter bird walk through one of our town forests, had a speaker come in to talk about the local deer populations and are planning another springtime bird walk and a presentation on vernal pools. We're able to reach more people by combining forces. Randolph has good public meeting spaces and the Braintree commission has a very good email distribution list. Our last talk was videotaped by ORCA Media and we have been able to make it available on the Randolph Conservation Commission's website
Braintree, Randolph
Outreach, partnerships
We got to meet local birders and introduce them to each other at a peak time (Christmas Bird Count Weekend).
We helped people get out of the house and learn about animals in their natural habitats.
We made people aware of the conservation work being done by two adjacent towns.
We raised the profile of both conservation commissions by working together.
Randolph Conservation Commission
Braintree Conservation Commission
RASTA (Rochester/Randolph Area Sport Trail Alliance)
Vermont Fish and Wildlife
Local chapter of VT Audubon
Using multiple publicizing channels helped get the word out to more than the usual suspects. Planning in advance so that we had events that occurred at a time that worked for people and were adjacent to other events. Good and timely email communication between the two conservation commissions.
It's hard getting people out of the house. It's hard to see birds when people are talking. The weather is pretty erratic and variable.