How does engagement need to adapt to the “new tomorrow”? And what of the “yesterday” will remain?
For most of our organizations, learning and engagement/education staff have been critical messengers, connectors to our now-remote audiences, keeping the mission alive, raising spirits, and continuing to engage learners in innovative ways, born of necessity. You’ve risen to the challenge—keeping your “WHY” front and center. As one of our webinar participants noted, “Our mission hasn’t changed, our methods have.”
At the outset of our session, we asked participants when they planned to open and whether, when they did open, they planned to have staff/volunteers engaging guests. A few were already open or planned to open soon, but many more were uncertain—“I wish I knew.” While most planned to have some staff or volunteers engaging with guests, it was evident that our old methods would radically change, and that some organizations were not bringing back volunteers until later phases of re-opening.
Our seven webinar panelists included Judy Braus, NAAEE; Debbi Stone, Florida Aquarium and Vice-Chair of the CEC; Terry O’Connor, Terry O’Connor Consulting; Shelly Grow and Amy Rutherford, AZA; Stacy McReynolds, San Antonio Zoo; and Grayson Ponti, Dallas Zoo. They addressed these key questions about “the new tomorrow” for L&E:
-
How do we ensure we’re still delivering on education/engagement while focusing on new safety procedures and protocols? How do you manage close engagement at a distance?
-
How does COVID19 change how we think about our relationship with animals? What are our key messages about this?
-
How do we keep our momentum and focus on social change and driving people to conservation action?
-
We’re now more globally connected than ever—how do we build on that?
-
What’s the future of environmental education in “the new tomorrow?” What is NAAEE (North American Association of Environmental Education) seeing nationally and internationally in their networks?
Highlights of that discussion follow:
-
Keep safety in mind first
-
Have fun with warnings; use humor to communicate messages
-
Stay positive
-
Be flexible, adapt; improve our skills in virtual/digital learning
-
Different audiences have different needs; one size does not fit all
-
Stay focused on conservation action; use digital to engage even more people and reinforce behavior change
-
Look to conservation psychology for lessons on driving change and ways to integrate and adapt technology to connect now and in the future
-
Zoos are an important part of the healing process; people will trust us more than other places
-
We’re a connection with nature for people—critically important now
-
COVID19 is about people and animals—pets and wildlife—and will affect how we view animals
-
Figure out what to stop doing and use our (painfully-stretched) resources strategically and purposefully
-
Develop more collaborations and synergies across our field, sharing knowledge and resources; explore cross-sector/cross-discipline collaborations—and continue this practice
Our participants are doing a great job keeping their volunteers informed and making them feel valued, as they reported via “chat” (see link to chat log below). While many are uncertain when they’ll bring volunteers back into regular service and some acknowledge that they will not engage volunteers until “the next phase” or later of re-opening, people are keeping in touch regularly and in some creative ways. Here’s what you told us you were doing:
“Zoom” or other virtual gatherings
-
Weekly Zoom happy hours for volunteers; monthly or bi-weekly Zoom meetings
-
Special “socials” for teen volunteers
-
Weekly lunchtime “gatherings”
Regular communication
-
Emails, emails, emails—sometimes daily!
-
Facebook for special groups, i.e. volunteer divers; “closed” FB group; Microsoft Teams Docent group; regular postings on FB page with Zookeeper staff posting pictures and updates
-
“Pre-shift” meetings (even though they aren’t followed by shifts)
-
Sending WhatsApp texts
-
Advance communication of information shared on social media
Development/Education opportunities
-
Online training sessions
-
Zoom ZooU continuing education sessions
-
E-learning courses
-
Considering peer learning opportunities
-
Additional web-based training and resources
-
Launching Better Impact for Volunteer information sharing/training and maintenance
Celebrations and more
-
Docents sponsor a staff lunch
-
“Docent of the Week” highlighted
-
Volunteers have been key figures in our team fundraising competition
-
Personal calls to every adult interpretive volunteer during Volunteer Appreciation week
-
“We miss you” videos by staff from home
-
Regular posts on FB page with Zookeeper staff posting pictures and updates
-
Regular 1:1 calls and miscellaneous connections “just to stay in touch”
-
Day captains engage their day volunteers in their own unique ways
-
Sending animal ID cards
-
Large group Zoom meetings with expert guest speakers
We also heard some creative and innovative ways to re-imagine our work:
-
Opening the zoo as a “drive-through” with audio tour
-
Using L&E staff returned from furlough to develop conservation messages/packets for Guest Services to use with guests
-
Masking mascots for great photo opps as we re-open
-
Personal interactions with props, signs, and shields at a distance; setting up temporary but attractive barriers
-
Conducting virtual yoga sessions for a “Zen Zoo”
-
Celebrating a teen volunteer who raised funds for the Zoo for his birthday celebration
And we gained ideas to continue and expand the discussion—figuring out how to address the wildlife trade in culturally-appropriate ways using science; learning more about people and wildlife attitudes post-corona (more fear?); how we can collaborate/share resources better; and how do we continue the conversation?
Check out these links from our webinar by clicking on the titles—and keep the conversation going!
-
Webinar recording Password: 7M..%4a3
