Audience participation at Redwood Shores Branch Library

Public Education on Green Topics: Goals, Reach, & ImpacT

A Community Discussion on Program Effectiveness to Build Relations & Optimize Results

Date - Wed September 18, 11.30a-1p

Location - Redwood Shores Branch Library, 399 Marine Pkwy, Redwood City

Description - This moderated discussion, with whiteboarding, drew expertise from dozens of program managers that plan and run community education events on green topics in SMC -- lectures, panels, movies, courses, tabling, & others. Through open discourse, we identified existing programs and resources, and examined ideas and partner to improve results.

Speakers

350 Silicon Valley - Nicole Kemeny, President
Citizens' Climate Lobby - Doug Silverstein, Volunteer
Citizens Environmental Council of Burlingame - Terry Nagel, Board Member
The City of Burlingame - Andrea Pappajohn, Sustainability Fellow
Committee for Green Foothills - Helen Wolter, Legislative Advocate
Elkus Ranch - Dr. Maggie La Rochelle Gunn, 4-H Youth Development Advisor & Acting Ranch Director
Friends of Edgewood Park - Kathy Goforth, Board Member
The HEAL Project - Naomi Stern, Programs Manager
Peninsula Open Space Trust - Mark Medeiros, Senior Manager of Community Engagement
SMC Office of Education - Andra Yeghoian, Environmental Literacy Leader
SMC Office of Sustainability - Avana Andrade, Sustainability Academy Program Manager
SunWork - Tom Kabat, Volunteer
Sustainable San Mateo County - Terry Nagel, Board Member

Recap

At the monthly Environment & Sustainability (E&S) Thrive Action Group (TAG) meeting on Wednesday September 18 in Redwood City, 33 individuals from 23 local organizations met for a community discussion on public education program effectiveness - to build relations & optimize results.

Of these attendees, 67% were from nonprofits, 20% from government, and the rest from youth groups and small businesses. Thirteen presented their challenges, successes, and growth strategies in 5-minute reports (slides) including:

350 Silicon Valley, Citizens' Climate Lobby, Citizens Environmental Council of Burlingame, the City of Burlingame, Committee for Green Foothills, Elkus Ranch, Friends of Edgewood Park, the HEAL Project, Peninsula Open Space Trust, SMC Office of Education, SMC Office of Sustainability, SunWork, & Sustainable San Mateo County.

From presentations and comments, 3 themes stood out:

Participating groups have overlapping goals and needs
Multi-group collaboration could yield stronger results
Public Ed programs must target diverse audiences

The September and previous E&S TAG meetings’ post-event surveys showed attendees gained substantially from learning about of a breadth similar organizations’ policy initiatives and programs -- hearing success stories and considering partnerships.

September respondents rated the event as 4.3 on a scale 5.0, and likely to attend again as 4.4. Still, attendees want more time for open discussion and networking.

As such the E&S TAG, will continue to bring the environmental sustainability community together with a desire to unify and enable broad success.v

Presentation - slides