Goal 1: Expand outreach to engage and involve all sectors of the diverse regional community with special focus on people of color

Background and future direction

Engagement in, and advocacy for, conservation has largely been an adult white, middle-and-upper class pursuit. WPC will reach out to all people in the community to foster an understanding and appreciation for conservation. WPC will foster hands on experience and involvement to foster interest and engagement.

Goal 2: Expand volunteer corps to 7,500 by 2010 and provide opportunities to build greater understanding and sense of ownership

Background and future direction

WPC has developed a corps of 5,000 volunteers who plant and maintain gardens and green spaces, guide and promote the public tour program at Fallingwater, advocate and promote WPC's mission and activities, and monitor and assist in the maintenance of WPC's land holdings. WPC seeks to engage additional volunteers of all ages from the diverse community in enhancing, improving and protecting human communities and natural resources. WPC will:

• Continue efforts to expand and improve the garden and land steward programs and the volunteer force at Fallingwater
• Diversify volunteer skills by offering advanced training in various areas
• Continue working closely with board appointed volunteer advisory committees to help staff and board to accomplish the WPC mission
• Create a group of advocates to improve government's role in protecting our regions best natural and cultural assets

B. Foster a greater understanding and appreciation for the rich heritage of Western Pennsylvania

Goal 1: Weave an educational component through all WPC programs and activities to advance the general public's understanding of broad conservation issues in our diverse regional communities

Background and future direction

Through coordinated, advance planning, WPC plans to dramatically increase the power of our message and establish educational links between our activities and program areas across the organization. By identifying specific topics on which to concentrate each year, and continuing to examine those topics through a variety of educational means, we seek to extend learning opportunities to wider audiences, and deepen their understanding of those topics. Obviously, the choice of topics can be made to further our more strategic goals of public outreach and advocacy. With a focused approach to education, we can turn learning moments into lifelong learning.

This approach does not require the creation of a separate educational agenda, but rather the oversight and coordination of existing programs with the judicious inclusion of education in all programs where deemed advantageous. The approach to this educational strategy will be founded on careful prioritization. For example, educational efforts at field stations such as Lake Pleasant and Sideling Hill Creek can serve to engage local communities in the protection of their natural resources, and go beyond this to connect local constituents to the work of the organization in general. The education program currently in the developmental stage for the newly renovated Bear Run Nature Center will provide a wide variety of educational programs, experiences and symposia focused on all areas of WPC's work. Our program advancing gardens and green spaces works in cooperation with communities to foster a conservation ethic through increased awareness of the value of green space establishment and enhancement. These and other WPC programs will offer opportunities for profound educational experiences, especially for the younger generation who are our future conservation leaders. WPC will continue to:

• Provide experiences to constituents to build understanding and awareness of WPC's mission
• Provide technical assistance, conservation analysis and interpretation to grassroots groups and government agencies when opportunities arise
• Participate on committees related to WPC's mission
• Provide internal education to the Board, staff and volunteers of all WPC programs and activities through occasional presentations and field trips.
• Provide educational opportunities through internships in conservation, preservation, museum education, and green space and landscape design.
• Develop outreach through presentations, scientific reports, articles, project summaries and recommendations, conservation plans and other materials.
• Provide interpretive and educational programming at Bear Run Nature Center that includes local community involvement and engagement
• Conduct educational symposia and workshops on issues of timely importance to WPC's mission including conservation, preservation and design.
• Provide hands-on conservation learning opportunities for the general public, constituents, teachers and students.

Goal 2: Launch a regional indicators project to foster greater public awareness of regional challenges

Background and Future Direction

Today Pennsylvania does not have a set of conservation indicators against which groups and the general public can measure conservation progress. In collaboration with others, WPC will develop a set of indicators that will enable groups to measure their results and foster community awareness and understanding of the progress being made in meeting conservation goals.

Following are indicators of success in meeting the strategic driver discussed in this section, “Inspire a conservation ethic through education and volunteer actions:” Experiences provided to build understanding and awareness of WPC's mission Educational focus in all WPC programs and activities implemented through departmental operational plans Increase the volunteer corps from the current level of 5,000 to 7,500 Volunteers' understanding of conservation and knowledge of WPC's work to enable them to be effective community ambassadors, as measured through surveys, focus groups and web interactions Completion of baseline information by 2004 of the level of minority involvement in WPC's work to provide the basis for setting future goals for increased participation as volunteers and at WPC events Increase in number of internships filled to provide young people with meaningful conservation experiences Completion of regional indicators project Positive and accurate media coverage of conservation work