Stronger Together a Manual on the Principles and Practices of Civic
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
National Park Service Conservation Study Institute B Stronger Together: Principles and Practices of Civic Engagement Stronger Together This report is the sixteenth in the Conservation and Stewardship Publica- Other publications on civic tion Series produced by the Conservation Study Institute. This series includes engagement in the Conservation and A Manual on the Principles and Practices a variety of publications designed to provide information on conservation Stewardship Publication Series: of Civic Engagement history and current practice for professionals and the public. The series editor is Nora J. Mitchell, director of the Institute. This volume was prepared in coop- No. 8 eration with the Quebec-Labrador Foundation/Atlantic Center for the Environ- Keeping National Parks Relevant in ment and Shelburne Farms National Historical Landmark. the 21st Century, 2006 (pdf/print) The Conservation Study Institute was established by the National Park Service No. 11 in 1998 to help the agency and its partners stay in touch with the evolving Learning to be Better Neighbors: field of conservation, and to develop more sophisticated partnerships, new Case Studies in Civic Engagement tools for community engagement, and new strategies for the twenty-first between National Parks and Neigh- century. A partnership with academic, government, and nonprofit organiza- boring Communities, 2006 (pdf) tions, the Institute is dedicated to assisting the National Park Service and its partners in becoming increasingly effective and creative in meeting new No. 13 challenges, and more open and responsive leaders in building collaboration Scholar’s Forum, The National Park and commitment for the stewardship of our national system of parks and Service and Civic Reflection: special places. The Institute is based at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National A Summary Report, 2006 (pdf) Prepared by Historical Park in the Northeast Region of the National Park Service. For a full publications list, go to National Park Service Conservation Study Institute This report is available in pdf format only. We encourage you to share the http://www.nps.gov/csi/pub and information in this report, and request only that you give appropriate citations _resources/pub2.htm. National Park Service Northeast Region Office of Interpretation and Education and bibliographic credits. Copyrighted images are not placed in the public domain by their appearance in this document. They cannot be copied or In cooperation with otherwise reproduced except in their printed context within this publication without the written consent of the copyright holders. Quebec-Labrador Foundation/Atlantic Center for the Environment Recommended citation: Jacquelyn L. Tuxill, Nora J. Mitchell, and Delia Clark. and Stronger Together: A Manual on the Principles and Practices of Civic Engage- On the cover: Students learn the Shelburne Farms National Historic Landmark ment. Woodstock, VT: Conservation Study Institute, 2009. intricacies of weaving on a handloom at the Tsongas Industrial History CONSERVATION AND STEWARDSHIP PUBLICATION NO. 16 For more information, contact: Center, located in Boott Mill in Lowell National Historical Park. More Jacquelyn L. Tuxill, Nora J. Mitchell, Delia Clark Conservation Study Institute than 50,000 students annually are Published by the Conservation Study Institute 54 Elm Street engaged in programs at the Center, Woodstock, Vermont Woodstock, VT 05091 a partnership of Lowell National Tel: (802) 457-3368 Historical Park and University of Fax: (802) 457-3405 Massachusetts Lowell Graduate School 2009 www.nps.gov/csi of Education. Photo by James Higgins. ii Stronger Together: Principles and Practices of Civic Engagement Stronger Together: Principles and Practicescontents of Civic Engagement iii Introduction and Background Acknowledgments Objectives . 2 Intended Audience . 2 The Conservation Study Institute project team—Director Nora Mitchell and About the Manual . 2 cooperating partners Jacquelyn Tuxill and Delia Clark—expresses our sincere thanks A Closer Look at Civic Engagement to the Northeast Region Office of Interpretation and Education, especially Robert Defining Civic Engagement............................................. 3 Fudge and Patti Reilly, for their initiative and guidance throughout the writing of this Current Context for Practicing Civic Engagement............................... 5 manual. Their ideas and advice were critical in shaping the final product. We express Benefits of Civic Engagement ........................................... 5 our appreciation to others who reviewed earlier versions of the manual, and provided suggestions or additional text, including Sue Andrews, Megan Camp, Sheila Cooke- The Spectrum of Civic Engagement: Different Applications and Audiences Kayser, Sarah Craighead, Tom Davies, Daniel Laven, Brent Mitchell, Christy Rocca, and Applications of Civic Engagement . 9 Tiffany Tillman. We are also indebted to the many people, National Park Service staff 1. Interpretation and education . 9 and partners, who have participated in the civic engagement workshops sponsored by Examples: the Conservation Study Institute and the Northeast Region Office of Interpretation Engaging with local schools and Education from 2005 through 2009. The experiences and insights that you shared Engaging with teachers to better utilize park resources Engaging with the community in dialogue at the workshops contributed directly to this manual. Finally, we thank all Engaging teachers and the community in program development those who are dedicated to the ongoing practice of civic engagement for the betterment Engaging stakeholders to develop a more complete historical interpretation of our communities and our national system of parks and special places—you are Engaging stakeholders in an untold story that requires rethinking historical interpretation leading the way and providing inspiration. 2. Planning processes . 14 Examples: Engaging citizens in pre-park planning This publication has been prepared under the following cooperative agreements: Engaging citizens in general management planning and educational planning Engaging citizens in interpretive planning Cooperative Agreement H1818-06-0011, Task Agreement 5 J1818-07-E011, between 3. Resource management . 16 the National Park Service Conservation Study Institute and the Quebec-Labrador Examples: Engaging volunteers in restoration and stewardship Foundation/Atlantic Center for the Environment Engaging students in research Engaging with the community in regional watershed management Cooperative Agreement H1818-03-0009, Task Agreement 7 J1818-06-G009, between the Engaging community groups in preserving cultural resources National Park Service Conservation Study Institute and Shelburne Farms Engaging the community in preserving a working cultural landscape Building Relationships with Specific Audiences . 18 1. Educators . 19 All photos courtesy of the National Park Service except for the following: Examples: Pages 3 and 7 (top): © Brent Mitchell, QLF/Atlantic Center for the Environment Engaging with teachers in developing school curricula Page 47: Bo Hoppin Engaging teachers as national park rangers 2. Youth. 20 Examples: Engaging ethnically diverse urban youth Engaging youth through hands-on skill training Engaging youth through internships Engaging youth in program design and implementation Engaging youth through summer stewardship activities iv Strengthening Relationships Through Civic Engagement 1 3. Park visitors .................................................. 23 4. Communities that neighbor national park areas ............................ 24 Examples: Engaging with the local community in transportation planning Engaging an under-represented sector of the local community Engaging the local community in planning 5. Key partner groups and stakeholders . .................................. 26 6. Friends groups and cooperating associations .............................. 27 7. Volunteers ................................................... 27 Example: Engaging volunteers in telling a difficult story Principles and Promising Practices of Civic Engagement Principles of Effective Civic Engagement . 29 Introduction 1. Build genuine relationships . 30 2. Create effective engagement processes . ................................. 31 and Background 3. Deliver relevant interpretive and educational programs and materials . 32 4. Sustain civic engagement over time .................................... 32 ivic engagement builds and sustains the relationships that are necessary for Promising Civic Engagement Practices . 33 the National Park Service (NPS) and its partners to collectively accomplish 1. Build genuine relationships ......................................... 33 C conservation stewardship over the long term. Often used interchangeably with Step 1: Identify and become familiar with key individuals and organizations “community engagement,” civic engagement encompasses a set of diverse techniques Step 2: Establish contact with key individuals and organizations that can be used to connect with the American public and develop effective, lasting, Step 3: Cultivate lasting relationships over time and mutually beneficial relationships. In recent years, the NPS and its partners have 2. Create effective engagement processes .................................. 38 undertaken various activities that have led to a deeper reflection on the importance of Step 1: Design the process civic engagement in helping the public participate in dialogue