Conservation Leadership Institute participants practice campaign planning and storytelling to motivate action in first two weeks of Fall 2022 course
“I continue to live the Hunter’s Paradox, but do so by advocating for sustainable land management, educating people on the river and on the land about why conserving this place is so important,” concludes TJ Moulton, fourth generation Wyomingite and Fall 2022 Conservation Leadership Institute participant.
In the first week of CLI, participants learned about Marshall Ganz’s Public Narrative framework, a tool that helps leaders and organizers tell effective stories that convey the emotions and values underlying our motivation to take specific action for a cause. By weaving together what Ganz calls Stories of Self, Us, and Now, leaders communicate who they are, who their people are, and what they are collectively called to do in the present moment. Throughout CLI, each participant will have the opportunity to present and receive feedback on their public narrative, helping them develop this essential grassroots organizing tool.
CLI participants break into their SPET project groups for the first time.
Just as important as understanding our motivations for taking action, we need to have a strategy to back it up. This week, CLI dove into campaign planning – defining the issues, goals, and policy levers that form the foundation of a successful campaign. Between now and the November 8 election, CLI participants will be working in teams and collaborating with community partners to lobby for various SPET initiatives!
CLI participants Toby Smith, Mattea Goetz, Olive Graykowski, and Hailey Gilmore discuss campaign
strategy for the Energy Conservation Works Projects SPET initiative.
Want to learn more about this year’s class of conservation leaders? Check out their bios here!