U.S. Fish & Wildlife U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Service

2010 Southeast Region2010 Southeast Region Friends Friends

ConferenceConferenceConnecting Connecting People with People with

Nature – Nature – Southern Southern StyleStyle

Who should we Who should we connect?connect?All Southeast Region FWS EmployeesAll Southeast Region FWS Employees

Friends & VolunteersFriends & VolunteersParents, grandparents, and other Parents, grandparents, and other caregiverscaregiversEducators – formal and informalEducators – formal and informalChildrenChildrenPartners – Traditional and New!Partners – Traditional and New!

The South is The South is ChangingChangingThe south is projected to receive 52% of The south is projected to receive 52% of

the U.S. net growth between 2000 and the U.S. net growth between 2000 and 2030.2030.

Three of the largest and fastest growing Three of the largest and fastest growing states are in the south – Florida, Georgia states are in the south – Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.and North Carolina.

By 2030, 9 of the 10 Southeastern By 2030, 9 of the 10 Southeastern states in our Region will exceed the states in our Region will exceed the current Florida percentage of people 65 current Florida percentage of people 65 years and older.years and older.

Eighty percent of the U.S. population Eighty percent of the U.S. population now lives in urban or suburban areas. now lives in urban or suburban areas. How do they recreate in the outdoors?How do they recreate in the outdoors?

What’s Happening in our What’s Happening in our Region ?Region ?

ConnectingConnecting People with People with Nature (CPN) Nature (CPN) Executive TeamExecutive Team

CPN Annual CPN Annual Plan Plan

State State AmbassadorsAmbassadors

State State ChampionsChampions

Regional Goals Regional Goals

InreachInreach

Health connectionHealth connection

Social MediaSocial Media

PartnershipsPartnerships

OutreachOutreach

Environmental Environmental EducationEducation

Youth ConservationYouth Conservation

Animal OlympicsAnimal Olympics Flap your Flap your arms and arms and migrate like migrate like a monarch a monarch butterfly – or butterfly – or – jump like a – jump like a frog and see frog and see how far you how far you can travel in can travel in 5 hops. 5 hops.

St. Marks NWR – Ideas to St. Marks NWR – Ideas to ShareShare

--Host a Wildlife Host a Wildlife Heritage & Outdoors-Heritage & Outdoors-type festival with type festival with partnerspartners

-Add pre-school focus -Add pre-school focus “Tots on Trails”“Tots on Trails”

-Add Families -Add Families

in Nature programmingin Nature programming

-Loaner optics, -Loaner optics, cameras, GPS unitscameras, GPS units

What works to get What works to get

Families outdoors inFamilies outdoors in

your area? your area?

More Ideas More Ideas Add Senior FocusAdd Senior FocusPartner with health Partner with health organizationsorganizationsPartner with schoolsPartner with schoolsJoin your statewide Join your statewide organizationorganization

Start a Photo Club!Start a Photo Club!

Digital cameras connect people to the outdoor world.They expand our view of wildlife and wild places.

••Provide funding source to the biological Provide funding source to the biological and educational programs at refuge.and educational programs at refuge.

••Funded initial EE position & now summer Funded initial EE position & now summer EE supportEE support

••Offers grant support and matching fundsOffers grant support and matching funds

••Recruit members and volunteers to run Recruit members and volunteers to run programsprograms

••Transportation scholarships for groups to Transportation scholarships for groups to refugerefuge

• • Support family programs and special Support family programs and special events – e.g., Coastal Cleanup, Monarch events – e.g., Coastal Cleanup, Monarch Butterfly Festival, WHO FestivalButterfly Festival, WHO Festival

St. Marks Refuge St. Marks Refuge Association helps:Association helps:

Creative Projects with Creative Projects with FriendsFriends

Adopt-a-School, Adopt-a-School, Fishing Clinics, Fishing Clinics, fund teacher fund teacher workshops, Junior workshops, Junior Friends group, Friends group, Junior Explorer Junior Explorer Club, Healthy Kids Club, Healthy Kids Club, Earth Club, Earth Caching, Caching, Shutterbug Pals, Shutterbug Pals, brown paper brown paper bag art contest, bag art contest, translate web translate web pages, auctions, pages, auctions, raffles, Junior raffles, Junior Ranger Programs, Ranger Programs, map invasive map invasive plants, video for plants, video for doctors, and more!doctors, and more!THANK YOU!THANK YOU!