Participants



ParticipantsGregg Bortz, MD DNR (Chair)Rachel Felver, ACB/CBP (Coordinator)Rebecca Chillrud, CRC/CBP (Staff)Laurel Abowd, CRC/CBPHeidi Bonnaffon, MWCOGMedessa Burian, EFCLaura Cattell Noll, ACB/LLWGTom Damm, EPA R3Cassandra Davis, NYSDECOla Davis, ACB/LGACHeather Dewar, USGSMichelle DiNicola, PA DEPKelly Donaldson, PA Sea GrantCaroline Donovan, UMCES IANAaron Ferster, EPA-ORDCarl Friedrichs, VIMSMary Gattis, Bay JournalCecile Green, DC DOEEAmy Handen, EPA CBPOLucy Heller, ACBCaitlyn Johnstone, ACB/CBPLisa Jones, MDERebecca Long, CBFSarah Nuss, VIMSDavid Oglethorpe, VCNWill Parson, ACB/CBPAmy Pelsinsky, UMCESEmily Ramirez, UMCESAnn Regn, VA DEQNatalia Sanchez, EFCKristin Saunders, UMCES/CBPMike Smith, Greensmith PRJake Solyst, ACB/CBPJennifer Starr, ACB/LGACWelcome and Introductions (all presentations can be found on our meeting page)Local Engagement Needs and Resource Assessment A common ask/challenge among GITs and workgroups has been local engagement, but we needed more clarity on what exactly that means.Assessment was sent out to all the workgroups to see what their local engagement needs areWho are they targeting? What do they mean when they say local engagement?How do they intend to engage locals?Participation:5 GITs and STAR12 outcomes33 local engagement needsWhat needs to happen at the local level?One of the main themes was “increased:” things are already happening at the local level, but we want to see them scaled upActions: ranked as high, medium or low priorityMany actions were very individualized, so “other” was a big categoryLand conservation and wetland restoration were also common high priorities AudienceBig differences in what “local” means to the workgroups: organizations, local governments and community membersPlanners was a big audience looking to target, which isn’t something the Local Leadership Workgroup (LLWG) is currently set up for – something for the workgroup to discussWhat stage are you in with this work?Majority are in stage one: identifying audienceStage 2: translating materials to resonate with local priorities Stage 3: GITS, actions and audiencesShows that everyone is trying to target everybody about everything – local engagement efforts have been somewhat messy so far, and not targetedMost GITs/workgroups listed their capacity to implement local engagement strategies as “limited”Where do the GITs/workgroups need help?Identifying action/audienceTranslating materialsCreating strategiesImplementing strategiesThis isn’t a complete inventory of needs yet—12 out of 31 outcomes participated—but it is a good snapshot to start withDiscussionWhat are next steps?Have shared with SRS planning team and now with LLWG/Comm WG; hope to share with Coordinators/Staffers soonTuana would have a better sense of next steps, but they are working to see how local engagement efforts can better be implemented throughout the Bay ProgramCould there be a GIT funding opportunity here? It would be good timing for that—maybe a pilot project?Kristin Saunders: Greg Barranco and Lucinda Powers have been designated to oversee the implementation of this; hopefully they’ll both be attending the May 20 brainstorming session for GIT funded projectsUpdate on Cross Outcome Watershed Educational Materials Local Leadership Workgroup received funding for a GIT-funded project to create cross-outcome watershed educational materials for local governments. This is kind of a textbook, in the language that resonates with local governments, so they can see how their goals align with the outcomes the Bay Program is advocating forPhasesPhase 1: Matrix of local priorities and outcomesLocal priorities (from the EcoLogix report): economic development; public health and safety; infrastructure maintenance and financing; educationBay Program priorities: 31 outcomesPhase 2: Proposed module topicsPhase 3: Proposed module curriculumPhase 4: Draft module contentPhase 5: Final watershed 101 module and four to eight additional modulesCurrently between phase 1 and 2; matrix has been created, so now looking for input on potential module topics. Will be looking for further input later on in the project.Green Fin Studio is the contractor working on this projectEnvironmental communications and marketing firm based in RichmondUsed 2017 EcoLogix “Strategic Outreach Education Program for Local Elected Officials in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed” as a starting pointDeveloping the Matrix:Shows the connection between the Bay Program’s 31 outcomes and the four local priorities identified in the EcoLogix reportCriteria for information in the matrix: Recent literatureGeographically relevantReputable sourcesCurrently ~300 files to review (access through google drive)Help needed filling gaps in associated co-benefits; education in particular is a gapSuggest connecting with Shannon Sprague/Education Workgroup Want to make sure these materials are as concise as possible, but provide “off-ramps” with opportunities for deeper learningDeveloping the ModulesPossible themesChesapeake Bay 101 – ecosystem basics (required)Legal/regulatory 101 – how the laws and regulations fit together and support CBP goalsFlooding, stormwater, resiliency and safetyTree canopy/green infrastructure/habitatLand conservation and comprehensive planningDiversity, equity, inclusion and justiceModule development will begin over the next month. Formats open for discussion. DiscussionMatt Pennington: education as a local government priority isn’t necessarily related to environmental education/MWEEs; education is a metric that potential employers will look at when considering locating a business in a certain locality. Even looking at the same topic, locals and Bay Program may look at different sidesKristin Saunders: We are trying to tie the outcomes to terminology and funding and implementation that links to education decisions at the local level. It might be how to incorporate green infrastructure practices on school yards, etc. Matt Pennington: a lot of the green projects on school yards is more infrastructure and capital related than education related, as local governments look at educationBen Alexandro: If you want to do projects on school grounds, then you need education/agreement with teachers, grounds keeping and the administration for them to last and continue to educate students in the long runAnn Regn: green schools and env. literacy/MWEE curricular projects show increases in student achievement and success. MS4 is a great connection and there are a few examples where local govt have connected infrastructure with curriculumLisa Jones: MAEOE in Maryland goes far beyond infrastructure at school – has research and case studies on student achievement related to environmental literacyGregg Bortz: This is an interesting time to be looking at this, when we’re all having to re-evaluate the types of educational resources we have available onlineMatt Pennington: agree, would be a great time to connect teachers with these resourcesFlooding is a big one, as well as other cost anglesWould love to see more environmental justiceWhat are next steps for us as the Communications Workgroup?Paula: would love to have multiple people review the content in the matrix and provide ideas for potential modules. What do we think is important to communicate? What kind of platform should be used to convey this information?Whenever there are draft materials to review, we’d be happy to have a communications workgroup meeting to discuss Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week What is Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week (CBAW)?In 2016, the Chesapeake Bay Commission worked with the legislatures of Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia to designate a week in June to celebrate the Chesapeake Bay.This year will be the 5th annual eventFalls between Clean the Bay Day and Bernie Fowler’s Wade-InThis year: June 6-14Previous years:2018: The Chesapeake Bay Program Communications Workgroup took over the planning. We created a social media toolkit with posts, graphics and photos for partners to use. Theme: Many Regions, One Chesapeake. Each day focused on a different region of the watershed, with the last day representing the entire watershed. 2019: Communications Workgroup organized again. Events now have a permanent home on the Bay Program website, , under Take Action > Attend an Event. Theme: All Hands. Each day focused on a different sector that contributes to Bay restoration—watermen, agriculture, local governments, volunteers, etc. Results:66 organizations shared CBAW content on social media (91 in 2018)17 media outlets covered CBAW (16 in 2018)6 jurisdictions participated on social media (5 in 2018)46 events posted on the calendar (46 in 2018)This yearTheme will be focused on rivers and connectedness. The geographic theme in 2018 did very well, so we’re returning to that style. Each day will focus on a different tributary: Susquehanna, Potomac, York, Rappahannock, Nanticoke, James, Patuxent, Patapsco and all the smaller tributariesHashtags: #OneChesapeake, #RiverStrong, #SweetOnStreamsToolkit will contain:Social media posts for each day – just copy and pasteGraphics and photos (credit photos to Chesapeake Bay Program)Sample proclamationPress releaseWhat you can do:Join us for our working session this Friday, where we will be putting together some posts for the toolkit. Reach out to Rebecca (rchillrud@) for more info.Send Rebecca any success stories related to projects along any of these rivers, or a local river that feeds into theseSubmit any virtual events you’re hosting, and share the link to submit events with your partnersLet us know if you’ll be proclaiming CBAW so we can keep track of our success this yearOnce the toolkit is sent out, share it with your partners and post about CBAW!Heidi Bonnaffon, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG):MWCOG’s Chesapeake Bay Policy Committee has been very involved for the past five yearsGood opportunity to have feel good news, tell the public about our progressHeidi has provided the toolkits to her membersSome elected officials are social media savvy and like to post their own content, and others appreciate it being made as easy as possible to copy and pasteSome have created their own videos – going out into the field, or to a green schoolSome have taken the proclamation – water champions have used this to get others in their governments on boardLikes to share the good news afterwards of the number of organizations involved and the media coverageDiscussion: How can we connect and make CBAW relevant in the face of this pandemic?Potential Bay in your Backyard theme? Parent/child activity to make a secchi disk and take measurements As a parent, would love to see parent-child activities with found objects or other activities that do not require a trip to the store.Matt Pennington – the outdoors has become so crucial now. Promoting local land conservation/areas to get in the outdoorsPennsylvania: many of the people who are getting outdoors may be newbies and aren’t familiar with Leave No Trace principles. Could be an opportunity to promote those principles, plogging, since parks and trails can’t be maintained at the same levelPennsylvania Parks and Forestry foundation – adopt a mile of trail, check in with friends of parks organizationsLisa, MDE: had some luck on MDE’s FB page getting people to buy into the idea of picking up one 5 gallon bucket of trash on every walk - haven’t pushed it recently, but this could be a good time to bring back the “trash bucket challenge”Just make sure to maintain social distancing while out cleaning upTo the question about Leave No Trace, Maryland DNR has a page for kids with language that can be used for anyone: Caitlyn Johnstone: This year's theme is a great opportunity to expand participation. even if the day's river does not go through your area, you could highlight the tributaries that feed into it or the streams that receive water from it.Lancaster County celebrates Water Week in PA each year around the same time – most of the activities have been cancelled for this yearOpen DiscussionWe’ve often heard about the need for connection between communications and local leadership. What do you all want to learn from each other while we are together? Matt Pennington: LLWG’s mission is to increase knowledge and capacity of local officials. We’re never sure what’s going to resonate with a particular individual, but having an inventory of existing information that we can have at our fingertips that can be forwarded through trusted sources can be important. Mary Gattis: Local Government edition of the Bay Journal will likely be coming out in June – it was postponed because people won’t be in the office to receive it. When you get back, do you anticipate having more mail than you can go through? What might be the best time to send out this issue?Send any comments/thoughts to Mary at MaryGattisLLC@ Heather Dewar: our comms role is to disseminate the results of USGS research. It would help me to know if there are specific scientific topics that individual members are strongly interested in. We often have scientific findings that would not necessarily appeal to the news media, but might resonate with individual member organizations.Shannon Moore – any findings about lawn cover are always interestingAndy Fellows – also soil health-related research for community gardensMary Gattis - Chesapeake Stormwater Network did a webcast last week on lawns. There are some technical references in the materials. Laura Cattell Noll – any overlap between USGS research and the matrix that Paula is putting together on local priorities would be helpful. Heather – lots of work on sediment, water quality, ecological research and data collectionHeidi Bonnaffon: USGS stream water quality studies of nutrients, and winter salts monitoring would both be helpful. Shannon Moore: General trends in tributaries from USGS monitoringRachel Felver: the Bay Program press release on updated water quality standards will be coming out this weekHeather: we have a web tool that you, and all members of the public, can use to get real time info on stream flows at dozens of locations in the watershed. Some of those sites have real time water quality info available, some do not. The site is called Waterwatch. I can give a tutorial on how to use it to anyone who would like one. hdewar@ What can we as communicators do to create helpful content for local governments?Matthew Pennington: would be interested to see content related to the matrix Paula discussed earlier.Josh Bollinger: I find the most engaging content to be short videosWill Parson: plug for Bay Program videos: Pamela S: keep messaging simple for local leaders to easily understandMatt P: locals will have varying levels of understanding, and don’t necessarily need a deep level of understanding of Bay restoration to implement projects that benefit their locality and the BayAndy Fellows: It would be helpful to monitor and promote good quality media coverageJennifer Anne Cotting: I think it is helpful to not just inform this audience, but also to make it clear what action is needed. Laura Cattell Noll: agree; tying to actions is essential!Liz Feinberg: As a local Environmental Advisory Committee member in my township in PA, would love a highly visually-appealing bay-wide schematic map showing major rivers and key features. Something that can be easily shared via email and printed and posted for those inclined. This may exist but publicly-accessible map visuals could help engage a wider audience. (the map shown earlier in today’s program was nice)What could we as communicators be doing better to reach you?Shannon Moore: putting it out as resources for local govts to promote is always helpfulAnn Regn: What about professional associations?Rachel: that’s an audience we could tap into moreMatt Pennington: it’s not necessarily that there are things to do differently – it’s just a constant job to communicate and maintain relevant contentJames Wheeler: we can push out content all we want but it won’t be useful until that particular locality needs it – that happens on their time frame. Keep it bite-sized and make it available for localities to find when they need itWrap Up Next meeting: June 3 from 1:00-2:00 pm ................
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