Workshop: Communicating Environmentally, Appleton, Oct. 18

From the River Alliance of Wisconsin:

Saturday, October 18
Appleton YMCA
Registration deadline: Thursday, October 16

Are you concerned that the landscape of your area is changing and you don’t have a say? That polluted runoff from agricultural lands and urban development is forever changing the natural resources you hold dear? Do you find it intimidating to express your viewpoints about these issues to your neighbors or at public meetings, and feel frustrated when decisions are made that ignore impacts to our environment? The River Alliance of Wisconsin is hosting two workshops to help you have an effective voice in decision making.

The officials we send to the Capitol and elect to town, city, and county boards can’t represent you unless you tell them what’s important to you. The Communicating Environmentally workshop will help you wade through the decision-making process for local governments and understand how you can influence environmental policy decisions.

How we communicate – the words we use, the way we approach those whose minds we want to change, the attitude and passion we express – is vital to getting our viewpoints heard, whether the target is an elected official, a local administrator or a next-door neighbor. This workshop will also help you learn the language and techniques of environmental communication to help you be heard, be credible and make a difference in your community.

With the generous support of the Wisconsin Environmental Education Board (WEEB), we will be hosting two workshops to help river and watershed groups and citizens develop skills to communicate effectively. Each workshop will feature words from a local elected official about the importance of civic involvement, a presentation by the University of Stevens Point Center for Land Use Education about how to stay on top of the government decision making process, and Dorothy Lagerroos, retired Environmental Studies and Government Professor at Northland College, will provide hands-on training in developing and getting your message across.

Each workshop begins at 10:00 a.m., includes lunch, and will conclude at 3:00 p.m. A nominal fee of $10.00 to cover lunch is requested, and advance registration is required for lunch planning purposes.