Workshop

Title: How to Communicate with Congress about Biodiversity in a Changing World

Session Organizers:
Jason Patlis, World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Jessica McGlyn, World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Will Gartshore, World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Catherine Kozak, World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
Sara Chieffo, Defenders of Wildlife
Marcia Lesky, Defenders of Wildlife
Patricia Elias, Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
John Fitzgerald, Society for Conservation Biology (SCB)



MAKE A DIFFERENCE: GET TRAINED AND VISIT CONGRESS IN ONE DAY

Defenders of Wildlife, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) invite you to join us for NCSE Science and Environment Congressional Visit Day. This opportunity will take place Wednesday December 10 as part of the NCSE National Conference on Science, Policy and the Environment: Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing World.
Sign up now – space is limited!

There are two parts to the day, which must be done jointly:

Part 1 - A morning workshop, How to Communicate with Congress about Biodiversity in a Changing World.  We will begin the day with a training on how to translate critical scientific and environmental issues into language that’s relevant to policy makers.
Sign up for Workshop #3 on the NCSE conference registration form at http://ncseonline.org/Conference/Biodiversity/

Part 2 – Afternoon Congressional Visits - We’ll break into small teams for visits to key congressional offices where we will promote the importance of conservation and science-based policy, ever more important in the face of climate changes. Talking points, background materials, training and mentoring will be provided at no cost, and meetings/visits will be scheduled in advance..

The Congressional Visit Day provides a unique opportunity for your insights, perspectives and the work that you do in an academic and non-political setting to become the basis for sound, science-based policy development. You’ll learn communication techniques and make important connections that will enable you to continue to play a
role in policy development in the future.

Start learning about the issues and get involved before Congressional Visit Day by visiting WWF’s Conservation Action Network website at http://wwf.worldwildlife.org/action , Defenders of Wildlife’s Wildlife Action Center at http://defenders.org/take_action/index.php, Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) Policy Center at http://www.ucsusa.org/policy_center/, and the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) policy web pages at www.conbio.org/resources/policy.

Please Note: Organizers will be taking care of scheduling meetings on the hill, so please do not worry about that portion of the workshop. Also, organizers wil be providing talking points on climate adaptation adn international biodiversity conservation, so registrants do not need to prepare talking points.

Resources:
Recommendations for actions by the Obama Administration and the Congress to advance the scientific foundation for conservation of biological diversity