Virtual Conservation Standards Training Series in Canada

Story from Sarah Cotter, Emily Gonzales, Brenda VanSleeuwen, and Heather Barna 

This Spring, Parks Canada and Nature Conservancy Canada collaborated on a virtual introductory training series for the Conservation Standards v4.0, adapted to a Canadian context. At its peak, the training was attended by 190 participants, representing 72 organizations and every province/territory. 

Participants evaluated every session so that we could adapt and improve as the training progressed. Highly rated elements of the training included: 

  • Simple, relevant warm-up activities during and between sessions so that participants could practice applying the principles of each CS step 
  • A “knowledge check” to help participants assess understanding 
  • An optional 15 min “coffee chat” at the beginning of sessions, during which participants could ask the trainers questions or connect with other practitioners 
  • “Stories from the field” at the end of sessions, during which a guest CS practitioner illustrated how their team applied that step in the field 

A report about the training, the recordings of the sessions and the presentations are available from Sarah.Cotter@canada.ca 

Image credit: Parks Canada & Nature Conservancy Canada