Author: Jillian Daly, NC Coastal Reserve Communications Specialist
Hugs, handshakes, and smiles filled the auditorium of the NOAA Beaufort Laboratory in early December as we welcomed Training and Engagement (TE) Coordinators – from across the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) – to the NC Reserve in Beaufort for their annual meeting. All 30 NERRs have a TE Coordinator, and this gathering was a chance to connect, learn, and strengthen their collective work.
“There’s an amazing magic that comes together when this community gathers. It’s supportive, generous and low-stress… we are welcomed to bring our full selves and not be performative… Thank you for keeping us together, connected, and for maintaining the culture of this very special group. And thank you to the hosts for treating us like family.” - Training & Engagement Coordinator meeting participant
Whitney Jenkins, the NC Coastal Reserve’s TE, started the conference off with a lively trivia quizzing these non-North Carolinians about our coastline. That led into a working session to develop a guidebook of facilitation activities and techniques used by these coordinators. This will be a valuable resource for TE coordinators old and new, so multiple working sessions were held throughout the three-day meeting to complete the shared guidebook! And although it was chilly, the day ended with a boat ride around the Rachel Carson Reserve. Participants were treated to views of dolphins gliding through the water, the famous feral horses, and an abundance of birds.
Each evening, the group gathered at a local watering hole to socialize and connect. A huge thank you to the Friends of the Reserve for sponsoring these events! In-person professional networking and after-hours socializing cannot be undervalued with a group that meets virtually year-round. One of the TE coordinators reflected how “using our time to get to know the other TE coordinators a little bit better is the greatest gift of this meeting.” And now she is “excited to continue conversations on how we can learn from and support each other moving forward.”
On day two, everyone settled in for Coastal Conversations, an impact session with the NERRS Science collaborative, and presentations about local efforts to build resilience in the Town of Beaufort. Three groups broke out to talk about marketing their programs, envisioning what transformational resilience means and what a training program centered around that can look like, and discussing the impact of needs assessment findings and strategic plans.
The NERRS science collaborative (NSC) engaged the coordinators in exploring their commonalities, the power of collaboration, and discussing the use of narrative to share stories of program impact.
After lunch, presentations about the Town of Beaufort’s coastal resilience efforts and success stories drove strong engagement in the room and discussion about how the TE coordinators are supporting resilience in their own communities. The day concluded with another group breakout for Coastal Conversations. This time, the groups discussed challenges and success with using AI in their work, engaging with their non-profit groups and advisory committees, and incorporating System-Wide Monitoring data into programming. Everyone was ready to head to the evening social after a long but productive day of conversations!
The last day of the meeting was full of motivating, celebratory, and playful energy. The group discussed how to engage a new audience with their programs: real estate professionals. This specific audience is crucial for communicating to new residents of the region, as they are often the first point of contact for someone moving to the coast. Educating real estate professionals about living shorelines, and how barrier islands function, allows them to provide their clients with sustainable and actionable advice. Coordinators with experience discussed their challenges getting involved with this audience and how they became skilled at real estate education on local coastal issues.
In between presenting paper plate awards to each other, coordinators presented the TE Sector Award of Excellence for Exemplary Leadership to the NC Reserve’s TE Coordinator, Whitney Jenkins! Dani Boudreau, the National Reserve System’s Training & Engagement Lead, congratulated Whitney on her award, highlighting how her “leadership at the national, regional, and local levels has made a lasting impact and is deeply appreciated by her community and the reserve system.”
The NC Coastal Reserve had a blast hosting the TE sector meeting and appreciated all of the peer learning, finding support across the community, and the chance to introduce our Reserve and local community to new people! Coordinators left feeling excited to continue connecting and learning about the innovative work happening throughout the system. This meeting served to reiterate the power of collaboration across the NERRS Training & Engagement community, leaving TE coordinators feeling re-energized and ready to dive into the year ahead!
