2022 Visitor Services and Outreach Workshop

Target Audience:

FWS staff who are involved in Visitor Services

Summary and Objectives:

Making connections with communities is an important and essential tool in today's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Developing interpersonal connections, engaging nontraditional audiences, and forging partnerships help build vital community relationships. Using those connections grab the attention of our audiences and our community, helping to capture their hearts and imagination. This training introduces innovative communications, outreach, and visitor services tools to the USFWS community and encourages staff to integrate them into their work to build and maintain relationships. Using a concurrent-session format, students will focus their learning on their specific training needs. Several of the sessions during the week will be offered as distance learning opportunities for those unable to attend.

Upon completion of this workshop, you will be able to:

• Effectively reach out to, and communicate with, communities regarding the USFWS and natural resource conservation, using current best practices and state of the art tools and techniques. *
• Be part of a community of USFWS professionals engaged in shared learning and networking on the latest communication, outreach and visitor services practices. *
• Discover and practice building community connections and how to reach nontraditional audiences to share stories, and make connections. *
• Explore a suite of tools you can use to leverage current trends in communications, outreach and visitor services.

Competency Addressed:

Communications and Media - Basic, Customer Service - Basic, Oral Communication - Basic, Public Planning - Basic Creativity and Innovation - Basic, External Awareness - Basic, Interpersonal Skills - Intermediate, Multimedia Technologies - Basic, Partnering - Basic.