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Title: Engaging and growing SER-MWGL membership while increasing membership benefits through outreach, modern communications and state-level events

Author
item MCCORMACK, MARY BETH - Cleveland Montessori
item LYNDALL, JENNIFER - Environ Corporation
item UMEK, LAUREN - Northwestern University
item Smiley, Peter - Rocky
item DIMISA, JOE - Woolpert
item BREGMAN, LEAH - Society For Ecological Restoration

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/15/2016
Publication Date: 8/23/2015
Citation: McCormack, M., Lyndall, J.L., Umek, L., Smiley, P.C., Dimisa, J., Bregman, L. 2015. Engaging and growing SER-MWGL membership while increasing membership benefits through outreach, modern communications and state-level events. Meeting Abstract. 2016 World conference on Restoration, August 23-27, 2015, Manchester, England..

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The Society of Ecological Restoration’s Midwest-Great Lakes Chapter (SER-MWGL) serves over 250 members from our seven member states (Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) in the Midwestern and Great Lakes region of the United States of America. Our mission is to promote the science and practice of ecological restoration to assist with the recovery and management of degraded ecosystems throughout the Midwestern and Great Lakes region of the United States. In 2013, the chapter developed a five year strategic plan to determine goals and strategies for future chapter growth. A primary goal in the strategic plan was to improve outreach, benefits, and services for members. Several strategies were used to achieve that goal, including the implementation of state-level events, webinars, a blog, and increased use of social media. The state-level events are intended to target localized topics of interest and provide networking opportunities for those within the same state. The webinars enable our members to sit in on professional seminars on selected ecological restoration topics without requiring them to travel. Social media (Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn) facilitates information transfer (news, jobs, funding opportunities) and promotes interaction among our members. The blog allows the chapter to frequently post high quality content in an accessible, unobtrusive way. We evaluated these strategies to determine their effectiveness and to identify opportunities to further engage and grow SER-MWGL membership while increasing membership benefits through outreach, modern communications and state-level events.