We have two online forums for people to share ideas, questions, challenges, and successes about the nature and environmental learning center profession. Anyone can join — you do not need to be a member of ANCA. Both forums are hosted by Google Groups, but you do not need to have a Gmail.
ANCA Discussion Forum
We encourage all nature and environmental learning center administrators to join the ANCA Discussion Forum, which represents the broader ANCA community and includes over 1,000 administrators across North America and beyond. If you're seeking advice or an answer to a specific question, this is a great place to ask.
How to Join:
Go to the forum and click "Request to join group."
- If you do not have a Gmail Account and do not want to create one, you can join by creating a Google Account with the email of your choice. Fill out this form to connect your email to a Google Account and then go to the Discussion Forum.
How It Works:
Items you post on the Forum are both posted online and circulated to subscribers via email. You have the option to receive all the Forum's emails, receive a daily digest of the day's messages, or receive no emails.
Guidelines:
We ask that you do not use the Discussion Forum for commercial purposes. If you wish to advertise or have a great market resource for our members, please contact us to inquire about marketing opportunities.
Avoid large attachments. They can disrupt email service for some members. Instead, let users know that a document or form is available and they can contact you directly or provide the website address it can be found at. ANCA will consider posting your document on our website pending review. Contact us about this option.
Suggested Topics:
- Questions related to program, facility, governance, fundraising, personnel, etc
- Announcements of professional seminars and conferences
- Job postings
- Grant opportunities
- Calls for nominations to professional awards
- Spreading the word about a great resource
RELC Discussion Forum
We also host another forum for Residential Environmental Learning Centers (RELCs), overnight camps, and outdoor schools; these organizations offer overnight, multi-day programs based in environmental education. The RELC Discussion Forum provides a space to solve problems in this particular field. Any leader or aspiring leader in the RELC field is welcome to use this forum; you can join here and follow the same steps as shown above for the ANCA Discussion Forum.
Questions? Contact us.
Thanks for all the input, everyone. I love knowing that you're all out there ready to help me with answers.
— Katie Watson, Pajarito Environmental Education Center