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Advocating for Your Watershed

Learn how to effectively conduct outreach and advocate for environmental policy with PennFuture's campaign manager. Discover strategies for building relationships with legislators, conducting successful meetings, and recruiting volunteers for watershed conservation efforts.

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Advocating for Your Watershed

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  1. Advocating for Your Watershed How to Effectively Conduct Outreach & Advocate for Environmental Policy Taylor Nezat - Campaign Manager, Watershed Advocacy PennFuture

  2. PennFuture’s Mission: PennFuture works across the Commonwealth with citizens, community leaders, businesses, and elected officials at all levels, because together we can solve some of the most challenging issues facing Pennsylvania. PennFuture is guided by the mission to protect our water and the environment, and empower citizens to build sustainable communities for future generations.

  3. The Work We Do Legal • Represent impacted communities to ensure environmental protections. • Legal representation and counsel • Enforcement actions • Regulatory Review

  4. The Work We Do • Policy • Engage with stakeholders to advance legislation that benefits the state’s environment • Educate our legislators to defeat legislation that can cause damage to our environment and communities

  5. The Work We Do • Outreach • Educate local residents, communities, and organizations about the challenges to our air and water • Promote citizen advocacy to take action around important issues

  6. Meeting Your Legislator Advocates for Conservation and the Environment (ACE) Dos and Don’ts

  7. Building Relationships • Develop relationships • With both legislators and volunteers • Do not wait for a crisis • Familiar faces

  8. Discuss • Issues, not politics • Legislators • As environmental experts, legislators expect to hear from us about environmental issues • Volunteers • Will agree with us on issues such as Bay cleanup, climate action, support for DEP, etc. • ACE = Policy, not partisanship

  9. Avoid • Non-environmental, non-conservation issues • Divisive and socially sensitive topics risk alienating both legislators and volunteers • Party affiliation • Discussing political parties may cause conflict

  10. Do Your Homework • Bio and other personal information • District information • Voting record on environmental issues • Committee assignments

  11. Training Session • Establish division of labor • Who says what and when • Assign roles • Leader to open and close the meeting • Who leads on each issues • Review background material and talking points

  12. Training Session (con’d) • Practice for the meeting • Introductions • Issues • Questions • The ask • Closing • Thank you

  13. The Meeting • Be prompt • Enter as a group • Introduce all participants • Make small talk • But stay on task • Be aware of time constraints • Most in-district meetings will be 30 minutes

  14. Topics • Focus on 2-3 key issues • Know them well • Provide simple talking points and background materials/handouts • Incorporate emotional stories and anecdotes from your own experience • Take notes Meeting with Sen. Lisa Boscola’s Leg. Director

  15. Dos • Know the material well • Tell the truth • Don’t be afraid to say “I don’t know” • Argue your point based on legislator’s self-interest • Know their constituencies • Know their special concerns and biases • Be brief; legislators appreciate brevity and concision

  16. Dos (con’d) • Take along a one-page summary and talking points • Know the other side’s argument • Be a good listener • Be courteous, even if the response is disappointing or upsetting • Say “thank you”

  17. Don’ts • Don’t overstate your position • Don’t threaten any legislators with opposition, defeat, or removal of support • Be subtle • Votes are sometimes lost because someone got their backs up • Don’t attack an office

  18. Don’ts (con’d) • Don’t be disrespectful of or make unreasonable demands on staff • Don’t get personal or attack your opposition • Don’t dissent from your group’s position • No personal issues

  19. Do No Harm • Do not be argumentative • No personal attacks • No threats • Do not question motives • You never know when you may need him or her as an ally • If you don’t know the answer, get back to them

  20. Close the Deal • Ask for support for or position on the issue • Thank legislator for their time • Follow-up with “thank you” note from the group

  21. How Do You Recruit Volunteers? • Recruiting works best after a meeting date and time has been scheduled • This gives your volunteers a concrete date for commitment • All attendees should be constituents of the respective district, i.e., live in the district • Tools for volunteer recruitment: • Listservs • Local family, friends, or colleagues • Action Alerts • E-Blasts • Sign-up sheets at tabling events • Local knowledge • General local outreach

  22. Member Engagement • Annual River Rally • Workshops • Lobby Days Workshop hosted with Trout Unlimited – November 2018

  23. How We Can Help • Assist with outreach and education to local government and conservation agencies • Provide information regarding PA and federal clean water policy and legal actions • Encourage advocacy to help protect the watershed by being a watchdog

  24. Questions? Taylor Nezat Campaign Manager, Watershed Advocacy nezat@pennfuture.org 717-214-7935

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