Collaborative Natural Resource Management at SPR
Collaborative Natural Resource Management at SPR
Overview
One of the primary ways that Swanton Pacific Ranch (SPR) meets its Mission and Vision is through fostering collaborative natural resource management (CNRM). Through CNRM, students and faculty have the opportunity to learn about and experience interdisciplinary, multi-stakeholder interactions to explore leading-edge, hands-on, real-world working lands management. As a platform for CNRM, SPR provides the land while providing facilitation and convening services. SPR staff keep the conversation going in a way that guarantees inclusiveness. As leaders of the CNRM, SPR assures guidance of the CNRM processes to meet SPR’s Mission and Vision.
CNRM – Where CalPoly meets Practitioners
The California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) mission is on preparing the future workforce with the tools that we can foresee being useful for the jobs on the horizon. Cal Poly SLO uses SPR as the place where students and faculty test and train on those tools, which are developed in collaboration with its stakeholder partners. SPR engages stakeholders, aka practitioners, in co-developing the curricula in an ongoing manner so that what is being explored is truly leading edge, well anticipating the needs of future generations. At the same time, SPR nurtures Cal Poly faculty leadership by allowing them the opportunity to share their leading-edge findings with stakeholders.
SPR roles and responsibilities
In order for CNRM to function over the long term, SPR staff serve as leaders, facilitators, and conveners while providing the platform for leading-edge land management practices. The SPR staff CNRM leader makes decisions that help focus projects that best meet SPR’s Mission. The SPR Staff facilitator assures success by advising leadership on the CNRM processes that can best create success. For instance, the facilitator might advise on smaller or larger group dialogues, whether those dialogues are virtual, in-person, or hybrid, and who might be best to include at any step along the way. SPR staff conveners assure the correct scheduling for the correct people and that the CNRM knows why there are invited, where they show up, and how to prepare.
