The Robert F. Nicodemus Memorial Wilderness Project

1. Elevate youth into leadership roles by engaging them in environmental cleanup and conservation projects,
2. Empower young people to help rebuild the environmental and social wellbeing of their communities,
3. Improve local living conditions for both citizens and wildlife through environmental education, activism, and action.

Strategy 1. We have found that disadvantaged/at-risk teenagers are highly unlikely to become Apprentice Ecologists without targeted outreach efforts, organized projects, and structured activities. We will continue conducting collaborative large-scale projects on local volunteering days (e.g., Spring Cleanup in the Foothills, Make a Difference Day etc.), but will expand our outreach efforts to provide more opportunities for disadvantaged/at-risk teenagers to become Apprentice Ecologists as part of these projects. Additionally, if funding becomes available to support part-time or full-time staff positions (NWP Director and/or Program Manager), we plan to engage disadvantaged/at-risk teenagers in NWP special projects during weekdays so that they comprise the majority of the participants and can receive more individual mentoring/encouragement as part of their experience.

Strategy 2. Adding the Apprentice Ecologist Initiative scholarship in 2007 has dramatically increased the visibility of our program and has also resulted in increased participation of youth from around the world. This component to our program heavily relies on the internet, automated processing software, and online database management programs. Expansion of this component to our program could be done primarily through internet recruiting, marketing, and promotion of the Apprentice Ecologist Initiative.

Strategy 3. The growth of the Apprentice Ecologist Initiative locally, nationally, and internationally relies heavily on its visibility. Our primary mechanisms for increasing our visibility have been through in-kind internet advertising, promotion of our scholarship via online resources, and media publication about our program or projects in online and printed articles. The number and value of online donations has increased as a result of our more prominent position on the internet, but this still accounts for only a small fraction of our overall funding. Building a strong local support network and winning grants for local projects will likely be dependent, in part, on our ability to increase our visibility within the greater Albuquerque, NM area.

Strategy 4. The growth of the Apprentice Ecologist Initiative has already resulted in numerous efforts to improve programmatic efficiency and reduce costs. In addition to these changes, it is also recognized that financial resources must be directed toward building the infrastructure of the program. Additional funding resources (via fundraising and grant-making) need to be acquired to support part-time or full-time staff positions (NWP Director and/or Program Manager). It will also be critical to maintain existing volunteers and recruit new volunteers so that we can sustain a strong volunteer workforce to further strengthen our program infrastructure.

Post youth-targeted announcements of our local volunteering days at project sites (trailheads and parking lots), online (volunteer matching databases and scholarship databases), and via email (NWP email list and City of Albuquerque MOVE). Communicate with individual youth volunteers, youth volunteer groups, and organizations serving youth (e.g., Bernalillo County Juvenile Detention Center, Albuquerque Public Schools, local nonprofits) about upcoming projects and their level of commitment. Communication with individual youth volunteers and volunteer youth groups about project and scholarship related questions. Pursue inclusion of NWP related stories in printed articles by contacting newspapers and magazines and by providing project information, photos, and quotes to grantors and cooperating governmental agencies. Provide information on Apprentice Ecologist scholarships to high school counselors, librarians, and online scholarship database managers. Provide NWP project fliers and brochures at environmentally-related events. Seek grants from corporations, foundations, and government agencies to support local Apprentice Ecologist program and overall scholarship fund. Foster dialogue with internal and external stakeholders of NWP by enlisting their assistance in the development of strategic planning documents. Freely provide NWP organizational documents and financial statements on our website, through the NM Attorney General's Registry of Charitable Organizations website, and on the GuideStar website.

- At least 50% of local project participants are youth volunteers (< 21 years old).
- At least 33% of local youth project participants are disadvantaged/at-risk teenagers.
- At least 150 volunteers (ca. 75 youth volunteers, including 25 disadvantaged/at-risk teenagers) participate in local NWP/OSD volunteering days as part of the Apprentice Ecologist Initiative each year.
- At least 100 youth volunteers become leaders of independent Apprentice Ecologist projects nationally and internationally each year.
- At least 2,000 youth volunteers (ca. 20 per project) participate in these projects each year.
- Increased inclusion of NWP related stories in national/international publications.
- Increased scholarship listings in online scholarship databases.
- Increase number and total amount of grant funding from corporations, foundations, and government agencies.
- Increase in the number of total members
- Increase in the number and total amount of donations from existing members
- Participation of stakeholders in strategic planning