The Virginia Natural ResourceS Leadership Institute (VNRLI)

 

Building A Cadre of Collaborative Leaders

To Address Virginia’s Natural Resource Issues

 

VNRLI Purpose

The Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute (VNRLI) is changing the way environmental decisions are made in the Commonwealth by helping Virginians take on the most challenging, costly and divisive local, regional and state environmental and land use issues through collaborative problem solving – reaching beyond common ground to “higher ground.”  Our graduate Fellows – numbering over 200 – are working professionals in industry, small and independent businesses, local, state and federal government, educational institutions, and environmental, civic and non-profit organizations.

VNRLI is the result of a unique partnership between the Virginia Department of Forestry (VDOF), Virginia Tech’s Cooperative Extension, and the University of Virginia’s Institute for Environmental Negotiation (IEN). Additionally, the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation now provides a teaching faculty. The three original partners support VNRLI in a variety of ways:

o VDOF – provides significant grant support and staff support since its inception;

o VT Cooperative Extension – provided the initial concept and continues to provide one funded teaching faculty;

o IEN – provides part-time program manager funded by program fees, and two teaching faculty whose salaries thus far have been mostly donated.

Key specific benefits of the VNRLI are that it offers our leaders:

o Personal and professional leadership skills in collaborative leadership;

o Skills and tools to convene groups for innovative problem-solving, collaborative decision-making, consensus building and public involvement;

o Relationship building between industry, regulators, local government, and environmental and community advocates.  VNRLI provides an invaluable opportunity to meet “off-duty” with other leaders from different perspectives; and

o Education about a range of key environmental issues in Virginia today. Cross-fertilization occurs with issues and expertise, enriching the Fellows’ ability to bring creative thinking to their own work.

VNRLI Program Curriculum and Key Issues

The VNRLI provides Fellows with the tools to take on the most challenging, costly and divisive local, environmental and land use issues through collaborative problem solving.  A diverse class of up to 30 Fellows per year is drawn from public, private and nonprofit sectors. The VNRLI curriculum consists of six three-day sessions (18 days total) held over nine months in different regions of the Commonwealth. Current and recurring problems in the Commonwealth that VNRLI addresses are:

o Chesapeake Bay – water quality, fisheries, coastal communities, pollution prevention

o Sustainable agriculture – waste management, scale, water quality, best management practices

o Energy policy – wind, coal (including mountain top restoration), offshore oil, and biofuels

o Sustainable rural economic development

o Forestry: forest policy, traditional forestry best management practices, urban forestry

o Industry: environmental innovations and strategies

o Valuation of ecosystem services

o Climate change and preparedness

o Green infrastructure, smart growth, low impact development, and best management practices.

o Local government land use and growth management: tools and challenges

o Environmental justice

o Water quality and water supply planning

o Toxics: reuse of superfund and brownfield sites

o Land conservation

Results and Value

Fellows use their skills to make a real difference in their communities, region and across the Commonwealth, addressing divisive  issues, and reducing the high cost of intractible, extended confrontations.  A few examples of endeavors initiated by VNRLI Fellows following their graduation:

VNRLI Fellows develop innovative partnerships to address broad, persistent issues:

·       The Agriculture and Conservation Partnership for Water Quality (“The Partnership”), bringing together a diverse coalition of partners, such as the Virginia Farm Bureau, Virginia State Dairymen's Association, Virginia Agribusiness Council, James River Assn, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and Soil and Water Conservation Districts, to identify and advocate for those sustainable solutions that support both a vibrant agriculture economy and clean water – led by Ann Jennings, Virginia Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

·       Waste Solutions Forum (WSF and WSFII), bringing together farmers, environmentalists and industry leaders in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to develop innovative ways to manage animal manure and litter - led by Ann Jennings in partnership with others, Virginia Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

·       Environmental education program, to ensure that all elementary school students in Spotsylvania have outdoor environmental education - initiated by Anne Beals, Executive Board of the Virginia Forestry Assn.

VNRLI Fellows develop community collaborations to address specific place-based land use problems:

·       Shenandoah Forum, to address the proposed widening of I-81, and County growth issues - founded by Rosemary Wallinger, Chair and Founder.

·       Inter-faith collaboration for inner-city revitalization - facilitated by Anthony Scott, mediator and facilitator.

VNRLI Fellows develop collaborative regional planning for improving water quality and sustaining working lands

·       Rivanna River Basin Commission, a collaborative stakeholder approach to watershed management – founded by Ridge Schuyler, Piedmont Director, The Nature Conservancy.

·       Abrams/Opequon TMDL Implementation Steering Committee, a collaborative stakeholder approach to watershed management – led by Jim Lawrence, Coordinator.

·       Ecosystem Value Trading Program for Working Forests – led by Buck Kline (VDOF) in partnership with other VNRLI alumni, including Bud Watson and Bruce Hull.

·       Forum on the Future of Agriculture in Southeast Virginia (peanut farmer transition) – conceived and organized by Michael Roberts, Virginia Cooperative Extension.

Measures of Success

A statistically significant survey of all VNRLI alumni in the fall of 2007 yielded these results:

·       More the 90% of the alumni responding agree that VNRLI provides tangible benefits to the Commonwealth’s natural resources.

·       More than 90% of the alumni agree that the experience has enabled them to improve their ability on the job and has made them more effective leaders.

·       90% strongly agreed that their conflict management skills have improved as result of their involvement in VNRLI.

·       More the 80% of the alumni indicate that they seek collaborative solutions in their work and that skills gained through VNRLI in consensus building and/or collaborative problem solving have been integral to this work.

·       98% of the alumni indicate that they would recommend VNRLI to others for leadership development.