The Soil and Water Conservation Leadership Academy is a locally delivered educational program designed to build skills and enhance abilities to lead community-based watershed conservation projects that improve and protect water quality.
The Academy is presented at two levels. Both levels are designed to be highly interactive, with attendees being active participants in their learning. Face-to-face instruction is also supplemented with online training resources. To date, Level I of the Soil and Water Conservation Leadership Academy has improved the knowledge, skills, and abilities of 337 conservation leaders in North Dakota. The addition of Level II has allowed 191 of these leaders to continue their training even further. These Academies have been presented in communities across the state and have reached participants from 52 of North Dakota’s 54 Soil and Water Conservation Districts. Based on the most recent pre- and post-Academy self-assessments, participants in Level I training reported an average 60% increase in their understanding, confidence, and abilities. Level II participants reported increases averaging 37%.
Promoting inclusion and improving diversity of participants have been key focal points in the development and implementation of this project. We have worked to ensure that both participants and instructors of the Academy are representative of the demographics of our state. To this point, approximately 39%
of Academy participants have been women, and we continue to encourage more diversity within our district boards. We believe that these Academies are and will continue to play an important role in diversifying conservation leadership in North Dakota.
Source: North Dakota State University Extension’s impact statement for the North Central Region 2023 Community Development Extension Impact Report.