Lessons from a Fundraiser: How to Get Others to Support Your Cause with David Tucker, Ep.99

This is another episode of the Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders program series!

Whether you’re trying to protect a local park, rally donations for your nonprofit, or simply get your friends to recycle, one of the hardest parts of making change is inspiring others to care. How do you move people from awareness to action? That’s the art of fundraising- and it’s about far more than asking for money.

In this episode, David Tucker of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation pulls back the curtain on what he’s learned after years of connecting people’s passions with one of the most ambitious ecosystem restoration efforts in the world. Through stories of the Bay, David shares practical strategies that anyone can use to promote their own cause.

Highlights

• Why fundraising is really about relationships, not just money.
• How do you get people to feel a connection to a cause?
• What is more powerful, storytelling or stats?

What YOU Can Do

• Even small, reoccurring gifts are helpful to an organization. Especially if it is unrestricted.
• You can hold personal fundraisers, like a dinner, to raise money for a cause you believe in.
• If you are a business owner, you can donate a certain percentage of the profit of a particular product to an organization.
• Find out if your employer has a donor match program.

Resources

• Chesapeake Bay Foundation website
• CBF Facebook
• CBF Instagram
• CBF LinkedIn
• CBF YouTube

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Crystal: Hey 

friends, 

if you're here, I'm going to assume that you're interested in environmental stories, and in that case, I wanna recommend that you go check out the Healthy Seas podcast. I host that show for a fantastic marine conservation organization called Healthy Seas. The guests are all about making waves around the world to protect our oceans.

Go dive in and take a listen.

I am Crystal DiMiceli and welcome to the Forces for Nature Show. Do you find yourself overwhelmed with all the doom and gloom you hear of these days? Do you feel like you as just one [00:00:45] person, can't really make a difference? Forces for nature cuts through that negativity. In each episode, I interview someone who is working to make the world more sustainable and humane.

Join me in learning from them and get empowered to take action so that you YouTube can become a force for nature.

Welcome to another episode of the Emerging Wildlife Conservation Leaders Program series. Today's guest is David Tucker, a fundraiser with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, an organization that has been at the heart of the Bay's protection and Restoration. 

At the heart of David's job as a fundraiser [00:01:30] is essentially getting people to care, whether that means inspiring someone to donate or to take an action of some sort, or simply to feel invested in the wellbeing of that whole ecosystem. By the end of this episode, you'll walk away with a better sense of how to promote the cause that you care about and motivate others to join you using the Bay as a living example of what's possible when people come together.

Hi David. Thank you so much for joining me on Forces for Nature. It's so great to have you. 

[00:02:06] David: Thank you so much for having me, crystal. I really appreciate it. 

[00:02:10] Crystal: Now before we get into the details of fundraising, let's start with the Chesapeake [00:02:15] Bay itself. For listeners who may never have been there, can you paint a picture of why this place is so important ecologically, culturally, and economically?

[00:02:26] David: Sure I'd be happy to. the Chesapeake Bay, first off holds a very special place in my heart for people that live in Maryland and Virginia, especially. The Bay is kind of interwoven into the culture of the region in so many different ways, from livelihoods to food to other different aspects that have really ingrained themself within the people here.

As long as people have been living here, um, it's the largest estuary in the United States and one of the largest in the world. It's this incredible nursery [00:03:00] to so many plants and animal species over. 3,600 different plant and animal species. Uh, it spans 64,000 square miles. So most people don't realize that the headwaters of the Susquehanna River up in Cooperstown, New York, where the Baseball Hall of Fame is, is really the start of the Chesapeake Bay.

And then different rivers and streams flow into that. And that goes all the way down to Norfolk, Virginia and Virginia Beach area. So it spans, uh, six different states in the District of Columbia. I fell in love with it when I was, in elementary school and am thrilled to be able to work to help preserve and protect it.

[00:03:41] Crystal: Nice. And so if it runs all the way up to New York, , it's [00:03:45] touched by millions and millions and millions of people. 

[00:03:48] David: Yeah, over 18 million people live within that 64,000 square mile Chesapeake Bay watershed. So there are a lot of people that population continues to grow. And that's one of the challenges we face in trying to preserve and protect the bay, is that you have so many different people, so many different land uses, so many different interactions happening.

And what's happening up in New York is impacting what's happening down in Baltimore and other parts of the Bay as well. So it's really a challenge to get people all on the same page to want to protect this resource, especially for the people that don't necessarily get to [00:04:30] enjoy it and experience it like people in Maryland and Virginia do.

[00:04:35] Crystal: Mm-hmm. 

And I, I actually wanna go deeper into that, but before we go there, can you briefly share your journey into conservation and how you came to be a fundraiser with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation? 

[00:04:47] David: Of course. So I've always had a love for the outdoors. I was born in California and used to go out and catch frogs and tadpoles and turtles and everything else and bring them home and much to my parents dismay,

 my family was from Maryland originally, so we moved back here when I was in third grade. And then when I was in fourth grade, I had the wonderful opportunity to go on a [00:05:15] Chesapeake Bay Foundation field trip. And that's what really got me, to love the bay, to be out there, to experience it, to have those hands-on experiences smelling the, the wetlands that we were stomping through and sinking into catching different fish, catching crabs.

I, I was just hooked at that point. So that's really what. Inspired me to want to get into environmental conservation. So I went to the University of Maryland. I majored in environmental science, so my, bachelor of science degree. Uh, my background is actually in politics and policy, so I was really interested in the policy side of things and worked in several different large nonprofits to start my career.

 National Wildlife [00:06:00] Federation, defenders of Wildlife. And then, uh, I went to American Rivers because my former boss became the president there and was like, I really think you'd be good at fundraising. And I kind of rolled my eyes, but like so many. Professional fundraisers, you kind of luck into it, fall into it, whatever.

Is that the case you wanna call it? Yeah. So many people, I know fundraising was never something that they really thought about, but if you have . The ability to really listen to people to be articulate and I feel like have compassion and, and empathy. Um, I feel like that makes a, a very good fundraiser.

So, so many people I know kind of went on that journey of, of falling into [00:06:45] fundraising. 

[00:06:45] Crystal: that's so cool to hear. 

[00:06:46] David: Yeah, absolutely. And I think a lot of people don't know exactly what fundraising is. So many people I think picture it as sitting down with some person and asking them for a million dollar check and having anxiety about that when that is like 0.01% of the job. It's building relationships with people and connecting them to what they are most passionate about and then getting them to invest in that work to help them achieve a vision that they want to see with the organization that you're working with.

So, so often, like you don't have to have this exact, you know, ask like, please give me $1 million and then like sit there and hold your breath and hope they say [00:07:30] yes. , You have built up to that point over months and sometimes years. to get someone to make that investment in your work. 

[00:07:37] Crystal: Yeah, that, that's so much better than just the sitting there like asking for a million dollars. There's so much more to it. Like, that's why I want to highlight fundraising today, because there is so much more to it than people realize. -And you're the un, unsung hero of conservation.

Nothing is gonna happen in this world without. Funding and we, we need you to bring in the funding. 

[00:08:05] David: Yes, uh, that's very true. And there are so many different levels to fundraising. I work primarily on the, what you would call major gift [00:08:15] fundraising, so asking for larger dollar amount investments, and that's a lot of individual relationship building with people.

Um, you also typically have like a mid-level giving at a lot of organizations, which are people that are making a sizable investment but not a super, super sizable investment. Um, and then a lot of organizations also have something like a membership program, which is much more. Volume for, , lower dollar amount gifts.

But so many of, major donors start out as one of those member donors. You know, they might make a gift 'cause they were at some sort of event or saw something on a website and click the link and, and click through and then mm-hmm. You know, they end up being someone that makes a [00:09:00] large investment in your organization down the line.

[00:09:03] Crystal: And when it comes to building relationships across so many different levels, do you think part of the reason people care so deeply about the Bay is because they can see it, experience it, and feel its impact in their daily lives?

[00:09:18] David: I think it's a, a number of, of things. Um, we have. That aspect of it, you know, you can actually see what's going on in, in your backyard, so to speak. so many people have connections not just to the Bay, but to the tributaries that feed into it as well. I think you have the cultural aspect of it. So many people in Maryland and Virginia have this almost innate connection to the Chesapeake [00:09:45] Bay.

And if you think about that from a cultural perspective and think about things about how food impacts culture so much and how much seafood comes out of the the Bay, I think that's a kind of perfect example of why people wanna see this resource protected. 'cause they almost feel like it's impacting their own identity in a way if something bad is happening to it.

and I also say. I think Chesapeake Bay Foundation's environmental education program certainly plays a major role in that as well. 'cause we are taking tens of thousands of kids out on the water each year and have taken over 1.5 million kids out on the water in our 50 year history of that program.

And I think that has such a tangible [00:10:30] impact on how people view the bay, understand the bay, and want to take action to protect it. 

[00:10:35] Crystal: Mm-hmm. Yes. Um, I come from the environmental education world, so, um, a very big proponent of it. And I loved hearing how you experienced the Bay. that you had, that environmental education and it sparked something that here you are, and so you, you don't see the results of your work.

Very quickly usually doing in education, but it's, it's so encouraging to hear that it works and your evidence of it. 

[00:11:05] David: Yes. And, and it's really amazing being out on the water and seeing these kids, do this discovery work themself [00:11:15] and bring in, fish and, crabs and sometimes sea turtles. My daughter was out on a CBF trip this summer and they call it, uh, seahorses.

And like the pictures of her No kidding. Holding. These are just, you know, priceless. And I know it's gonna have a lasting impact on her, and I really hope inspires her to wanna do, you know, the same kind of conservation work that I'm doing. 

[00:11:41] Crystal: But for the people who aren't in Maryland and Virginia or who don't live near the, the Bay.

The issues that the bay faces can feel far away and abstract much in the same way that like climate change, can wildlife decline or other [00:12:00] causes that are large and not as tangible as this might be to some. How do you get people to connect with the Bay and feel that its protection is relevant to them?

[00:12:13] David: so the bay. Is really unique in that, you know, you have. State of New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia and Washington dc all working together to protect it.

But again, so many people, so many of those states aren't on like the, the Bay itself, right? Mm-hmm. They're, they have these tributaries that flow into it. So getting that state buy-in, that federal buy-in, that local buy-in, [00:12:45] and realizing that how you talk about it is gonna vary from location to location, from culture to culture.

And I think that's something, that makes a environmental movement really successful is being able to find out. What people are passionate about and how you talk about that and how you tell that story and make that connection is gonna vary from location to location. Someone in upstate New York might be very concerned about the health of the Susquehanna River up there, but they might not care that the actions that they take up there are gonna benefit people downstream in the Chesapeake or even down in where the Susquehanna flows through [00:13:30] Pennsylvania and a farmer.

In Pennsylvania might care very much about implementing some sort of best management practice on their land because it's gonna reduce their top soil from running off and help increase their yields for their crop and improve their bottom line. And there's a positive externality for that, for the the Chesapeake.

But that person like that might not be the main driver that gets them to take those actions. So thinking about things in those different ways I think is what's really important to building this kind of multi-state approach to achieve success. 

[00:14:09] Crystal: when you're connecting with people, do you find that you're using more stats [00:14:15] or that you're using more storytelling? 

[00:14:18] David: I would say. Who am I talking to? I'll answer your question with a question. So I think that's an important thing in the philanthropic world, is knowing who your audience is and what resonates with them.

So some people might, have that profound connection with something and they've told you before. My great-grandfather had a farm on, on the bay, and we used to go out and go fishing or hunting every January. And I really wanna protect the, the rockfish because of that. Um, so being able to articulate what you're doing organizationally or taking them out on a boat and doing a fishing trip [00:15:00] with them that reminds them of that experience that they had could be one way that you approach something.

You might have a family foundation that says, listen, we want to specifically work on achieving. Reduction of nutrients on farmers in this particular county in Pennsylvania. So in that particular example, you might wanna say, okay, we are doing X number of tree planting, each tree planting is reducing nutrient runoff by this amount.

These are the best management practices we're implementing in this area. We're doing monitoring here. Here's what the results were before, here's what the results are now. This is why you should continue to invest in this. And I think it's very, very different [00:15:45] answers for very, very different audiences. So that's one of the things with philanthropy that can be exciting in a lot of ways because I feel like nothing is ever the same.

You're working with different people who have different reasons for wanting to invest in your work, and you need to know what those is and why they're doing it so you can achieve your best result with them. 

[00:16:09] Crystal: Have you noticed shifts in what people care about and hence will fund over time? 

[00:16:16] David: Yeah, I think there, in the philanthropic world, you have a lot of what my boss, I've heard her call checkbook philanthropy in the past where people would [00:16:30] essentially write a check just because, you know, this is an organization or cause that I care about and wouldn't necessarily want that, data-driven results of what we're seeing more and more of now.

So I think that is the biggest shift that we have seen, organizationally and kind of across the fundraising world is this emphasis on wanting to know. How investments are delivering results. 

 Or you could say, you know, I want to know if I'm writing this check, like how many oysters are you gonna put in the water with them? How many kids are gonna go out on an environmental education program? how many trees are [00:17:15] you planting? How many acres have you restored?

How many, linear feet of living shoreline have you put in place over the past year? And I think you're seeing more and more of that. And that's kind of the trend I would say, um, from a giving perspective that we've seen over time. I also think people want to know why. They need to continue investing in that work.

And even if you don't see a result that you would hope to see over the course of a year, five years, 10 years, being able to articulate that, Hey, if we weren't doing this work, we would be way further back than where [00:18:00] we are right now. So maintaining a baseline to some extent, I think is another. Kind of story that needs to be told sometimes because people don't realize that if we weren't here doing this work, we would be so much worse off than where we are.

[00:18:18] Crystal: Right now we're seeing troubling headlines like blue crabs hitting historic lows or ospreys struggling to fledge chicks at the same time, there are bright spots like oyster populations making a comeback.

How do you balance urgency with hope when asking for support? 

[00:18:39] David: I think that's a great question to ask anyone that works in the [00:18:45] philanthropic space. I think there is a balance in in how you tell that story, and I think that story's always changing and being able to articulate. You know, the fact that with my organization, you know, we're a very science driven organization, so you're helping to support our scientists discover why are we seeing a decline in, Osprey chicks?

Why are we seeing a decline in the blue crab population and counting on us to also deliver the policy changes that are necessary to get us back to where we need to be for both of those populations of blue crabs and of Osprey. So I think. [00:19:30] That is something that we're always thinking about to be able to tell and articulate why this is happening and what we need to do about it, and why we need your support in order to do it.

in this particular case, if you look at what's going on with the oyster restoration work, I think that's a great example of, hey, oyster population was that. historic low back in the nineties when it really bottomed out. population wise, estimates are about 1% of the historic oyster population in the bay, in the nineties, and we have done all this work to put, billions of oysters back in the bay since then.

And, you know, we're turning this into a, a success story for the [00:20:15] Bay and we're gonna do the same thing for Blue crabs. We're gonna do the same thing for, for Osprey. We're gonna work to make sure that menhaden in the Bay aren't all scooped up and turned into, various feeds and cosmetic products because osprey need those, what are menhaden need those menhaden are the most important fish in the sea.

So they are a. Fish that, inhabits the Chesapeake and all up and down the, the East coast. But they are a favorite food of so many different fish species and other wildlife species in the bay, including osprey. And right now we're seeing, a huge commercial harvest [00:21:00] of menhaden occurring. And we are working to try to curb that harvest because science is telling us that we think that this large commercial harvest is impacting several species within the bay.

So we really need to stop it so we can. ensure that osprey populations are okay to ensure that striped bass populations are okay 'cause it's such a big food source for those and so many other animals. 

[00:21:27] Crystal: So there's not enough food for the babies. Is that what it is? That's so sad. That's, 

[00:21:32] David: that's one of the, one of the theories as to what, what is going on.

But again, going out there and identifying exactly what is causing that, this is kind of what one of the prevailing theories is right [00:21:45] now and why we're trying to go out and do something to address it. 

[00:21:49] Crystal: 

You're a professional at making people care about this cause. you have any tips for someone or golden rule that you follow to help people care about a cause that they care about? 

[00:22:06] David: I think one of the biggest golden rules in fundraising is being able to listen to someone and hear what they're saying and what they are telling you and trying to kind of peel back that onion and figure out what is the [00:22:30] thing that drives them caring about that particular issue.

And I think that can vary so much from person to person. You have some people who just might wanna, you know, I think Chesapeake Bay Foundation is great, so here you go, here's some money. And, and not think about it. And you have other people who. Again, have this whole life story and, and profound connection.

And being able to, to listen and, and hear about that, I think is such a great first step to being a good and effective fundraiser. And I personally think being, empathetic as well, like having empathy for, for people and, and knowing that so many people [00:23:15] have so many different experiences, and why they want to do something might vary greatly from, from person to person.

And even if the goal that you want to achieve is not the same as the person you're seeking funds from, like just knowing that they care and, and why they care might vary. but ultimately you kind of want to get to the same place. 

[00:23:41] Crystal: Mm-hmm. 

Um, those are good golden rules. 

[00:23:47] David: can you tell us of a time when you felt really proud of a fundraising effort and the impact it had on the Bay?

I think there are so many I could talk about. I think one that I've [00:24:00] played a role in, but so many other people in my organization have done so much more work than I have is, um, a partnership we have with Northrop Grumman. And most people wouldn't necessarily think of like, what is Northrop Grumman doing to help the Bay?

But we had a, is it a 

[00:24:17] Crystal: of. A town? 

[00:24:19] David: No, the, the corporation, Northrop Grumman Corporation. 

[00:24:22] Crystal: Oh, oh, 

[00:24:23] David: sorry. I think you 

[00:24:24] Crystal: said north of, no, no, north of Northrop 

[00:24:26] David: Grumman. I'm sorry. I should articulate that better. So, 

[00:24:30] Crystal: no, I still don't, I haven't heard of it Anyway, 

[00:24:31] David: uh, they're a defense contractor basically. Okay. 

[00:24:34] Crystal: Okay. 

[00:24:34] David: So, Northrop Grumman has been a great partner of ours for so many years and wanted to know if there were any problems that we had organizationally, [00:24:45] and we were like, one of 'em is that we can't easily go out and monitor the oysters that we're putting back into the bay.

We're having to pay a diver a lot of money to go down and, and try to take a camera and literally hold it over top of where these reefs are to see how they're doing. Um, and they have this great. Tech for Conservation program. So a, a former colleague of mine that used to manage our relationship with them, Sarah Boyton, helped, get this kind of partnership with this Tech for conservation.

Started with them and Northrop Grumman went out to a bunch of their engineers and software developers, and everyone else was like, help us find a way to monitor oysters without having to send a diver down there. So they came up with all these different crazy uses of [00:25:30] technology to find a way to monitor oysters, and ended up with three separate ones.

one of them is utilizing an underwater rover with this really cool camera on it that allows us to get 3D images of, what those reefs look like, and we can drive it around and literally are using like a, um, I can't remember if it's a PlayStation controller or you know, something. 

 mm-hmm. So that's one way. Um, another one is utilizing these hydrophones, which are microphones that you put under water.

And we actually listen to oyster reefs to determine how healthy they are. So we can take recordings of a known healthy oyster reef. 'cause there's all these different organisms that are occurring on there and you [00:26:15] can listen for those sounds. So we can take a recording of them and then utilize technology to compare that recording to the healthy one and see like if we're picking up those same sounds there, and, and kind of make an assessment for how healthy the reef is.

And now we've. 

 recorded healthy oyster reefs and we're actually projecting the sound of healthy oyster reefs underwater to try to recruit oyster larvae to a reef itself. So we know baby oysters when they're in this spat form, they don't have ears, but we think they can kind of like feel the, the vibrations of certain sounds.

So the, the hypothesis is, well, if you're playing the sound of a healthy reef, is that gonna help get these oysters where they're in this, the one [00:27:00] point in their life when they're actually able to quasi move around to recruit more of them and, and kind of have a, healthier, reproduction happening and, and building on oyster reef because these healthy sounds are playing there.

So that experiment is ongoing right now out in the bay, which is really, really cool. So it's just this. Great thing. You know, that's, a great example too of not just the financial support that they've provided us, but this in kind support that they provided us as well and 

you know, in-kind support can be another great thing you can do for your favorite environmental nonprofit. what is something that you have that you can donate to them that they might need If it's a, a product, if it's something that your business you have or business that you [00:27:45] work with, um, or skill can donate or skill, absolutely.

Mm-hmm. and. That's just another great thing that you can give. and most people don't necessarily think of those things when they're like, oh, I just need to, you know, give them my credit card and, and make a donation. But there's so many more things and so many more ways you can have a profound impact.

[00:28:09] Crystal: You're class three of EWCL. I'm class four. How was your EWCL experience? 

[00:28:15] David: It was fantastic. It was transformative, I think is the word that I like to use to describe my EWCL experience.

I'm so grateful to Jeff and Nina for giving me the opportunity [00:28:30] to participate in that. I think it is what allowed me to really, continue on in my career. Uh, I think I'm. Kind of unique. And a lot of people in EWCL I know have gone back to grad school and have master's degrees. Like I don't have that, that wasn't really the track I took.

[00:28:47] Crystal: Um, I looked at going to law school and applied and almost went, but then ended up not doing that. So having the training that I received, as a EWCL part was invaluable to me. being able to get to where I am in my career and really launching me, on that ability to go on a fundraising track. 'cause that's where I kind of did my first fundraising was with the project we did, Love it. Yeah. EWCL has been beneficial for so many people in so many different [00:29:15] ways. 

[00:29:15] David: It really has been. I think I just think about how much time we spent participating in that and then knowing how much more time Jeff and Nina have needed to do in that over the years. Oh my gosh. And it's just like, really?

You have no 

[00:29:30] Crystal: idea. 

[00:29:30] David: Like I, you just like sit back and you're like, huh. Like, and you know, like they have families too and they have careers as well and it's like, I don't even know where they got the time to do, to do what they do. They're magicians. I'm just so grateful that, yeah, I'm just so grateful that they did and continue to same.

[00:29:49] Crystal: I like leaving people with the ideas on how they can help the, the issue that we talked about today. there's a lot of us feeling the pinch on the wallets these days [00:30:00] but how can we still play a meaningful role in restoring the bay?

[00:30:05] David: I think there are a number of different things that people can do to make a tangible impact. 

Even if your gift is a, a, a $5 gift, if it's a reoccurring monthly gift. If it's a gift that you're making from, you know, you're close to retirement, you can use, your IRA to, to make a charitable gift that way. There's so many different ways that, that we can give, but providing that support and making it unrestricted so the organization can do and put it wherever they need it and put it to the best use, I think that is such a profound way to make [00:30:45] an impact.

Um, there's also great programs like the Chesapeake Bay Foundation has one called Bay Razor, where you can go out and do something and raise money for our organization.

So for example, if you wanted to have, some sort of dinner at a, a restaurant and a certain amount of the. Money from that restaurant went to a cause that you cared about. You could do our bay raise program and, and raise money that way and get a bunch of different people to make a much more significant impact to our organization.

So, I would love if you did that with Chesapeake Bay Foundation, but you can also, find a lot of other organizations where you can do things like that. If you are a business owner, a lot of organizations [00:31:30] have things called corporate covens where you can have a product and then a certain percentage of that product that you sell and a certain period of time can go to an organization.

So that's another way where you can take the work that you're doing and the business that you work in and make a meaningful impact over time. So explore those with your favorite, nonprofit organizations.

 I'll also say that. If you are able to support an organization financially, whether that's the Chesapeake Bay Foundation or another one, look into whether your employer, especially if you work for a larger employer, does donor matching for their employees as well.

So a lot of [00:32:15] businesses will match a employee's donation to a nonprofit up to a certain dollar amount. that's another way to really magnify your gift to an organization. And some companies also make, straight donations to organizations as well.

 if you're really passionate about a group, get as involved as you care to be. And again, that can be financial support, it can be volunteering. It can also be talking to your four favorite friends on your text chain about why you like this organization, or sending something out on TikTok or Snapchat about why people should support that.

You know, get that organization's mission out [00:33:00] there to other people and they will be forever grateful for you for increasing their audience and reach. 

[00:33:08] Crystal: This has been such a great conversation, David. I really appreciate you taking the time to chat, of course with me today.

And thank you for all that you do. You are making a difference. 

[00:33:20] David: The Chesapeake Bay story shows us the change happens when people connect, care, and act together. Whether it's oysters, rebounding, kids discovering the magic of wetlands, or entire states aligning around clean water progress is possible because individuals choose to get [00:33:45] involved. As David reminds us, you don't have to be a professional fundraiser or even give a large gift to make a difference.

[00:33:53] Crystal: Listening, telling stories, sharing what moves you and inviting others in are powerful tools for any cause.

So as you think about the issues closest to your heart, remember your voice, your story, and your actions can inspire others to join you. And together those small sparks can create lasting change.

Don't forget to go to forces for nature.com and sign up to receive emailed show notes, action tips, and a free checklist to help you start taking practical actions today. [00:34:30] Do you know someone else who would enjoy this episode? I would be so grateful if you would share it with them. Hit me up on Instagram and Facebook at Becoming Forces for Nature, and let me know what actions you have been taking.

Adopting just one habit could be a game changer because imagine if a million people also adopted that. What difference for the world are you going to make today?