Stewardship Classes and Trainings
Our innovative Stewardship program is designed to provide in-depth training for local residents to better understand, enjoy, and care for parks and greenspaces and the unique urban forest of metro-Atlanta.
Ask us about designing a Stewardship Series for your community, school, or volunteer group.
Eco-A’s Stewardship Walks and Trainings
provide inspiring educational experiences about Atlanta’s unique urban forest, how to identify trees, plants, birds animals and invasive species, how to restore native biodiversity, including how to select trees and plants for planting, and how urban forests improve human health and the green infrastructure of our cities. Participants can become greenspace docents, and volunteer leaders who educate others, train new volunteers, and work with other non-profit groups, as well as businesses, governments and other institutional greenspace partners.
Our classes are geared to raise the level of “environmental literacy” in our communities by training dedicated volunteers who can then teach and train others.
Eco-A Stewardship Program Structure:
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Our basic Stewardship Program offers 12 sessions per year in each greenspace. We can also adjust for more, or fewer, sessions as desired by each neighborhood group.
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Each walk/volunteer event focuses on a different nature theme. Class topics include basic urban forest dynamics, how to ID trees and indicator species, invasive and native species, birds, wildlife and wildlife signs, intro to edible and medicinal plants, planning for invasive species removal, basic geology, forest intelligence, forests and human health, tree health and fall risk, and other themes. We often invite guest experts to co-host classes with us. Species ID and removal training will be re-visited in most sessions, to ensure each participant will feel confident in leading other volunteers.
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Sessions are 2.5 hours each.
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All learning takes place outdoors.
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All participants are given free access to our on-line Eco-Literacy class on metro-Atlanta forest ecology, which includes detailed ID and species profiles for over 30 key native and invasive species everyone should know.
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Stewardship classes are designed for adults, families and interested young people ages 10 and up.
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Participants may choose to attain different levels of naturalist/stewardship certification.
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