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The joint partnership between The Nature Conservancy and National Geographic Society

The externship program is made possible by the joint collaboration between the National Geographic Society (the Society) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), uniting the strengths of two globally respected organizations to support the next generation of conservation leaders. The Society brings deep expertise in storytelling, exploration, and education, while TNC contributes extensive field-based conservation knowledge and extensive reach as the largest global environmental nonprofit. Together, their partnership creates a meaningful opportunity for young adults to engage with real-world environmental challenges, develop professional skills, and access mentorship from conservation experts like National Geographic Explorers and TNC Scientists—advancing shared goals around youth empowerment, equity, and environmental stewardship.

The externship program is driven by the strong collaboration between TNC and the Society, aligning shared missions around youth empowerment, conservation, and education. Key factors include structured mentorship, real-world project experience, and intentional inclusion of underrepresented voices. Each partner contributes unique expertise—TNC in conservation, the Society in storytelling, exploration and education, ensuring a rich, interdisciplinary experience that equips young adults with the skills, confidence, and networks needed to pursue careers in environmental leadership.

One of the most valuable lessons learned in implementing the externship program has been the critical role of strong collaboration and consistent communication among partners. From the beginning, program leads from The Nature Conservancy and the National Geographic Society worked closely to align goals, share insights, and co-develop a strategy for program implementation and growth. This collaborative foundation has not only strengthened the program’s structure, but also opened doors to expand opportunities and adapt to evolving needs. The program’s growth from zero to 1,300 alumni has presented both challenges and milestones, highlighting the importance of program design and collaborative partnership models. As the program has evolved, both partners continue to refine and enhance the experience, demonstrating how shared commitment and strategic alignment can drive long-term success.

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Externships

Developing and Sharing Relevant Tools, Resources and Templates

YOLO resources screenshot

YOLO

To support Emerging Leaders programs, Nature United and community partners have developed many tools and resources to support communities in establishing, running and expanding their own on-the-land programs for Indigenous youth. The SEAS Toolkit was developed in 2017 by communities running Supporting Emerging Aboriginal Stewards (SEAS) youth on the land programs on BC's Central Coast, in partnership with Nature United. It is a resource for planning an on-the-land Indigenous youth program developed based on the unique culture and territories of First Nations on the BC Coast, that other communities can adapt to their specific contexts.

In more recent years, several one-off tools and resources have been developed by Nature United or shared out by community partners, in response to need and requests from on-the-land programs, including curriculum documents to link programs to school credits, financial reporting templates, and tipsheets on how to include mentorship opportunities in programs. These all now live on the YOLO (Youth On the Land Opportunities) Community network website in the resource library.

Strong relationships with community partners who are willing to share templates and information they have developed to address common challenges.
Creating spaces for communities to share documents they have developed with each other (e.g., a webinar to share curriculum documents developed in one place can inspire a program Coordinator in another place to develop their own curriculum, as well as facilitate a connection between two people working on the same thing).

Tools developed must be able to be easily customized to address the unique needs of local contexts.
Resource libraries must be considered living repositories where resources, stories and experiences of what has and hasn’t worked can evolve and grow over time. As more and more communities build youth on-the-land programs and share their experience, information must continue to be updated and revised to remain relevant. It is also important to remember that only a fraction of experiences and activities are captured in any given toolkit and may only reflect the needs of those who informed their development.
Sharing an abundance of information that meets the needs of a diverse group of communities must be balanced with presenting information in a clear and accessible way, to avoid overwhelming users and ensure resources are used by those doing the work on the ground.
Tools and templates can be useful on their own, but often need human connections and relationships to “animate” them and increase their use. Having facilitators or network coordinators available to walk communities through how to make use of resources can be invaluable.

YOLO Community network resource library

Peer to Peer Learning Connections for Coordinators of On the Land Programs Serving Indigenous Youth

YOLO screenshot

YOLO

Coordinators have offered feedback that being the only ones doing this work in their communities can feel isolating. We continue to hear from practitioners on the ground that they are hungry for opportunities and are wanting to connect and learn from each other across communities. People want to share practical details about their experience building and running an on-the-land youth program - where others got their funding or received their training. Having spaces to share what’s working and not working, They want to share challenges and to learn from each other.

The YOLO network fulfills a need for resource sharing and communication. The YOLO website features a map of on the land programs for Indigenous youth programs across the country, along with contact information for fellow Coordinators, who can sign up to participate in monthly virtual coffee hours and webinars to connect with others doing similar work. Many connections have already grown out of these coffee hours, with participants sharing tips and funding resources with each other, planning land-based camps together, and talking about getting together for exchanges in the future.

For the success of this initiative, we have learned the following factors are important:

Creating opportunities for strong relationships to be built.
Developing communications materials to help potential participants understand the value of the network.
Dedicating a position to coordinating the network and “network weaving” - creating connections between members
Creating accessible and engaging meeting opportunities for network participants (virtual, as well as in person - the value of in person connection is hard to replace)

The following are key lessons learned through the YOLO network’s experiences of creating opportunities for peer to peer connection among those running on-the-land programs for Indigenous:

People want access to others doing similar work to them, and the collaborations and support that comes out of spaces for people to connect in unstructured or lightly structured ways is amazing.
Having “network weavers” in dedicated positions to hold space for people to connect is important - someone needs to hold the role of organizing, inviting, facilitating connections, etc.

Having a strong advisory group to guide the network, its development, and direction has been very important. We are working toward ensuring there is diverse geographic, demographic and skills-based representation and including seats for Elders and youth. Considering how the advisory group can guide us toward ensuring the network is Indigenous-led in the future and grounded in what communities need and want are top priorities for the YOLO network

Supporting Indigenous Youth: Why On-The-Land and On-The-Water Programming is Important

YOLO (Youth On the Land Opportunities) Community network website

Developing high-quality digital learning resources

Nature Lab "Power of Forests" Activity Guide

TNC

Nature Lab’s curriculum includes a collection of virtual field trips, teaching guides for educators, and seasonal activity guides for families with children ages 5 to 11. Virtual field trips allow students to explore diverse ecosystems—such as forests, wetlands, oceans, and urban environments—through high quality videos and structured learning experiences. Each virtual field trip is accompanied by a teaching guide with activities that encourage observation, inquiry, and provide connections to real-world environmental issues.

Nature Lab’s teaching guides provide ready-to-use lesson plans and student resources that bring nature-based learning into classrooms, supporting a wide range of environmental science topics. These materials are designed to help students build critical thinking skills, deepen their understanding of environmental science topics, and recognize their role in protecting the planet.

In addition, seasonal activity guides empower families to connect with nature through simple, locally relevant experiences that foster curiosity, creativity, and environmental awareness in everyday life. Together, these resources aim to make nature education accessible to all learners and support the development of the next generation of environmental stewards.

Successful collaborations with our internal video team are essential for producing high-quality virtual field trips. Through their network, we engage animation and video production experts to create impactful visual resources. By aligning lesson plans with NGSS standards, we ensure that Nature Lab materials are relevant across diverse educational settings. Additionally, outreach, promotional campaigns, and partnerships are key drivers in expanding the platform's reach and increasing awareness of the resources.

Through our video production process, we've learned that successful projects require early planning and collaboration with both production and subject matter experts. By involving the right teams from the start, we ensure smoother development and a stronger final product. Flexibility is key, as content and scripts can evolve over time. Additionally, nature-focused videos benefit from careful consideration of outdoor conditions, including weather and seasonal timing.

We also learned the importance of selecting the right video-sharing platform. While YouTube is widely used, it may be blocked in schools, so alternative platforms like Vimeo or hosting videos directly on a landing page offer better accessibility for educators.

When creating digital teaching resources, we recognized the need for ongoing maintenance. PDFs are convenient but can present challenges when updates are necessary, as changes require reloading the resource. Regular checks for broken links and ensuring easy access for teachers are essential for keeping resources up to date.

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TNC Summer Activity Guide

Nature Lab Summer Activity Guide

Nature Lab Fall Activituy Guide

Nature Lab Winter Activity Guide

Nature Lab Spring Activity Guide

Nature at Extremes Teaching Guide

Development of marquee collaborations and partnerships with partners

A screenshot of The Nature Conservancy's partnership page on the Share My Lesson website.

Share My Lesson Partnership

TNC

A screenshot of The Nature Conservancy's partnership page on the Kahoot! website.

Kahoot! Partnership Screenshot

TNC

Establishing several multi-year partnerships has exponentially increased Nature Lab’s reach since 2020. Content partnerships extend the reach of Nature Lab’s resources, while marquee collaborations offer both reach and opportunities for co-creation, resulting in compelling conservation-focused educational resources for young people.

Nature Lab partners with a number of education-focused learning platforms such as: Kahoot!, PBS Learning Media, Google Arts & Culture, Share My Lesson, Subject to Climate, Mizzen Education, and CLEAN (Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network). Nature Lab has also partnered with companies such as Viacom, TedEd, and Netflix, which have supported the growth and reach of the platform.

Nature Lab has developed partnerships in several ways, through external outreach initiatives and through TNC’s name and network as one of the most effective and wide-reaching environmental organizations in the world.

Strong communication with partners has been essential for fostering long-term collaborations. Establishing multi-year partnerships has played a key role in strengthening Nature Lab’s brand and credibility as a trusted, high-quality open-access education platform.

Through our experience establishing external partnerships, we've learned that consistent communication is key to long-term success, especially given the shifting priorities, staffing changes, and set capacity of partner organizations. We've found that flexibility and openness to compromise are essential when aligning content to meet the goals of both organizations. We've also become more adept at navigating contracts and formal agreements, adjusting timelines as needed.

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TNC Nature Lab x Google Arts & Culture Partner Page

TNC Nature Lab x Kahoot Partner Page

TNC Nature Lab x Share My Lesson Partner Page

TNC Nature Lab x CLEAN Network Partnership

Prioritisation and planning

Prioritisation and Planning took place in three categories:

Basic prioritisation: Combines results of the assessment to identify areas that are threatened and under-protected.
Multi-criteria approach: Uses criteria to identify important sites for biodiversity, drawing from the foundational datasets and results of the assessment.
Systematic conservation planning: Identifies a portfolio of biodiversity priority areas based on biodiversity targets. Can include a range of additional data on ecological processes, ecosystem services, constraints and opportunities.

Partnerships
Stakeholder engagement
Financial resources

Team work is important. Mapping and prioritisation of biodiversity can only effectively and efficiently happen when people, organisations work together.

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Assessment

Risk status and protection levels of the ecosystems and species were assessed.

Collaboration
Partnerships
Financial resources

Timely and meaningful engagement of relevant stakeholders is key in developing and implementing solutions
Partnerships, collaborations and regional projects provide opportunities for cross-border conservation initiatives

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Spatial Datasets

All the countries collected spatial data sets that included:

Baseline map of ecosystem types
Map of current extent and condition
Map of protected and conserved areas
Maps of species occurrence

1..An agency that can play a coordination role (leadership). SANBI and UNEP-WCMC provided the crucial leadership roles

2. Establishing a strong community of practice that promotes peer learning and sharing. The project brought together experts from across the implementing countries.

3. Making clear links to government priorities and processes, to inform national policy. The project secured high level buy in from the government through rengagement with government entities in the implementing countries.

Perhaps the most valuable aspect of the approach presented in this guide lies in the intuitive understanding and wide range of information that can be conveyed in a few maps. Maps give geographic meaning to a biodiversity assessment, and provide focus areas that can be prioritised in the real world. They are able to communicate important messages about pressures on the natural environment and conservation imperatives to a range of relevant stakeholders

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Recognition of the traditional knowledge and socio-cultural role of fishers in monitoring, surveillance, and waste management activities.

It is based on the explicit recognition of traditional knowledge and the socio-cultural role of fishers in the management and conservation of natural protected areas. The approach is organized around the three pillars of the conservation agreements: recognition of traditional knowledge, vigilance, and waste management, within the framework of a participatory and co-responsibility process. Their empirical experience on the high seas is valued to identify species, ecological interactions and environmental changes, strengthening their participation as ecosystem watchdogs. Citizen science is promoted to record biodiversity and encourage integrated waste management from departure to return to port.

To rescue the traditional knowledge of the artisanal fisher in his knowledge of the environment, of the resources, understanding the level of risk of the activity.
To know and share the experience of the activity and the offshore marine environment.
Articulate the experience to the tasks and goals to be achieved in the management of the NPA. Citizen research or monitoring, surveillance actions and care of the marine ecosystem with the management of solid waste and recovery of abandoned fishing gear.
Include in the training package, topics that are of genuine interest to local stakeholders, which help with the certifications required by PRODUCE or SANIPES, articulating these to the conservation goals.

With the passage of time and technological progress, traditional knowledge is being lost.
Conservation tasks such as waste management require a gradual adaptation and the involvement of other institutions to guarantee the effectiveness of the collection and final disposal system.
Failure to comply with agreements or to keep stakeholders informed of changes generates mistrust.

Multi-Sector Partnerships

Strong collaboration between government agencies, research institutions, local farmers, and private sector partners mobilizes resources, enhances project sustainability, and empowers local communities.

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