Michael Gale – Nature 3.0 – Using Technology to Connect People with Nature

The description below has been selected as one of 12 finalists for the Next Generation of Government Training Summit Speaker Contest. To vote, simply sign in to your GovLoop account (Not a member yet? Sign up for free now!) and then click the big ‘Awesome’ button at the bottom of the post. Everyone is encouraged to vote for as many lightning speakers as they deem worthy, but only one vote is allowed per description per profile, so don’t forget to tell your friends to offer their support as well!

Personal Information: Michael Gale, Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Title: Nature 3.0 – Using Technology to Connect People with Nature

Description:

Forget blaming video games and cell phones for the drastic decrease in people – especially kids and youth – spending time in America’s great outdoors. Technology is the key to getting the next generation back outside. Through social media, Americans are reconnecting with the natural world in exciting and different ways through interactive trail maps, nature apps, and digital photos and videos of wildlife (think “honey badger”). QR codes, LCD interpretative displays, geocaching, and podcast tours are becoming the norm on public lands. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other bureaus in the Department of the Interior are leveraging innovative public-private partnerships to find new ways to use technology to get Americans back outside.

Young professionals are driving new ways of thinking in our federal land management agencies. My story is that of a park ranger’s son turned mobile urbanite being a voice for change in my agency around how we use social media and technology to connect more youthful and diverse audiences to our important conservation mission. Just think: Twitter’s logo is a bird, and the most popular mobile game isn’t “Angry Bureaucrats.” We can use technology to update the American experience in nature.

Don’t forget to VOTE for this story by clicking the AWESOME BUTTON below.

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Check out the other finalists stories:

Andre J. Castillo – “The Making of a Government Ninja: The Story of How a 25-year-old new Federal Employee Created His Own Empire and Became ‘Famous’.“
Michael Gale – “Nature 3.0 – Using Technology to Connect People with Nature“
Michael C. Lawyer & Anthony Soriano – “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bureaucracy“
Joseph Linhart – “Rethinking the Federal Family“
Kerry O’Connor – “Lessons from an Unconventional Career – Follow Your Curiousity, Transform Your Skills and Become a 21st Century Government Innovator“
Emily Sadigh – “Put the “Action” in Your Action Plan“

Sabrina Segal – “I’m the Superhero of Information Sharing“
Teresa Shea – “A Journey Into Blindness: The Blind Professional“
Leonard Sipes – “Accomplishing Public Relations Goals Through Podcasting and Social Media: Demystifying the Process“
Tiffany Smith – “GovWhispering: How to Be an Effective Enterpreneur in a Bureaucratic Environment“
Mark Sullivan – “Working Together for Our Veterans“
Allison Wolff – “Failure is an Option“

P.S. Hope to see you at the NextGen Training Summit, 7/26-27. 500+ Gen X/Y govies, topics from workplace savviness to public speaking, speakers from OMB to Olympic medal winners.