Twelve months ago, in this same newsletter, I noted that my phone rang shortly after noon. It was March 13^th. I was leaving a meeting at FDACS in Tallahassee and looking forward to lunch with some NRLI alumni and a prospective Fellow. It was one week before our sixth NRLI session (Class XIX) of the year and shortly before Module III of our training program for DEP. We were putting the final touches on an exciting alumni gathering/event which would be held in five days. Floridians were just beginning to understand (sorta-kinda-maybe) how bad the pandemic was, in fact the COVID-19 outbreak was officially named a “global pandemic” on March 11^th.  In hindsight we (at least I) had no idea what was coming. As I looked down at my phone, I saw that Program Coordinator Jocelyn Peskin was calling.  I answered and immediately heard an urgent “Jon, we have to make a decision”. Oh, what a difference a year makes.  

That conversation seems like it took place a lifetime ago, not 12 months. As I reflect on the difficult year that has passed, I am amazed at the ways in which the NRLI program has adjusted. The remarkable resilience and creativity of the NRLI project team (shout out to Joy Hazell, Jocelyn Peskin, and Wendy-Lin Bartels) and the patience and engagement of those participants - and partners - in our programs have been key. Below you will read Diana Turner’s thoughts on her current on-line training. Diana is a member of the fourth cohort of Florida DEP staff taking part in a program titled Effectively Engaging DEP Stakeholders or “DEP NRLI”. Developed as an in-person training program 3+ years ago, it transitioned to a 100% on-line program just days after Jocelyn’s call. You will also read Mysha Clark and Michael Simmons’ (NRLI Class XX) description of an in-person session in the time of COVID. There are costs and benefits associated with this kind of training on-line and this kind of training in-person, both of which are very different from anything we’ve tried before. As a result, we have been engaged in a form of adaptive management, learning-by-doing while learning with people like Diana, Mysha, and Michael. It is not always easy, but participants in both programs have helped us better understand what works and what doesn’t, as well as what is important to groups in these uncertain times. In the articles below, the authors reference the practical training they are getting but also the importance of being part of a cohort, a social group of people with complementary needs and interests. It is not surprising that during a year of quarantines and social isolation, people want to interact, but both groups helped us realize that this year it was something we – and they - needed to pay attention to in a different way. This supports the portion of our curriculum this month that focused on group dynamics and decision-making; effective groups need to pay attention to what they are trying to accomplish and to the relationships that make completing that task possible in an effective and inclusive way (“task vs. maintenance functions”, C. Mill 1976). 

In referencing groups and the need for supportive social interaction, I am keenly aware that hope is around the corner here in Florida, something that has been absent for too long. Vaccines are increasingly available*, and the sooner the majority of us are vaccinated (both here and abroad) the sooner we can return to the supportive social life that most of us crave. It will not happen overnight, it will not be perfect, but it will happen. Since that telephone call in March 2020, our goal has been to adapt while continuing to provide practical and safe training to those who manage and care for our natural resources. Some of that has been on-line and some of it outdoors - socially distanced and masked. We have learned a great deal about what works and what doesn’t, what is possible and what is not. It has been a year. 

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