About
Mission and goals, key areas of action, and origin story.
Our Mission
Our mission is to support conservation by promoting synergy between individuals, communities, and organizations through information equity, connecting ecological knowledge bearers, and engaging people with the natural world.
The goal of this mission is to facilitate better connection and communication throughout conservation. We believe this will create more room for collaboration in conservation work, so we can make real progress in protecting what we love.
The Pinnules of F.E.R.N.
To work towards our mission, we have identified individual goals to ensure they are a purposeful, continued part of our growth.
(‘Pinnules’, you might call them! This is the botanical term for a fern’s individual sections on each leaflet.)
Community Growth Among the '-Ologists'
Facilitate Access to Conservation Resources
Spark Public Interest & Engagement in Ecology
Inclusion and Diversity of Cultures & Identities
Strengthen Communication & Collaboration
Improve Longevity of Generational Knowledge
Key Areas We Address
Information equity – Communication – Collaboration
Information Equity
In the ecological space, there are informational, monetary, and academic barriers to entry.
These barriers act as an obstacle to individuals with valuable lived experiences and skills towards making impactful contributions to conservation goals.
Ultimately, this raises the bar to enter conservation for under-represented groups such as indigenous, BIPOC, and queer communities. Organizations currently have no formula or roadmap to include these voices mindfully and respectfully.
Communication
There is a misalignment in communication between conservationists, as well as between scientists and the public.
To bridge the science-public gap, language is often over-simplified from a single area of specialty, which can have unintended consequences if there is insufficient collaboration between ecological knowledge-bearers.
Furthermore, conservation work occurs on a longer timescale than a single career. The ecological knowledge of individuals is often not passed down to benefit the baseline knowledge for the next generation, requiring them to retread ground.
Collaboration
The success of conservation goals rely on existing resources that are not always readily available to individuals, organizations, or communities.
There is a lack of opportunities that bring together individuals, organizations, and communities, with varying understandings of the natural world.
The silo’ing of these groups hinders holistic decision-making and resources of knowledge, ability, or connection are often left isolated.
Three Methods to Support Conservation
The Origin of F.E.R.N.
The idea for F.E.R.N. originated from within Queer Plant Convergence (QPC).
This event started as an idea among friends with Matt Charpentier and Grace Glynn. It quickly became a community-driven initiative.
QPC turned out to be a great success. In it’s second year, the event quickly filled capacity, and garnered an 80-person waitlist.
What started as a small botanical event, quickly grew into a community of ecologically-minded individuals where everyone is able to interact casually, share knowledge about the things they are passionate about, and have open discussions about conservation.
Not only was it clear that there was a desire for the type of connection that the event established, but it also showed potential for what can happen when an idea is given a place to grow and develop with community involvement.
F.E.R.N. grew out of this event, co-founded by Matt Charpentier and Destynnie Berard, the idea a product of Matt’s background in botanical conservation, and Destynnie’s background in marketing and communications.
While the mission of F.E.R.N. focuses on conservation as a whole, including all areas of ecology, the ideals and mission of this organization is rooted in the same values of individuality, acceptance, and community that QPC has fostered.
F.E.R.N. stands for Flora, Fauna, & Fungi Ecological Resource Network.
We can only achieve our goals with your support.
Here are other areas where you can learn more about what we are working to achieve, and how you can help us get there.
Will You Be Our Frond?
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