2021 UNH Sustainability Fellowship: Sustainable Rural Destination Development

UNH Sustainability Fellowships pair exceptional students from UNH and across the U.S. with municipal, educational, corporate, and non-profit partners in New England to work on transformative sustainability initiatives each summer.  Sustainability Fellows undertake challenging projects that are designed to create an immediate impact, offer a quality learning experience, and foster meaningful collaboration. Fellows work on-site (or online) with their mentors at partner organizations during the summer, supported by a network of Fellows, partners, alumni, and the UNH Team. 

 

A detailed description of one Fellowship follows. To learn more about the other Fellowships offered this year, and for application instructions, see the external link on Handshake.

 

·     Students and recent graduates who will have earned an undergraduate degree from ANY accredited college or university by May 2021 (current seniors, recent graduates, and graduate students).

The Northern Forest Center is a regional innovation and investment partner creating bold possibilities that give rise to vibrant rural communities across the Northern Forest of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. The Center works with diverse partners to create and deliver programs and policies that connect economy, community, and environment to support a thriving and welcoming Northern Forest region sustained by innovation and environmental stewardship. 

Through its Rural Destination Development program, the Center helps existing and potential rural destination areas capitalize on recreational, cultural, community, and business assets to position themselves as compelling destinations for visitors (and visitor spending), new residents and businesses. The Center also understands that, in addition to economic benefits, tourism and related recreation activities can also lead to negative impacts on the environment and local quality of life. In response, the Center is working with partners to implement two “pledge” initiatives designed to minimize the negative impacts of tourism and recreation by influencing the behavior of both visitors and residents. 

 

As part of this effort the Fellow will support two related projects:

Mahoosuc Way - Sustainable Tourism Pledge: Support outreach and evaluation of the new Mahoosuc Way Sustainable Tourism Pledge as a framework for integrating the interests of visitors, local businesses, and community stakeholders to develop a sustainable destination tourism economy in the greater Bethel, ME, region. The project grows from the 2019-20 Bethel Area Community Destination Academy and provides a foundation for a broader sustainable tourism strategy outlined in the Bethel Sustainable Tourism Plan. The pledge is modeled on successful efforts in Iceland and other destinations that seek to address the potential negative community and environmental impacts of over-tourism. 

Bike Borderlands - Ride with Gratitude: As part of the Bike Borderlands initiative the fellow will support promotion and evaluation of the Ride with Gratitude campaign designed to build a respectful mountain biking culture. Bike Borderlands is a regional effort to strengthen and promote responsible mountain biking at nine independent trail networks across Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and adjacent Canada.

Specific activities and outcomes for which the Fellow will be directly responsible include: 

·     Develop a survey instrument to gauge response to the pledge and impacts on related behavior and attitudes by visitors, local businesses, and non-tourism community stakeholders 

·     Lead/coordinate survey delivery with a target of 250 completed surveys drawn from a contact of “pledge takers” developed by the local team.

·     Conduct 20-25 direct interviews with visitors, businesses and community stakeholders 

·     Produce a final report and presentation and analyzing survey and interview responses, identifying opportunities to improve the pledge itself and visitor/community engagement strategies, evaluating opportunities for replication in other rural destination communities.  

·     Develop educational tools to convey the Ride with Gratitude message across multiple trail networks. 

·     Assist and monitor Ride with Gratitude pledge usage over the course of the season. 

·     Conduct early- and late-season interviews with key stakeholders identified by the Center to assess impact of messaging. 

·     A final presentation will review the season’s activities and make recommendations to the Center and partner organizations about how to improve outreach strategies in future seasons and optimize the Ride with Gratitude campaign for further expansion. 

Building on these two program-specific sets of tasks, the Fellow will produce a final report for the Northern Forest Center synthesizing findings from the two project and offering recommendations to guide ongoing and future implementation of sustainable tourism and recreation programs in the Northern Forest.

Time allowing, the Fellow will support targeted outreach and promotion of both initiatives through social media and other channels – and other duties as assigned.

The Bike Borderlands collaboration and Mahoosuc Way sustainable tourism initiative are readily replicable models for other rural regions where individual trail networks or other tourism centers see value in working together, recognize the value of regional collaboration, and are committed to long-term, sustainable economic and community development. Through the Center’s regional approach, we are naturally committed to promoting and advancing replication of these projects. 

 

Rural community revitalization is an inherently long-term endeavor. Bringing positive attention and economic activity to communities and managing related impacts through initiatives like the Mahoosuc Way and Bike Borderlands is already helping economically challenged small towns. Our ongoing investment in these places and partners gradually builds a more positive narrative about the region and attracts more investment, visitation, and new residents – ultimately creating a thriving and welcoming Northern Forest region sustained by innovation and environmental stewardship.  

The successful Fellow for this project will have experience in: 

·     Survey design and analysis 

·     Tourism and recreation economics 

·     Developing and deploying educational materials 

·     Community outreach 

·     Sustainable tourism and/or economic development

Personal traits that are essential for success include: 

·     Ability to engage easily with others and maintain a positive, collaborative attitude  

·     Strong interest in rural community revitalization 

·     Strong writing skills

·     Creativity and excellent organizational skills   

·     Interest in outdoor recreation – particularly mountain biking (or willingness to learn!) 

Mentors:

Mike Wilson, Senior Program Director (Mahoosuc Way)

Maura Adams, Program Director (Bike Borderlands)

Compensation:

$6500

(taxable and distributed on a two-week payroll cycle over the course of the fellowship)

·     Attend a mandatory orientation prior to the start of the fellowship term, June 1-3, 2021. 

·     Work full-time for the partner organization, June 7 - August 20, 2021

·     Complete 400 hours of work, including project work with host organization as well as UNHSI activities, between June 1 – August 20, 2021.

·     Complete a fellowship project according to the work plan.

·     Participate in weekly webinars and advisory group meetings.

·     Present work at mid-term and final poster sessions at UNH on July 15 and August 12.

·     Engage in additional professional development, networking, and advisory activities as offered.

·     Provide and receive feedback at the end of the fellowship.

Questions may be addressed to fellows.network@unh.edu.