The George Wright Society champions stewardship of parks, protected & conserved areas, cultural sites, and other kinds of place-based conservation by connecting people, places, knowledge, and ideas. By uniting people from many different backgrounds around a common passion for protecting Earth’s natural and cultural heritage, we create the collaboration needed to meet today’s greatest conservation challenges.
INNOVATING ACROSS BOUNDARIES FOR
Parks • Cultural Sites
Protected / Conserved Areas
INSPIRED BY GEORGE MELÉNDEZ WRIGHT
Watch our virtual chat with author Jerry Emory!
JUST PUBLISHED!
The long-awaited, first-ever biography of our namesake — the visionary who revolutionized management of America‘s national parks
“Emory’s enumeration of Wright’s accomplishments—including a survey of wildlife in Western parks, the first of its kind—is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Highly recommended for nature lovers and park enthusiasts.” LIBRARY JOURNAL
30% discount for GWS members!
Today’s top story • 19 September 2023
Haaland lauds designation of Indigenous earthworks in Ohio as US's newest WH site
WASHINGTON – Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland today applauded the decision by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee to include on the World Heritage List Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks, a group of eight ancient earthwork sites in southern Ohio. The World Heritage Committee made the decision to inscribe Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks on the highly selective World Heritage List by consensus at its 45th session in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on September 19, 2023. Five of the earthwork sites are managed by the National Park Service and three are managed by the Ohio History Connection.
“Today’s designation by UNESCO is a tremendous opportunity and recognition of the contributions of America’s Indigenous Peoples,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “World Heritage designation is an opportunity for the United States to share the whole story of America and the remarkable diversity of our cultural heritage as well as the beauty of our land. The Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks are unique creations of America’s indigenous people and a remarkable survival of our ancient history.”
https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/secretary-haaland-applauds-designation-of-ancient-earthworks-in-ohio-as-the-nation-s-25th-world-heritage-site.htm
What sets us apart: Interdisciplinary conservation thinking
GWS’s unique role is to foster interdisciplinary place-based conservation. Specialist organizations and subject-matter professional societies create essential knowledge. GWS operates one level up from that endeavor: we provide opportunities for specialists to go beyond their usual mental boundaries and see how what they know connects with, and complements, what other specialists know. GWS nurtures the kind of context-aware thinking needed to tackle complex conservation problems.
What we create: Innovation
Innovation only comes from open minds. Open minds thrive in a collegial atmosphere that encourages people to think outside their silo, beyond their usual point of view. GWS is the only conservation organization that exists specifically to bring people together from a wide range of points of view in settings designed to allow open-mindedness to flourish. By doing this, GWS creates space for multidimensional learning and collaboration that leads to innovative conservation action.
How we work: Convening
The learning spaces we create are both physical and virtual. We convene opportunities for people to come together in person: face-to-face events that expand communication networks, support mentoring, and build the capacity of park and protected area stewards, cultural and natural resource managers, scientists and other scholars, and teachers and students. We also help create these goods by nurturing a virtual global community of stewardship through publications and online interactions.