Fall Regional Meeting FAQ

3) What happens at the Fall Regional Meetings?

Each Fall there are three Regional Meetings, one in each of these regions: Eastern, Central and Western/Labrador, outside of the larger urban municipalities. These meetings are an opportunity for communities to showcase their involvement and implementation of their habitat stewardship agreement and share their future hopes and dreams for conservation and stewardship in the area, to a room full of supporting and interested community partners. It is also a chance to become inspired by work being done in other municipalities and bring those ideas back to your community. To accommodate attendance, the SAM Regional Meeting is a half day event held during the work week. Meetings involve reports from attending SAM Representatives and community partners, regional topics for discussion, and brainstorming how SAM can better support communities in your region. A detailed agenda is emailed to all registered attendees before the meeting.

4) Where are the Fall Regional Meetings held?

There will be three Fall Regional Meetings, one in each of the these regions: Eastern, Central and Western/Labrador, outside of the larger urban municipalities. These regions generally include the following areas:

EASTERN - includes Avalon Peninsula (excludes St. Johns and surrounding Metro Area), Bonavista Peninsula, and the Burin Peninsula
CENTRAL - includes Baie Verte Peninsula, Kittiwake Coast/Notre Dame Bay, and Northwest Bonavista Bay
WESTERN AND LABRADOR - includes Northern Peninsula, Gros Morne area, Southwest Coast, Codroy Valley, Stephenville Area, and Labrador

5) Who can attend the Fall Regional Meetings?

Regional Meetings are by invitation only and include representatives of member municipalities, partnering conservation organizations and invited guests within those regions. Town councils appoint a "SAM Representative" to attend the meeting and they can be either:
A) A member of council;

B) A member of town staff; or,

C) A member of a council committee or knowledgeable committed resident.

6) What is expected of attendees?

The Fall Regional Meeting is an opportunity for sharing, networking, and partnership building. We hope that SAM Representatives come prepared to share their municipality's future environment conservation and stewardship goals, with hopes that municipalities will leave the meeting with more tools and resources available to achieve these goals. SAM Representatives and community organizations can share their past conservation achievements, and any current project(s) they are working on. We generally ask SAM Representatives/attendees to prepare a brief 10 minute verbal report. You are also welcome to bring along written documents or utilize photos/presentations for this purpose. Additionally, there will be a regional environmental/conservation discussion period to stimulate potential actions and provide communities in the region with a better understanding of some potential environmental issues they face.

7) Can I bring informational materials?

SAM encourages each town to promote their involvement in Habitat Stewardship, including creating communication materials. If you town has any printed or online materials a space is available during the meeting to put up a poster and/or have a display of the stewardship activities/projects accomplished by your committee or town.

8) What if I am unable to attend the meeting?

We recognize that the costs and distances involved in attending the Fall Regional Meeting may be prohibitive in some instances, but we'd still like to hear from you! You are encouraged to send a brief written report (1 page or less) to us (samconservation@gmail.com) outlining the activities which have occurred recently in the ongoing implementation of your municipal habitat stewardship agreement or in terms of your town’s efforts to increase environmental sustainability. Your report will be reviewed by other members at the meeting in your absence.

9) What are the Costs?

There is no registration fee to attend SAM meetings a nutrition/coffee break is provided at no charge during the meeting. The SAM Regional Meeting is a half day event held during the work week within your municipality's general region. If there are any questions or concerns, please email samconservation@gmail.com.

10) Are meals provided at the meeting? What about allergies and dietary restrictions?

A nutrition/coffee break is provided at no charge during the meeting. Please let us know on the online registration form about any food allergies or dietary restrictions.

11) Can our municipality host the next Fall Regional Meeting?

Interested Towns are encouraged to reach out to samconservation@gmail.com after the Spring AGM if they are interested in being a Regional Meeting Host. We can provide a summary document to help guide your town's decision and assist in the meeting hosting process.

WHO IS SAM... YOU ARE!

1) Who is SAM?

The Stewardship Association of Municipalities Inc, affectionately known to its members as “SAM”, is an incorporated non-profit organization. Its membership is comprised of NL municipalities formally committed to the conservation of wildlife habitat found within town planning boundaries.

Your town became involved with SAM upon the signing of a Municipal Habitat Stewardship Agreement with the province. This agreement, as a tangible public step taken by your council, serves to proactively conserve important habitat for wildlife, often wetlands for waterfowl and other birds, found within your municipal planning boundaries. Since taking that initial step many towns have become involved in restoring and enhancing wildlife habitat while educating and engaging residents in sustainable land use actions. Since 1993, 50+ municipalities in NL have signed such agreements and incorporated them into their municipal planning documents and development regulations.

2) When are the Fall Regional Meetings?

The Fall Regional Meetings are typically held in the Fall (September/October) to encourage and stimulate conservation conversations in your region, and to support and facilitate networking amongst regional municipalities and community organizations.