Symposium Evaluation Results

Question 1. On a scale of 1-5, with 1 being poor and 5 being excellent, how would you rate this symposium?

Average of 4.0

Number of individual responses in parentheses.

1 (0)

2 (1)

3 (4)

4 (24)

4.5 (2)

5 (5)

Comments on question #1.

• Good mix of presentations.
• Would have been a 5, but needed more people!
• Topic too large and discussion too general.
• Good time management organization.
• Went very smoothly and was very informative (too much sitting).
• Needed more breaks to assimilate data and talk with speakers and others.

Question 2. What are the 2 most important things that you gained?

• Networking. Contacts with others with similar concerns/knowledge. Individual contacts - key people who are directly involved in local/regional issues. Better contacts within community who are concerned about issues I care about. (5)
• Understanding of the processes involved in the issues of growth.
• Broader perspective of the urban issue. (3)
• Awareness of the level of diversity of perceptions regarding the issue. (2)
• Greater appreciation of the complexity of the issues surrounding urbanization and growth and their impact on natural systems. (2)
• New ideas. (2)
• Information. (2)
• The need to separate the facts from perception to attempt to address solutions.
• The overall level of frustration is evident across the professional interests represented.
• Desire to forge ahead for solutions.
• Lack of communication between professions, regions, interests.
• The concept that the urban planners are not looking outside their local area to identify much less address or solve impacts of urbanization.
• Much of the solutions are postage stamp solutions to a big problem, i.e. more parks.
• Vital importance of network and partnership needed among all players in providing natural open space in the Sonoran Desert.
• Availability of "tools" and resources to help me better manage Saguaro NP, i.e. API. top
• Dialogue is always good.
• Hear from different perspectives.
• Ideas from people outside my areas of interest/action.
• Knowledge people are attempting to address problems.
• Recognition that biologists/ecologists (and others who deal with scientific aspects of environment) are as concerned about sprawl and human impacts of land use decisions as generalists and planners.
• Need to share info and values across disciplines.
• Knowledge on a variety of topics.
• I was made aware of what different agencies throughout were doing.
• Found out more about issues I know about and some new ones.
• Better understanding of desert ecology.
• Meeting other people concerned about urbanization of the Sonoran Desert.
• Learned about the varying backgrounds, groups, entities who are all concerned with the issue and who should begin to work together.
• Learned that planners often rely on incomplete information and we need to approach them as natural resource managers to fill this gap.
• Greater understanding of the wide ranging nature of urban impacts and the different perceptions people have about them.
• Broader awareness of ongoing work. top
• Sense of optimism - I'm not alone in wanting to do practical, feasible things to improve urban quality of life.
• Better understanding of the problem.
• A feel for some possible actions.
• Info on arch. impacts.
• Discussions/interactions with others attending the symposium.
• Met people and saw old colleagues.
• Understanding agency efforts at dealing with growth-related issues.
• Brought home need for thinking about values, questioning growth mentality, etc.
• Increased knowledge of local issues/efforts.
• Increased knowledge of other areas of expertise (e.g. municipal planning)
• The workshop showed the concerns and needs that should be addressed.
• I personally was educated in many areas that I had never considered to be a problem.
• Greater appreciation of the diversity of positions on growth.
• Knowledge of the need for communicating importance of urbanization problems in our area.
• Understanding of differing view points.
• Understanding.
• Increased awareness of fire impacts on the Sonoran Desert. top
• Increased awareness of urban expansion on the Sonoran Desert, increased awareness of planning considerations.
• Knowledge about a range of Sonoran Desert issues (public planning, attitudes, current "development.")
• Information about management ecology of Sonoran Desert.
• Importance, Society groups for rangeland.
• Water codes, ADA's preservation.
• Problem identification.
• Information sources.
• Understanding of how state trust land operates.
• Examples of how things are working, i.e. Rincon Institute.
• Realization some constructive things being done.
• Many people care about effects and want to do something about it.
• A follow-up plan (or at least plans to follow up)
• Exposure to perspectives "outside my box".
• Knowledge of specific programs/studies that I didn't know existed.

Suggestion: The group was very mixed, and if done again, I would hold a trust-building, barrier breaking down session near the beginning of the conference. That way, people might be a bit looser throughout the meeting.

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