WASHINGTON, DC—Thanks to the NatureWatch, Interpretation, and Conservation Education database, the work of our colleagues and partners is captured and archived in a systematic way for sharing across the agency and with the public.

Last year, accomplishments entered by NICE users showed at least 2.4 million people being reached directly by Forest Service programs and partners. The NICE database application aggregates and archives this data while showcasing the rich stories behind how it was done and the audiences and locations where the public is served. If you’ve run environmental education or outreach programs, developed interpretive signs or materials, led workshops or conference presentations, posted to the web, or hosted public meetings, make sure your work is reflected in NICE by Oct. 15.

Why report into NICE:

• The NICE database is the only public-facing application that showcases education and outreach accomplishments by the Forest Service and our partners. 
• The NICE database connects to a community of practice to share how we are implementing our programs, working with partners, and leveraging institutional and financial resources.
• The NICE database can produce formatted summary reports and exportable data files to help you share your work broadly in a variety of media, demonstrating value to the public, supervisors, leadership and future partners.

As we wind down our fiscal year, Washington Office Conservation Education invites you to submit your accomplishments. If you do not yet have an account in NICE, it’s simple to create by clicking the Login/Register button at the top right corner of the welcome screen. Contact Melissa Taggart (melissa.taggart@usda.gov) or Kim Winter (kimberly.winter@usda.gov), NICE database managers, for questions along the way. 

Here's a sample of great stories reported in NICE across the regions:

• Five years after the Eagle Creek Fire in Oregon, Forest Service field staff at the Columbia River Gorge used the impacted landscape as a tool for educating seventh and eighth graders about wildfire prevention and the post-fire recovery process, helping to ensure youth are more responsible stewards of their forests. NICE reporting showcases this accomplishment as a vital recovery effort for the entire community with lessons learned that can be shared and replicated.
• Washington Office of Civil Rights and Region 3 collaborated with over 60 agencies in the Mark Armijo Academy Career Fair to create opportunities for career exploration with high school students and introduce them to the Forest Service and Forest Service careers. NICE reporting shows that 350 students attended, representing a diversity of demographics.
• In the Midwest, the Northern Great Lakes Visitors Center partnered with the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission and Wisconsin Sea Grant to create an innovative climate change exhibit about Native American perspectives and Ojibwe culture. This educational exhibit highlighted through NICE can serve as a model for other centers to replicate.
• And on the East Coast, the Northern Research Station is working to produce the urban climate science needed to inform community-guided, equitable, pathways for climate action through the Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative. NICE gives this innovative partnership a place where the partners and communities can share insights and join a community of practice. 

These efforts are just a snapshot of the incredibly diverse efforts happening across the Forest Service to engage people of all ages in our mission. If your work engaged the public in the Forest Service mission—through any form of environmental education, communication or other external-facing programming this fiscal year (Oct. 1, 2022, to Sept. 30, 2023), make sure it counts by entering your accomplishments into the NatureWatch, Interpretation and Conservation Education database before it closes Oct. 15. 

Happy reporting!