The Asbury Woods Nature Center, owned by Millcreek Township School District near Erie, Pennsylvania, recently completed a 10-year capital campaign that resulted in a new green building and miles of refurbished nature trails. Brian Winslow, director of the Center, realized that after good work on that vision, the Center needed to plan for the future.

A capacity building grant provided by a local community foundation provided that chance. The foundation suggested that they work with experts in their field, not just any local consultant, to create a new strategic plan. The staff had attended ICL workshops, and selected ICL to facilitate the rich conversation about current
organizational issues.

“Sometimes you have to deal with challenges straight on,” said Brian Winslow. “One route was to stay under the radar, but instead we decided to directly address weaknesses and threats.” Through the strategic plan, the Nature Center chose to spin off a new nonprofit organization to raise funds, and created a new agreement with the school district to create a foundation for future sustainability and growth.

“With the help of ICL we put the key issues on the table to allow the leadership to deal with them. This is always best in the long run, even if it is difficult in the short run.”