The Pennsylvania Land Trust Association invites you to share your knowledge and experience by submitting a proposal to present at the 2020 Western Pennsylvania Land Conservation Summit, scheduled for November 12-13, 2020. This event will be conducted virtually.

Submit Proposal

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Deadline: Please submit your session proposal by midnight on August 19, 2020.

Questions or form submission issues, please contact Carol Grayshaw, cgrayshaw@conserveland.org.

Form Instructions and Considerations

The proposal form requests the following information:

Workshop Title
Session Tracks: Indicate in which track(s) your session best fits. Ultimately the track assignment will be decided by PALTA.
Session Description: Please note the 1000 character limit.
Presenter Information: Presenters and co-presenters already registered with Conserveland.org can be selected from the drop-down menu. You will also have the opportunity to add up to 2 non-registered co-presenters. Please include contact and biographical information.
(Optional) Case for Presentation: This can be text or an uploaded file to further substantiate the need or benefits of the proposed session.
Preferred Length of Workshop/Seminar: Please select your ideal presentation length from the drop-down.
Education Level: Please select the level of instruction that best fits the content of your workshop from the drop-down.
Continuing Education Credits: Would this course potentially be eligible for professional credits? In the past, conference sessions have been approved for Continuing Legal Education Credits (through PA CLE Board); Landscape Architect CEUs (through PRPS); Park & Recreation Professional CEUs (through PRPS); Certificate Maintenance Credits (through APA); and Continuing Forestry Education Credits (through SAF).
(Optional) Course Outline: You can submit a conference course outline or agenda if desired. Course outlines are required for CEU consideration.
Presented session elsewhere: Tell us if you have presented this topic in the past.

Scheduling Sessions

If you are planning to submit a proposal, we encourage you to block the dates of the summit in your calendar (November 12-13). We can not guarantee specific days or times. We’ll do our best to work around extraordinary circumstances but please be willing to present on Thursday, or Friday.

What Are You Expecting From Your Audience?

Consider including a prerequisite or disclaimer in your final course description to convey the level of experience you are expecting people to bring to your workshop. Below are a few examples:

“Workshop participants need to have been significantly involved in drafting/negotiating several conservation easements.”
“This workshop is designed for people who have never been involved in a capital campaign.”
“Workshop participants should have a legal background or be familiar with IRC 170(h).”
“This workshop will be most beneficial to land trusts with $250,000+ operating budgets.”

What Will Attendees Learn at Your Session?

As you draft your final outline and design your presentation, write down at least one thing you want people to learn from your session. Everything in your workshop should lead toward that goal. Here are a few examples of workshop objectives:

“To better identify conservation easement language that could be misinterpreted.”
“To identify the most important steps to take before contacting a potential major donor.”
“To learn how everyone in the room communicates with second-generation landowners.”

Workshop vs. Roundtable

Most of the time, workshops will consist of a lecture followed by (or interspersed with) questions and answers. Some workshops will consist of panel discussions. A roundtable is a significantly different forum. If you are a presenter for a roundtable, a more accurate title for you is “facilitator,” since you will introduce the topic, pose possible questions for the group to consider and then facilitate the discussion.