We believe mentorship is an effective way to support emerging leaders and conservation professionals throughout their careers, as these relationships can lead to increased confidence, community-building, professional competency and, ultimately, durable impacts in conservation.
To this end, we are proud to partner with the Western Collaborative Conservation Network (WCCN) to create the Mentorship Toolkit for Conservation Practitioners (MTCP), a toolkit packed with resources for individuals and organizations looking to harness the power of mentorship for its many benefits.
In this Mentorship Toolkit you will find resources on:
- The different types of mentorship
- Why we should encourage mentorship in conservation
- Mentor roles and responsibilities
- Mentee roles and responsibilities
- How to build relationships between mentors and mentees
- How to start or build up a mentorship program
- How to advocate for mentorship within your organization
- Reflective activities and resources to support you in building mentorship relationships
Phase 1 – Publicly Available Toolkit
The Toolkit will be an iterative resource, evolving as new information becomes available.
Status: Our first draft of the toolkit is now publicly available! See below.
Phase 2 – Applied Research
The process for developing the toolkit has included interviews with individuals and organizations that have successful mentoring programs or high-impact experiences as mentors and/or mentees, as well as reviews of published toolkits and research from different sectors.
Our IRB-approved research and findings will eventually be published in a peer-reviewed paper, so that our work can be shared with the research community and continue building our shared knowledge on mentorship.
Status: Data analysis is in progress.
Phase 2 – Mentorship Training
We have developed a mentorship training workshop to help conservationists learn mentorship best practices, hone their skills as mentors, and become familiar with the Toolkit’s resources.
Status: We hosted the inaugural training at WCCN’s Confluence 2026!
We are looking for sponsors to support more trainings in the future.
Phase 3 – Community of Support
As the Toolkit is disseminated across the conservation field, Crowd Conservation will convene and facilitate a community of Mentors and Mentorship Program Coordinators to encourage shared learning and continual professional development around the topic of mentorship and network building.
Status: Please contact Nicole@Crowd-Conservation.org if you would like to be informed once this community of practice is established.
May 2026 – Our First Draft of the
Mentorship Toolkit for Conservation Professionals
Here you can download the current version of the Mentorship Toolkit!
It is a click-able PDF with lots of resources, checklists, and reflection sheets for those who are seeking mentorship, offering support, or hoping to start or further develop a mentorship program within their organization.
PLEASE GIVE US YOUR FEEDBACK!
As you go through this toolkit, please consider what you find helpful, and what you
would like to see more of – and then fill out this form to give us your feedback!
If you are interested in receiving updates on revisions to this Mentorship Toolkit, opportunities for professional development, and future trainings and peer-learning opportunities, please subscribe to our newsletter!
Toolkit Updates:
Check out our latest update in our blog on – Key Themes Emerging
The Toolkit has many worksheets, checklists, and reflection questions to help mentees, mentors, and program coordinators make the most out of each and every mentorship relationship.
We are looking for opportunities and support to host more mentorship training workshops at future event!
If you know of anyone who may be interested in learning more about this project or supporting the continued development of our mentorship toolkit and trainings, please contact Nicole Reese (nicole@crowd-conservation.org).
This is an opportunity to equip our conservationists with the skills they need to work across divides. Thank you for supporting this collaborative effort, and please share this Mentorship Toolkit with others!
Please join the conversation!
If you are interested in the Toolkit (either as a supporter, an interviewee, or to provide feedback), please contact us! We want to include your voice and perspective into this work.
