Speaking for Wildlife Presentation & Kit Updates

For those of you who are Speaking for Wildlife volunteers, you know that the program purchased 10 new laptops to replace the old, outdated laptops in the Speaking for Wildlife kit located in each county. In conjunction with this effort, I have been working to update the presentations themselves to reflect developments in information and species status since the creation of the presentations, changes in contact information and resources, and more. These new presentations are now pre-loaded onto the new laptops, which can be found in each county kit. Below, you will find a summary of some of the changes and updates to Speaking for Wildlife supplies and materials. Before you give a talk, please be sure you are using the most current version of the presentation and script, as well as the most up-to-date resources available. As always, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch - haley.andreozzi@unh.edu.

• New Laptops & Projector Cords - The laptops you'll find in the kits are brand new! They should be faster and more compatible, in general, with presentation equipment many of you are using at local libraries and other facilities. However, these new laptops have HDMI ports only, so will use an HDMI cable to connect to the projector in the kit (as opposed to the VGA cable that you used with the previous laptop). You will find a new HDMI cable in your county's kit. Updated instructions on connecting the laptop and projector using the HDMI cable can be found in the LCD Projector Instructions; a copy of this handout can also be found in your county kit. (Important Note for Sullivan and Grafton County Volunteers: The projectors iny our county kits do not have an HDMI port, so you will need to use a VGA/HDMI adapter to connect the VGA cable to the computer. This adapter can be found in your county kit.)  If you have any questions about the new laptops or connecting to the projector, let me know.
• Updated Presentations & Scripts - These are preloaded on the new laptops in folders on the desktop. You can follow the same steps as before to open the presentations and start a slide show in PowerPoint. If you are someone who uses your own computer to give presentations and you need a link to download the updated PowerPoint presentations, send me an e-mail and I will get you the DropBox link to download the presentation files. The scripts have been updated on the SFW website (located on each individual presentation page); be sure you are using these updated scripts when preparing for your talk. Copies of the updated scripts are also located in the binder in each county kit.
• New Presentation Design - You'll notice that all of the Speaking for Wildlife presentations have been updated to a similar design scheme, with a light grey background and dark text. This change was made based on feedback that many of the colorful backgrounds made text difficult to read from the audience, and that the presentations should have a slightly more professional feel. This new background also allows the pictures, which are the highlight of many of these talks, to stand out.
• Updated Handouts - Several of the handouts included in County kits were outdated. These have been updated, and copies can be found in your county kit. You can access URLs for all handouts here: Kit Contents and Handouts. Please use these new versions when making copies for presentations or to restock the kits. Updated handouts include NHBugs: Recommendations for Landowners, White-nose syndrome in Bats, and Visiting NH's Biodiversity.

• NH Wild History - Minor changes were made to this presentation, but some edits were made to reflect changes in the current population status of bobcats and moose. There is a presenter's note with general information on the decline in the moose population, since many volunteers cited getting questions on the topic.
• A Garden for Wildlife - Minor changes were made to this presentation. A presenter's note was added to address concerns about potentially larger tick populations in areas that are left unmowed; many volunteers cited getting questions on this.
• Birds, Bats & Butterflies: Keeping Common Wildlife Common - The major change made to this presentation was to update with current information on the status of the monarch butterfly population. When the talk was originally created, monarchs were a very common species in New Hampshire. As many of us know, there has been a sharp decline in the population in recent years. We left the species in the talk, since we thought it was important to highlight a species that is not as common as it once was, but moved it to the end of the list and provided information on potential conservation actions people can take to help monarchs.
• The Nature of New Hampshire - Minor changes were made to this presentation.
• NH Bats & White Nose Syndrome - This talk was updated to reflect changes in conservation status for several bat species, as well as changes in the distribution of white nose syndrome. Additionally, updates were made to the sections pertaining to the current understanding about WNS, current research efforts, work specific to New Hampshire, and how people can get involved.
• NHBugs: The Big Three - This talk was updated to reflect changes in the spread of several forest pests, included emerald ash borer and hemlock woolly adelgid. Maps were updated, and the language was altered slightly (e.g. regarding quarantine zones) so that the information does not become outdated as the pests potentiall spread.

Note that the video recording of each talk on the Speaking for Wildlife website will not be updated, and will reflect a slightly outdated version of the presentation. A disclaimer has been added above each video so outside audiences are aware there will be differences.