3. Getting Started:
A Checklist for Your Community

Before reading this manual, it's a good idea to take a moment to think about your own community, your own strengths, and what "community organization" means to you. Every community is different. These differences will contribute to how you want to organize for community action. Here are some important questions to be answered before you begin.

  1. How do you define your community? Is it your town, your neighbourhood, a rural county, or the cottages on a lake?
  2. Are there any environmental projects that you already have in mind: cleaning up a lake or a stream, composting and recycling, conserving energy in homes, or planting trees? If so, who should be involved to make the project a community-wide success?
  3. Is your community well-organized for environmental action? What are some of the groups and government bodies that you look to for leadership on environmental issues.
  4. The most important question of all is: "Are you getting results?"

Use this checklist to determine how well-organized your community is.

Do you have: yes no Could be improved Don't know
A Community Network
Is there a contact list of groups and individuals that share a common desire to improve the local environment, including community groups, schools, businesses, service clubs, and the municipal government?		        
A Coordinating Committee
Is there a committee of representatives from all sectors of the community who have agreed to help promote and support community-based projects?

The coordinating committee can be an existing multi-stakeholder committee, such as a Local Round Table, an Environmental Advisory Committee, or the steering committee for a Remedial Action Plan or Healthy Communities project.

        
A Community Coordinator
Is there a contact person who can support the coordinating committee and the community network and provide a link to the provincial and federal support programs? Usually a paid position, the coordinator could be a municipal staff person, a contract position with a community group, or a consultant. Smaller communities may prefer to work with a volunteer.		        
An Environmental Community Action Plan
Is there a brief document that states the environmental priorities for the community, the lead organization(s) for each issue, and some of the projects that will support the community goals? It can be a separate publication, or published through a community newspaper.		        
Community Campaigns and Projects
Has the coordinating committee, or any of the participating organizations used the network to develop a community-wide campaign in support an overall common environmental goal?

Does the coordinating committee encourage and support a wide range of community-based projects?

        

..........How did you score?
Relax, very few communities in Canada can answer each question with a resounding "yes". That's why organizing communities for environmental action is so important.

Many communities will have one or more of the pieces, such as an active environmental group, or a passionate community leader. There may well be an environmental advisory committee. Start with what you know and branch out.

 


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