Local Action for a Sustainable Tomorrow

LOCAL ACTION FOR A SUSTAINABLE TOMORROW

Notes from visioning meeting, 10/30/07

Thoughts about this group’s purpose:

A uniter in the community working with local groups and government
A public forum and gathering place for connection and education
Promote behavioral change
Demonstrate why local sustainability is in people’s self-interest
Local sustainability is the solution to multiple crises
Raise the awareness level—keep it [issues, crises, benefits of sustainability] on the radar
Help people connect to and take ownership of the local
Simple, direct, concrete grassroots communication
Be present where people are [e.g., have a booth at the fair, the home improvements, show, etc.] 1
Talk to the middle—you don’t need to convince 100% of the people
Assess the community’s awareness of the issues
Demonstrations of sustainable activities
Tips for saving energy (also show dollar benefits, societal benefits, etc.
Encourage city/county leaders to show some leadership on this
Consistent presence at community events[e.g., other group’s local fund-raisers)—model being good local citizens
Make the connection between “buying local is good” and the crises we face
Form liaisons with other local groups [working on these issues]
Connect to schools for sustainability education
Collect and disseminate personal successes, lessons learned, etc.
Network of community help and support
Different approaches for different audiences—believers, nay-sayers and the majority who just need awareness, education and guidance
Two threads:
General community education and action
Core group of planners preparing for worst case
Mutual support among the core group [who are grappling directly with the issues and implications]
Communicate a sense of urgency, but without the gloom and doom
Compelling reason to change, but without scaring people to death
Set up a safety net so that things will still work when everything collapses
Support/assist people in setting up small local gardens—train people to help others help themselves (like the Habitat for Humanity model)
“Five things you can do”—a list of simple, inexpensive changes
Regular newspaper and/or radio spot—“five things you can do this week”
“Each one teach one”—each person sharing and disseminating his/her unique skills
Generate the “aha!” awareness moment
Awareness of how much oil it takes to produce food
Better support for farmer’s markets—with multiple farmers coming to one location [throughout the year to the extent possible]
Support and tie into efforts for preservation of farmland
Large tracts of land
Community gardens everywhere
Support water conservation efforts
Form action groups around issue areas
Economic development and support
Initial vision statement efforts, inspiring verbs, etc.

LAST unites the local community…
Promote, inspire, foster local sustainable action…
Promote, inspire, foster local action that builds sustainable community…
Promote, inspire, foster local action that unites people and builds sustainable community…
Verbs
Improve
Educate
Communicate
Support
Demonstrate
Network
Agitate
Lead
Engage
Thrive
Unite
Bumper sticker: LAST: I will. Will you?
Unite Clallam County to enhance local actions for a sustainable tomorrow…
What we have agreed upon:

Our purpose is to…

Unite Clallam County through coordinating and supporting local actions for a sustainable tomorrow.

By “Clallam County” we mean:

People
Economy
Institutions
Organizations
Food, water and energy resources
Community support systems
We see ourselves as not simply problem-solvers, but as people who are generating a world in which new solutions can emerge.

We want to build a community characterized by agility, resilience and self-sufficiency.

More details about our purpose:

Support the revival of old arts such as cobbling, knitting and spinning
Support creation of new green local jobs
Create a sustainability center at the college
Link up with the tribes and their environmental and community work
“We’re here to support you—how can we help you?”
Start the conversations with other groups
Action items:

JOE Invite Ann Raab #2 (Joe and Ann’s daughter-in-law??) from Local 20/20 to share their challenges and lessons learned
KURT Develop a list of “good stuff [people can do] that saves money”
SHERRY Bring together the local eco-brokers
LAURA Emergency preparedness
RICH Transportation
LORI Type these notes
JOE Organize notes into categories
SID Energy
ALEX Farms
LAURA D Water
PAUL Farmland preservation
LORI Communication plan

1 Text in [square brackets] indicates facilitator’s clarification or additional detail that was not captured on the flip charts.