A guide for environmental improvement in your community

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world; indeed its the only thing that ever has. ~Margaret Mead

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Environmental Sustainability Action Plan

Table of Contents
Introduction..3 1. Problem Identification and Documentation 1.1 Brainstorm Issues..5 1.2 Problem Identification...5 1.3 Document Evidence.6 1.4 Who or What is Affected?...............................................................................................6 2. Goals, Objectives, and Barriers 2.1 Goals..7 2.2 Objectives..7 2.3 Barriers.... 7 3. Gathering Support 3.1 Allies8 3.2 Opposition..8 3.3 Generating Awareness.....9 4. Action Plan 4.1 Actions.10 4.2 Workplan11 4.3 Equipment & Materials ..12 5. Evaluation 5.1 Revise Goals & Objectives..13 5.2 Action/Task Status 13 5.3 Reflection 14 Appendix A. Appendix B.

Environmental Sustainability Action Plan

Environmental Sustainability Action Plan Guide

This guide is designed to provide you with a framework for planning and implementing your own environmental sustainability action plan (ESAP). You will brainstorm a number of potential projects and choose one that is relevant to you and/or your group members. You are encouraged to examine environmental issues within your local community and select an area of concern where you can make a meaningful change, no matter how large or small that may be. Your ESAP will need to be adapted and modified in order to overcome the various challenges you will encounter. These challenges should not discourage you but, rather, should be embraced and recognized as an expected part of this process. In order to overcome these challenges, you will rely on three primary sources of support: peer support, community support, and teacher Support (see fig.1).

Peer Support Community Support

Fig.1

Action Plan

Teacher Support

Peer support- This is the first place to turn when searching for solutions to a problem. It involves collaborating among group members and/or contacting members of other groups to see if they have encountered similar problems. It also includes connecting with people outside of the school who may already be working on the project issue. Be sure to inform your peers about what you are doing and take any opportunity to create an ally. Community support- The next place to turn for support is within the various communities available to you. These include online classroom communities (discussion boards and forums), external online communities, local business and residential communities, and environmental stewardship communities. Become active members of these communities and you will be amazed by how much support you can gather from them. Teacher support- When you have exhausted the first two sources of support, you can seek support from the teacher. Often, the teacher will help students brainstorm new strategies and ideas for seeking peer and community support as these sources are the most critical sources of support.

Environmental Sustainability Action Plan

Environmental Sustainability Action Plan Steps

This guide is divided into 5 steps (see fig. 2) designed to steer your group through the process of creating and implementing your ESAP. Each step is comprised of a number of tasks for you to complete. You are not required to complete all tasks in order, but you will find it helpful to do so as each one builds on the previous task.

Fig.2

Step 1
Problem Identification & Documentation

Step 2
Goals, Objectives, & Barriers

Step 3
Gathering Support

Step 4
Action Plan

Step 5
Evaluate It is important that you view your ESAP as an evolving document that is in a state of continual change. You will be required to revisit it weekly and make changes as needed. Saving your ESAP This document contains fillable text fields that allow you to enter and edit the data conveniently. In order to prevent mix ups, it is recommended that you use the following format to save your ESAP whenever you have made changes: GroupName-ESAP-month-day-year (i.e.MuirRiverRestoration-ESAP-03-20-2014 Assessment An assessment rubric is provided on the sustainable communities website (see Assessment page)

Environmental Sustainability Action Plan

Step 1- Problem Identification & Documentation

This section requires your group to brainstorm and select an environmental issue to serve as the focus of your ESAP. You may choose a new environmental concern that has never been addressed, or you may opt to contribute to an existing project. Either way, the key is to select a project that has local significance and will enable you to utilize the skills and resources available to your group.

Task 1.1-Brainstorm Issues Take 5-10 minutes to brainstorm environmental issues that could potentially serve as the focus of your project. Do not reject any ideas at this point. Record them below. Brainstorming Environmental Issues Click here to start writing.

Task 1.2-Problem Identification Now it is time to select one Issue to serve as the focus of your ESAP. Remember that you should select an issue that has local significance. Provide background information describing the issue and why your group selected it (please state whether you are contributing to an existing project or initiating a new one). Environmental Problem Identification Click here to start writing.

Environmental Sustainability Action Plan

Task 1.3-Document Evidence You must provide evidence in order to document the problem. Evidence can come in a variety of formats (images, video, expert testimony, media reports, research journal etc.). Evidence Documentation Type enter evidence description enter evidence description enter evidence description enter evidence description Upload/Attach Evidence Upload evidence or provide reference information Upload evidence or provide reference information Upload evidence or provide reference information Upload evidence or provide reference information Date obtained Insert date Insert date Insert date Insert date

Task 1.4-Who or what is Affected? Who or what is affected by this problem directly or indirectly? Explain how they are impacted. Directly Affected Write a list of who is directly affected and how they are affected. Indirectly Affected Write a list of who is indirectly affected and how they are affected.

Environmental Sustainability Action Plan

Step 2- Goals, Objectives, & Barriers

This section involves recording the goals and objectives that will guide the actions of your group. Remember that your goals and objectives should be S.M.A.R.T. Specific-specifically explain what you strive to accomplish. Measureable- you must be able to measure your success. Attainable- use a goal that your group is capable of accomplishing. Realistic- be realistic. Do not set expectations too high or too low. Timely- attach a time frame for completing your goal. Task 2.1-Goals What are the goals of your environmental sustainability action plan? Goals #1 Goals #2 Goals #3 Write your goal here Write your goal here Write your goal here

Task 2.2-Objectives Now, select one of your goals as your focus and list 3 objectives that will help you accomplish your goal. Objective #1 Objective #2 Objective #3 Record objective here Record objective here Record objective here

Task 2.3-Barriers What potential barriers stand in the way of accomplishing your objectives? These could be people, businesses, special interest groups, financial bariers or physical barriers. Barrier #1 Barrier #2 Barrier #3 Insert barrier description Insert barrier description Insert barrier description

Environmental Sustainability Action Plan

Step 3-Gathering Support

The first thing to remember when gathering support from others is that you must return the favor. Before asking for support, determine what you can offer in return. As mentioned earlier, the most important sources of support come from peer and community support. Become active members of discussion groups and forums contributing more than you take. Building a strong network of support takes time but it is well worth it. Task 3.1-Allies Who are your Allies? (Has anyone else worked on this particular issue in the past? Is there anyone currently working this problem? Who may be able to assist you in accomplishing your objectives? Name/ Organization Insert name Insert name Insert name Insert name Insert name Insert name Insert name How can they help? notes notes notes notes notes notes notes How can you help them? Phone #/Email notes Insert #/email notes notes notes notes notes notes Insert#/ email Insert #/email Insert #/email Insert #/email Insert #/email Insert #/email

Task 3.2-Opposition Who is likely to oppose your actions? Why are they opposed and how might you respond and/or turn them into an ally? Name/ Organization Insert name Insert name Insert name Insert name Why are they opposed? notes notes notes notes How can you turn them into an ally? notes notes notes notes

Environmental Sustainability Action Plan

Task 3.3-Generating Awareness An important aspect of gathering support is generating awareness of your cause. What communication tools do you plan to use in order to create awareness for your project? Your first tool will be your groups blog. You are required to make a weekly blog post that provides updates of your progress and challenges you encountered. In addition to your blog, there are several other methods for generating awareness such as newspapers, flyers, workshops, discussion boards, and forums. Record some of the methods you might use to create awareness. Attach any relevant documents or files. Tool/Media Type Click here to start writing. Target Audience Click here to start writing. Intended Message Click here to start writing. Attach files Click here to start writing.

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Step 4-Action Plan

Now it is time to determine the specific actions you will take to accomplish your goals and objectives. 4.1-Actions The following is a set of action categories. Read the action descriptions and record some possible corresponding actions that you could take. Type of Action Personal lifestyle choices This includes making daily lifestyle choices that either directly or indirectly support your cause Examples- use recycled reusable products, buying from eco-friendly companies etc. Documentation This involves recording evidence and proof of the environmental issue. Examples of documentation methods include pictures, videos, journals, audio recordings, and environmental assessments Specific examples of the action you and/or your group members could take Click here to start writing.

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Educate and Inform (Gathering Support) This can involve educating the general public, the affected communities, schools, peers, and environmental protection agencies and other authorities, non-profit agencies. You need to inform people about what you are doing and why. Common tools for educating and informing include newspapers, websites & social media, flyers, blogs, discussion groups, workshops. (you will use this for task 3.3 for this). Get Your Hands Dirty Getting your hands dirty includes initiating an improvement project or contributing to an existing project. Do your research to identify any current projects related to your target area. Networking This is where you connect with Allies that may be able to help you in your cause. Remember, if you ask for help from someone, you must be willing to return the favour (i.e. free advertising on your website or flyers)

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Task 4.2-Workplan The workplan outlines who is doing what and when they plan on doing it. It also contains two status boxes which allows your group to monitor whether the task has been completed or not. The workplan should be revisited weekly. What? Who? When Status on__(date) Status on__(date)

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Task 4.3-Equipment & Materials It is possible that your group will need equipment and materials Record the equipment and materials you will need and any costs that may be associated with them. Any costs will require you to find a funding source. Equipment Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Materials Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Costs/Funding Source Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing.

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Step 5- Evaluate
Evaluation is critical for the success of your project. Your group is required to revisit this section weekly. 5.1-Revise Goals & Objectives Turn to page 7 of this guide and make any necessary revisions to your goals and objectives. Were the goals and objectives you recorded earlier S.M.A.R.T.? Can they be improved? If yes, then take the time to make the appropriate changes. Record completed goals and objectives below and be sure to replace them with new goals and objectives on page 7. Completed Objectives Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Completed Goals Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing.

5.2-Action/Task Status Take a look at the various actions/tasks that your group has engaged in. Record the current status of each action/task. Action/Tasks that have Action/Tasks that you Action/Tasks that you Action/Tasks that you been completed are working on have not yet begun were unable to complete Click here to start Click here to start Click here to start Click here to start writing. writing. writing. writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. 5.3-Reflection Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing. Click here to start writing.

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Every week, you are required to write a short group reflection (app. 150 words) summarizing your progress. The following questions are offered as prompts but you have the freedom to focus your reflection on any topic you choose. Are you closer to reaching your goals than you were before? Why or Why not? Are you learning any valuable lessons through this process? How might your experiences influence future decisions of your group? Reflection Click here to start writing.

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