Getting Started | The Essentials
First. Ecological and social systems are complex and best understood locally. Locals carry first-hand knowledge based on real-time observation and experience.
Second. The building blocks of community resilience and ecological sustainability start from the ground up. There is no technology fix. The Green New Deal and emission caps are not enough.
Our Plan. We start from the ground up. We are systematic with a long-view. We focus on what is working, rather than on what is broken. We restore a better way of life through the essentials:
- Practicing how we listen and learn in groups through participatory conversations that matter;
- Taking part in social fieldwork to advance socio-cultural description in place-based communities; and,
- Doing the groundwork to establish baseline indicators of community well-being and ecosystem stewardship that unify the community.
Taking the time to unify local understanding is the groundwork upon which all else is built. A unified understanding of “what is most important” informs good decisions as a community and as individuals. Social fieldwork is the missing link in the quality of information used by consultants, planners, review boards and electeds when designing, preparing, implementing or reviewing a range of interventions. Social fieldwork strengthens the likelihood of achieving desired outcomes.
The last twenty years of failure to remedy – what was becoming more than obvious – cannot be blamed on politics alone. Economic drivers of privilege play a part and complicity in financial markets is a factor. We must find a new way to hold accountable. So, in light of abrupt shifts in resource availability, land tenure and the continued pollution of the commons, it is time to reform process and informational inputs. It is particularly important to draw on participatory research methods to inform program development, environmental impact statements (NEPA), project evaluation, eco-friendly certification, comprehensive planning, economic development, community development, needs assessment, and more. Accountability is primary.
Previous events included establishing our offices at the Chimacum Grange with an openhouse on March 30, 2022. In 2024, we begin offering talks and presentations in the bioregion of the Salish Sea and on tour in the Southwest over the summer season. We also provide online conversational introductions by request.
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