Catalyzing personal empowerment, societal transformation, and environmental sustainability

Our Three Branches:
  Counseling, Coaching, Consulting
   EcoIntegrity Center/
Natural Systems Living
   Holistic Living Institute

Community Assessment and Sustainability Inventory

Taking steps together for a positive future

Join us for the first two steps of the CASI project at
Squalicum Boathouse
2600 Harbor Loop
Bellingham, WA

February 23, 2006 - 8:30 AM to 3:30PM

Sustainable Community Indicators

and

March 2, 2006 - 8:30 AM to 3:30PM

Community Sustainability Assessment

Please join a broad spectrum of community members representing a diverse array of interests and organizations.

The only cost is your time, but

Pre-registration is required

As lunch will be provided and seating is limited

Please RSVP by February 15, 2006

to Dave Ewoldt by phone, e-mail, or postal mail.
(360) 756-7998
dave@reststop.net
1811 Eldridge Ave.
Bellingham, WA 98225

Project design, facilitation, and management by Attraction Retreat
Co-sponsored by Sustainable Bellingham, Ciao Thyme Catering, Whatcom County Rainbow Coalition
Workshop funding provided by D’Angelo International

Invitation Details

   You are invited to participate in the first two steps of a project specifically designed to launch communities on a path to sustainability. For this vital process to succeed, it must draw on the experience and vision of the broadest spectrum of the population as possible. Your perspective is valuable. Please join us.

Attraction Retreat's

Community Assessment and Sustainability Inventory (CASI) Project

   The Problem: Current local buzzwords about the problem include "growth management," "environmental degradation," and "quality of life." People are flocking here to escape areas devastated by over-development. More global systemic challenges such as Peak Oil, global climate change, and corporatism also negatively impact the livability and sustainability of our communities.

Two Solutions, Two Paths:

• The Traditional Path - a needs-driven dead end (infinite growth, resource depletion, outside control)
• The Alternative Path - relocalized sustainable development (asset-based, autonomous, relationship-driven)

   The "alternative path" requires that, along with the possibilities, we must examine our assets, the barriers to change, and the defense mechanisms of the current system. The Community Assessment and Sustainability Inventory (CASI) is a first vital step along this alternative path. This process assumes that local citizens, businesses, non-profits, and government officials can effectively work together to devise strategies and policies to achieve mutually agreed-upon goals based on the shared values of a sustainable future.

The CASI Process

   Step 1. The first of the three steps in the CASI process is a one-day Sustainable Community Indicators workshop. An indicator is a measure of what we have, where we stand, and what we value (such as the economy, education, the environment, and natural resources) and the linkages among these areas. Indicators are aligned with the concepts of sustainability because they allow us to define and measure what we often hear referred to as "quality of life."

   The goals of this first workshop are 1) to examine the concepts of sustainability and carrying capacity and 2) introduce how to develop and evaluate economic, environmental, and social indicators for a sustainable community (especially in light of Peak Oil and other dwindling natural resources). The workshop will increase participants’ understanding of sustainability issues at the grassroots level and provide tools for initiating or furthering community indicator projects. After experiencing this workshop, participants will be able to provide more effective outreach on issues of sustainability.

   Step 2. The second step is a one-day interactive workshop to complete a Community Sustainability Assessment. The assessment is a subjective measure of where we stand today as a community and as a bioregion. How do we see ourselves as a community, where do we need to improve, and what are we missing? This will act as a guide for developing indicators and help direct the focus of the final step.

   Step 3. The final step is for a small team to gather the data for the Sustainability Inventory. Sustainability planning covers four main need areas and the subsystems that have formed to meet these needs. These areas and subsystems are 1) economic (meets the needs for money and work as provided by the financial and productive subsystems), 2) social (meets the needs for care and values as provided by the social subsystem), 3) governance (meets the needs for self-determination, information, and power as provided by the local government subsystem), and 4) material (meets the needs for food, water, housing, and transportation as provided by the environment and infrastructure subsystems). A regional asset inventory will allow us to intelligently develop the sustainable projects we need, and provide the necessary data to evaluate and disallow harmful development projects.

Who can use the results of the CASI?

   The community assessment and sustainability inventory will be useful for economic and urban planners, public and private sector social service providers, government agencies, and individual citizens and organizations looking for ways to be proactive in their contributions to a just and sustainable community in a post-carbon (energy limited) world.

   The following is more information on this project, the reasons it was developed, and projected results.

   The invitations are going out to participate in a community process to help chart a sustainable direction for Whatcom County, its cities, and our bioregion-The Community Assessment and Sustainability Inventory. From pagans to loggers, to the labor, education, and environmental sectors, as well as to indigenous tribes and Russian immigrants, government officials and social service providers, the business community and the homeless, and to Republicans, Greens, and Democrats-all are being encouraged to participate.

   For this process to be a success it must draw on the experience and vision of the broadest spectrum of the population as possible. Ultimately, it will provide a realistic assessment of where we are now, give us information about how a number of issues will most likely impact us, and help us determine what type of legacy we'd like to leave to future generations.

   The process takes a number of interrelated systemic problems as the impetus for the need for systemic change. It also looks at a number of existing, viable alternatives that can be used to chart the path to the better future that in our hearts we know is possible. It looks at root causes and ways they can be healed instead of merely putting band-aids on symptoms. This sustainable path forward is known as relocalization.

   Sustainability is the big buzzword today. Former Governor Locke created a special task force panel on sustainability, and the Bellingham city council endorsed the Earth Charter, a people's declaration of interdependence that provides a framework for creating a sustainable future.

   So what, exactly, is sustainability? Why is it so important, especially to you and your family? What does it look like, and how is it measured? If our current lifestyles and economies are unsustainable, what are the barriers and challenges to becoming sustainable, and, how do we actually know when growth has gone too far and we've exceeded carrying capacity?

   With Peak Oil, global climate change, and the negative aspects of growth already impacting our lives and livelihoods, the answer to these questions becomes increasingly important. Local communities must prepare for supply shocks in energy, food and other necessities in order to maintain, as much as possible, an acceptable quality of life.

   The CASI will be the first community wide visioning and planning process to specifically bring in the perspectives of Peak Oil, global warming, relocalization, sustainability, steady-state economies, and the first to look at developing sustainability indicators based on bioregional carrying capacity. As we realize that infinite growth in a finite world is simply not possible, and witness the imminent collapse of the ecosystems we depend on for life and the economy we depend on for prosperity, the logical conclusion is that the status quo of orthodox growth economists and centralized control must be replaced. The CASI project will show that quality of life can be improved by giving people the time and opportunity to develop what really matters; to value being more instead of having more; to replace stress, depression and hopelessness with ease, joy and empowerment.

   The first of the three steps in the CASI process is a one day Sustainable Community Indicators workshop. The goal of this workshop is to introduce the concepts of sustainability, carrying capacity, and how to develop and evaluate economic, environmental, and social indicators for a sustainable community. Sustainability indicators allow us to put quantitative measures on what we refer to as quality of life, and factor in known issues such as Peak Oil.

   The second step is an interactive workshop to complete a Community Sustainability Assessment. This is a subjective measure of where we stand today. How do we see ourselves as a community, where do we need to improve, and what are we missing?

   For an alternative public infrastructure that will be resilient to global crises and remain vibrant enough to meet community needs, we must assess and take stock of what we have to work with. What are our needs, strengths, and resources as a community and region? What is missing or inadequate? What barriers must be overcome?

   The Regional Inventory aspect of the CASI project is the third step and will address the resources questions. This step will be carried out over the course of approximately 6 months by a small team of researchers and interns at Attraction Retreat. The areas covered will be nature and resources, society and business, municipal and regional governance, local needs, and skills database.

   Whether Peak Oil is two or twenty years off, how widespread and damaging the effect global climate change will have on our region, or how serious the danger from corporatism is to our local economies and governance are not intended to be the major points of discussion. It simply makes sense to start preparing now instead of waiting til the last minute or hoping for a miracle technology to appear on the horizon to save us from our current situation.

   Even if none of the above crises were currently impinging on our lives, our communities have real needs today for affordable housing and living wage jobs, to deal with issues such as homelessness and crime, to stand up to a voracious growth machine, and to create community relationships that help people overcome alienation, isolation, and rediscover our sense of place. Our citizens have a real need today for better lives and to create a quality of life that isn't dependent on prescription or other drugs.

   We will choose to move into a sustainable energy economy when we realize that our happiness relies on our relationships with each other and the natural world. The qualities of care and compassion do not require sacrifice, but enhance our own potential. Creating a mutually supportive community, that honors diversity, is the first step toward creating a sustainable quality of life that offers true fulfillment.

   One outcome of the CASI will be to raise awareness in the community of the relationships among jobs, housing, habitat preservation, traffic congestion, and public health. Many people say they move to Whatcom County because they are fleeing areas that have been destroyed by overdevelopment. By participating in the CASI, our community will be less inclined to be overwhelmed by a growth machine that puts profit above people and planet-a mindset that is quickly deteriorating the quality of life people say they move here for.

   The peak in global oil production will require relocalized communities with bioregionally sustainable economies. Another way of stating this is a self-reliant alternative public infrastructure based on steady-state economies. This will partially entail local nutrient rich and chemical free food production and distribution, locally produced and distributed renewable energy, redesigned cities built to human scale and in harmony with natural systems, and lifestyles not measured by accumulation and waste.

   Intelligently preparing for the collapse of the petro-economy and developing the infrastructure for a renewable energy future may not entirely mitigate the coming catastrophe, but relocalization will minimize the chaos and build the foundation for a sustainable future. Community collaboration is one of the first steps we must take-to build the support networks and benefit from the skills and resources that already exist in the community.

   We can be successful in this process by restoring our sense of place and adhering to the natural systems principles that support life: mutual support and reciprocity, no greed, no waste, and increasing diversity. Healthy and thriving ecosystems provide the model and the metaphors we need for optimum personal and community health, and to restore and protect the commons we rely on for that health.

   If you would like to schedule an introductory consultation session or arrange a Natural Systems related presentation or workshop for your group, please contact nature@attractionretreat.org or give Dave or Allison, co-founders of Attraction Retreat, a call at (360) 756-7998.