A model of the change process required for sustainability, involves 3 conditions: (1) Awareness of the agenda, scale, urgency and structure of the issues, (2) Identifying effective roles for individuals or groups, where meaningful activities can be undertaken in parallel to raising awareness, (3) Association or cooperation with others to mobilize towards empowerment. Continue reading →
Best Education Practice: Beyond the Community 
See below for: research findings about how to work beyond the community – with agencies, groups, or a geographic region that may affect a specific community.
For Beyond the Community, the learning experience:
- Builds value for education as part of policy development and implementation.
- Builds skills for flexibility and responsiveness to environmental issues and for facilitating community engagement.
- Offers avenues for participation which are competent, fair, and enhance involvement for all levels of responsibility.
- Concerning a particular topic – consolidates the learning goals for all levels of responsibility, but not the teaching methods, which are adapted for the target audience.
- Matches the target audience to the scale of the problem.
Findings Navigation: Browse by Audience; Browse by Theme; Browse by Best Education Practice; Browse by multiple topics
Herbert, E. (2007) Finding 1
Facilitate public access to land that is owned or managed by water utilities for purposes of protecting the watershed, in order to allow public scrutiny of forest/watershed management practices. Public engagement is critical to the success of source water protection programs, where citizens with experience of the land can effectively share views about topics such as no-cut zones around streams and protection for existing old forests. Continue reading →
Ghanbarpour, M. R., Hipel, K. W., & Abbaspour, K. C. (2005) Finding 1
Apply group decision analysis (including needs and opportunities of stakeholders) in the long-term watershed planning process. Steps include: develop an understanding of watershed issues, problems, constraints and capabilities; consult about management strategies and alternatives; and prioritize strategies and alternatives. Continue reading →
Hayward, G., A. Diduck, & B. Mitchell. (2007) Finding 1
To address problems characterized by high degrees of ecological and social complexity, uncertainty and indeterminacy, as well as conflicts over values and interests; and to generate positive change in dynamic social-ecological systems, consider applying social learning approaches, i.e., adaptive and participatory approaches that facilitate learning by the individuals and social organizations involved in resource and environmental governance. Social learning takes place within collaborative management strategies and may focus on building assessment, planning, implementation, monitoring, adapting, communicating, and understanding skills; using management interventions as learning platforms, enabled by active community facilitation, conflict resolution, negotiated settlements, mutual learning, convergence of goals, monitoring, and concerted action; or generally relate to interacting and overlapping processes: participation, negotiation, integration, systems orientation, and reflection. Continue reading →
de Loe, R. C., Kreutzwiser, R. D., & Neufeld, D. (2005) Finding 2
Understand factors facilitating and constraining groundwater protection: local governmental leadership, financial resources, building linkages among key stakeholders and organizations, appropriate institutional arrangements and public support. Continue reading →
Dwyer, W. O., F. C. Lemming, et al. (1993) Finding 3
Provide the following when focusing on environmentally responsible behavior:
- Feedback on progress toward preferred environmental change.
Nowak, P., O’Keefe, G. J., Bennett, C., Anderson, S., & Trumbo, C. (1997) Finding 4
Recognize the role of economic factors in behavior change:
- Since producer income is an important predictor of BMP use, sequence audience involvement by income level. Consider a focus on low income audiences
Miller, D. R. and M. F. Smith (1991) Finding 5
Design communication and professional development opportunities for outreach educators that will motivate them to implement a priority program because:
- The program has social significance
Caruso, B. S. (2006) Finding 2
Enhance stakeholder interest in restoration efforts by:
- Increasing use of GPS and GIS for mapping, storage, analysis and presentation of spatial information, both internally and to stakeholders.
Caruso, B. S. (2006) Finding 1
Enhance stakeholder interest in restoration efforts by:
- Expanding program goals to include additional physical restoration approaches to improve habitat or recreational enhancement as a component of community education and involvement.
