Reading David Holmgren’s book on Permaculture right now, sitting on my front porch overlooking the garden that we have created using some of his principles. I love the permaculture principles, because they lend themselves so well to all kinds of other endeavours. They are generative principles, rather than proscriptive principles, meaning that they generate creative implementation rather than restricting creativity.
At any rate, reading today about the principle of Design from Patterns to Details and in the opening to that chapter he writes:
Complex systems that work tend to evolve from simple ones that work, so finding the appropriate pattern for that design is more important than understanding all the details of the elements in the system.
That is a good summary of why I work so hard at teaching and hosting important conversations in organizations and communities. Very often the problems that people experience in organizations and communities are complex ones and the correction of these complex problems is best done at the level of simple systemic actions. Conversations are a very powerful simple systemic action, and serve to be a very important foundation for all manner of activities and capacities needed to tackle the increasing scale of issues in a system. Collaboration, dialogue, visioning, possibility and choice creating, innovation, letting go of limiting beliefs, learning, and creative implementation are all dependant on good conversational practice. If we use debate as the primary mode of communicating, we do not come to any of these key capacities; in fact debate may be the reason for these capacities breaking down.
Conversation between people is a simple system that is relatively easy to implement and has massive implications for scaling up to more and more complicated and complex challenges. The ability to sense, converse, harvest and act together depends on good hosting and good conversation.
I find my life becoming more and more becoming like one big teaching. From very early on, I have used my weblog as a place to do “open source learning” in the world. As a result, I have collected a number of these teachings on this weblog over the years, and here are some of the highlights.
The NCBW Forum is one of the oldest, most trusted publications covering the field of bicycle and pedestrian design issues. First published in 1977 as Bicycle Forum, the quarterly newsletter changed its name in 2001 to become the NCBW Forum. This was done partially in response to the broadening focus of the organization; the content now explicitly includes pedestrian-related articles, references, and news items.
In September, 2003, the NCBW Forum moved from a print publication available via subscription only to an on-line publication open to all. The articles compendium is joined with an online message area where people can post comments about articles, start new discussions, and search for archived articles and posts. John Williams, the long-time editor of the print version of the NCBW Forum, remains at the helm of our NCBW Forum.
March 2007
Children: A Critical Link for Changing Driving Behaviour BY CATHERINE O'BRIEN, PhD
Reports from Transport Canada1, the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy2, the Centre for Sustainable Transportation3, and many others.
October 2006
A Footprint oF Delight - Exploring Sustainable Happiness BY CATHERINE O'BRIEN, PhD
During the summer of 2005, with the support and assistance of the National Center for Bicycling and Walking, I launched the Delightful places Survey. It was distributed electronically to our networks around the world and we the survey was closed down once we received just over 200 responses. The survey was a preliminary step toward integrating insights on happiness from positive psychology with urban planning. We were curious to learn more about what contributes to individual and public happiness in the natural and built environment. The natural environment was included in order to capture the experience of delight that these areas offer, whether or not they exist within an urban area.
March 2005
Livable Streets for Schoolchildren BY BRUCE S. APPLEYARD, MCP, AICP
How do children view their world? What helps them connect with their environment and community? Or, perhaps more importantly, what gets in their way? These are questions that need to be addressed when working to make schools and neighborhoods safe and accessible for children.
Discussions of Safe Routes to School programs usually focus on the physical activity and safety benefits for children. But safe and livable neighborhood streets, with adequate facilities for walking, bicycling and traffic calming, can also help children develop a positive and holistic view of their communities.
January 2005
Planning Transportation For And With Children BY CATHERINE O'BRIEN, PhD Download PDF (390KB)
Communities that make special efforts to meet the needs of children will benefit as a whole. This is good news for advocates of bicycling and walking because many of the efforts to improve children's mobility involve creating more opportunities for active transportation, making neighborhoods safer for cycling and walking, and designing communities so that most destinations involve short trips that may be made by walking, cycling, skateboarding, and so on. Planning with youth contributes to a greater understanding of the social impacts and benefits of transportation. For example, in one community, once youth became involved in planning, adults realized that community design, transportation issues, and lack of attention to youth needs are important factors in making youth feel marginalized or included. With few places to travel, or few options for independent travel, youth described feeling bored, being harassed for "hanging out" on the streets, and the feeling that they are invisible, or worse unwanted.
NCBW Forum You can respond to these and other articles and topics at the NCBW Forum.
Conflict is a natural part of life–you might be upset over something a co-worker said to you, your spouse may have neglected to do something you asked them to do, your neighbor’s dog could be digging up your flower beds, and so on–, and it does not necessarily have to lead to fighting and negative emotions.
There are ways in which to deal with conflict constructively in order to resolve arguments and disputes amicably, instead of allowing the situation to get out of hand.
I worked for several years as a labor attorney at the Panama Canal, and one of my main duties was negotiating with the labor unions on behalf of the administration of the canal. In addition, I have a graduate degree in mediation from the University of Panama. Below you’ll find some of the things I’ve learned about resolving conflict constructively.
Sit Down to Discuss the Issue and Establish Ground Rules
When you sit down with someone in an attempt to resolve a disagreement, you should start out by establishing ground rules to create a space of tolerance and respect in which you can both iron out your differences. In many instances the problem is not so much the nature of the dispute itself; instead, the problem is the way in which those differences are handled.
Ground rules can include things such as the following:
Each side will take turns speaking, and each one will get an equal amount of time to speak.
When one person is talking they cannot be interrupted by the other. If the other person hears something that they want to respond to and it’s not their turn to speak, they should write it down and wait until it’s their turn to say it.
Just try to resolve the issue at hand. If there are other issues that need to be discussed, set a later time to talk about them.
Refrain from using phrases such as “You always . . .”, or “You never . . .” People rarely “always” do something or “never” do something, and phrases like these just put the other person on the defensive.
Try not to blame the other person, speak for the other person, or speculate about their motives; accept that you do not know the other person’s intent.
Refrain from name-calling (this one should be obvious, but unfortunately it’s not).
Each side should strive to take responsibility for their contribution to the conflict. When you’re arguing with someone it’s tempting to think that the other person is completely at fault. However, it’s important that you examine how your actions have contributed to the problem, and that you ask yourself if there was a way in which you could have better handled the situation.
Both sides need to understand that resolving conflict is not about figuring out who’s right or assigning blame. Rather, it’s about moving forward and learning a new way to deal with each other in the future.
During any conversation in which you’re trying to resolve a disagreement, the aim should be to identify each side’s interests. In other words, instead of focusing on positions-where each side takes a firm stance as to exactly what it is that they’ve decided they want–each side should express the needs, concerns, desires, fears, and aspirations that underlie their position.
A simple example that is often used to illustrate the difference between arguing over positions and communicating interests is the following: two brothers are fighting over an orange. Each one argues vehemently as to why he has the right to keep the orange.
The father walks in on the argument, takes the orange, and cuts it in half. He proceeds to give half the orange to each one of his sons. This is what usually happens when people argue over positions: in the end, neither side is really satisfied with what they get.
Instead of arguing back and forth over their positions, each brother could have explained why he needed the orange. That is, each one should have clearly explained his interests to the other.
If they had done this, they would have discovered that one of the brothers had an interest in making orange juice; he just needed the pulp of the orange. The other brother was interested in preparing a recipe which required the skin of the orange. In other words, if they had communicated their interests to each other, they would both have gotten what they wanted and both would have left satisfied.
In the words of Stephen Covey: “If I were to summarize in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in the field of interpersonal relations, it would be this: seek first to understand, then to be understood. This principle is the key to effective interpersonal communication.”
In order to understand what another person is trying to communicate to you, you need to develop the skill of active listening.
Active listening will help you to understand the message the other person is trying to convey. When it’s the other person’s turn to speak make sure that you remain focused on what they’re saying instead of rehearsing in your head what you’re going to say next.
Use paraphrasing to make sure that you understand what the other person is saying. Paraphrasing basically means that when the other person is finished talking you repeat in your own words what you heard them say. You can use a phrase like the following:
“I’m going to repeat in my own words what I just heard you say to make sure that I understand what you’re saying. Please correct me if I misinterpret anything you’ve said.”
Encourage the other person to elaborate on what they’re saying and to get everything they’re feeling off their chest; ask for clarifying information.
“[W]hat may appear as the truth to one person will often appear as untruth to another person. But that need not worry the seeker. Where there is honest effort, it will be realized that what appeared to be different truths are like the countless and apparently different leaves of the same tree.” — Ghandi
Try to see the world from the perspective of the other person; put yourself in their shoes. Be curious about the other person and about the thinking process that they followed to reach their conclusions. We all see the world differently based on our personal filters, our background, our experiences, and our belief system. Seek to understand how the other person sees the world, their motivations, and their aspirations.
Learn to Express Yourself
In resolving any disagreement with another it’s important not only that you listen to the other person and try to understand where they’re coming from, but that you also express how you feel and let the other person know what you really want. Tell them what you’re experiencing, what your desires are, what’s important to you, and how you feel.
Look for a Solution to the Conflict that is Favorable to Both Sides
Once you’ve identified each side’s interests you can come up with creative ways to satisfy them. Stop looking for a single best answer– come up with as many solutions and alternatives as possible–and don’t assume that there’s a fixed pie.
Here’s an example of how to expand the pie: suppose that Anne asks her boss for a $500.00 raise. Her boss answers that he won’t be able to justify such a large raise to the Board of Directors, but that he can offer her a $100.00 raise. Instead of haggling back and forth over the size of the pay raise, Anne’s boss can expand the pie by offering Anne additional perks, such as the following:
Having the company car pick her up each morning and take her back home each afternoon;
Giving her free access to the company gym used by the high-level executives;
Allowing her to work from home one day a week; and so on.
Instead of concentrating on how split up a limited resource, expanding the pie means looking for additional ways to create value.
The goal is for each party to walk away feeling understood and that an effective plan has been agreed upon for resolving the argument or dispute and moving forward. Both of you need to have a clear understanding of exactly what the agreement entails and commit yourselves to upholding each one’s side of the bargain. Also, try to think of ways to make sure that this problem, and others like it, won’t arise again in the future.
Our mission is finding a natural approach to everyday living, committed to educating our community on sustainably and responsibility to our planet and future generations, because we know every bit counts.
It’s too difficult and disrupts mylife- If you make gradual changes you will form habits and being green becomes second nature. You will end up saving more time and money than you ever thought possible.
Earth-Friendly products are too hard to find and are too expensive- It is becoming easier to find Eco-friendly products and with higher demand our prices will continue to fall.
Living green means living a less comfortable and convenient life- Not really, you get rid of unnecessary purchases and clutter to live a more fulfilled existence with a green lifestyle.
Nothing I do really makes a difference- Are you kidding! Everything you do good and bad impacts the planet and making even small changes can have a positive impact on your current life and the planet.
Everything you bring home you has to maintain a purpose otherwise it becomes unmanageable clutter that can quickly overwhelm you. Lose the clutter and improve your life. The average U.S. home is larger than years past while families are getting smaller.
Kitchen - rinse your dishes immediately saving time and energy.
Shopping- local shops use beautiful packaging to promote their brand and give it that extra touch; carefully unwrap your purchase and reuse the packaging on gifts.
Labeling - a label maker is a great invention, they help you organize everything which really helps guests and husbands find just about anything.
The Benefits
Not having to scramble around to clean for guest allows you to be more hospitable. Take time to make tea or coffee, light candles and prepare snacks.
You’ll find a new purpose and be able to nature yourself instead of your selfish wants. Begin building on your deepest values and set intentions.
Living Green is taking every day actions that have a positive impact on the environment.
Being Green will take you to a level of understanding on everything- human beings, animals and nature, you’ll find yourself more connected with all of it.
In Managing With Aloha, Rosa Say discusses how the use traditional Hawaiian values can change your business and how you view the relationship with your employees and customers.
The Managing with Aloha sensibility for work has been adopted by companies globally since my book was published in 2004. Immediately after the book was released, I turned my attentions to constructing a framework businesses could use in applying the philosophy faster than the thirty years it had taken me to identify it, and I founded my company, Say Leadership Coaching.
Therefore, what follows is not found within my book, however I freely offer it to you on the web to help you apply the book once you have purchased and read it.
I have written about values, management and leadership extensively since my book’s release, and if you find one of my articles on the web, I suggest this two step to you as self-coaching in the MWA philosophy:
Ask yourself, “Which of my personal values does this article relate most closely to?” If the article resonates with you, that will be the reason why. Next,
Revisit this page, and look for which of these 9 Key Concepts you can bring both value and article in alignment with in specific action steps.
There are 19 Hawaiian values defined in Managing with Aloha
When they are chosen for a business, I recommend these values be aligned with the organizational culture of that business within a framework of 9 Key Concepts.
To be clear, you need not adopt all my values. You can also do this with your own values, if you find you are strongly drawn to another value not listed within the 19 I chose to write about. The majority of values shared by humanity are quite universal; I did not come up with them: I packaged them within a business model. My book shares the story of the values I chose as a business executive working in the hospitality industry in Hawai‘i over a thirty year period, and it is filled with illustrative examples you are likely to easily relate to.
To get a sense of how the Managing with Aloha philosophy works within a company, think of a simple grid of criss-crossing lines:
The grid itself represents an organizational culture.
The left-to-right diagonal lines represent the values of the company.
The right-to-left diagonals crossing the other way to intercept them are these 9 Key Concepts.
The Managing with Aloha philosophy will synchronize a company’s values at each intersection point.
Normally there are five to seven core values in a healthy organizational culture. When the best possible intersection with the 9 Key Concepts happens for each of those core values, the workplace culture becomes value-aligned. It is stronger, more productive, and charged with creative energies.
It is also much more satisfying to you, and more fun to be involved with.
These are the 9 Key Concepts
The first two, Aloha and Ho‘ohana, are also values: I think of them as the guiding lights of Managing with Aloha. You will also notice that I use Kākou, the value of inclusiveness and “language of we” in these descriptions, for they refer to we when using my book together, we in the Ho‘ohana Community of MWA practitioners, and we within my own company, Say Leadership Coaching, founded to help bring MWA to workplaces within a for-hire consultancy.
1. Aloha:
Aloha is the genuine spirit of all relationships, and the fertile ground from which everything else will thrive. Your Aloha is the authenticity you bring to your connections with others, and to the self-expression of your work. Everyone has aloha; we help you bring it to fuller expression within whatever you do.
2. Ho‘ohana:
This is the Hawaiian value of worthwhile work. Work with passion, with purpose and intention, and with full joy while realizing your potential for growth and creativity. When you Ho‘ohana you create your best possible life and your own destiny.
3. Value Alignment:
Work with integrity by working true to your values. Focus all efforts on the right mission at the right time, for it honors your sense of self and brings compelling visions within your reach. For a business, deliberate value-alignment creates a healthy organizational culture for everyone involved.
4. The Role of the Manager Reconstructed:
In today’s workplaces, managers must own workplace engagement. The “reconstruction” we require in Managing with Aloha is so this expectation is reasonable, and so it is valued as critically important: Managers can then have the desire and ‘personal bandwith’ for assuming a newly reinvented role, one which delivers better results both personally and professionally.
5. Language of Intention:
Language, vocabulary, and conversation combine as our primary tools in business communications: What we speak is fifty times more important than what we write (yes, this is coming from someone who is an author too!) The need for CLEAR, intentional, reliable and responsive communication is critical in thriving businesses. Drive communication of the right messages, and you drive momentum and worthwhile energies.
6. The ‘Ohana in Business:
The best form for your life can be the best form for your ‘Ohana in Business® as well, where the goals of each will support the other. A business can be more than self-sustainable and profitable: It can thrive. We learn a value-based business model and organizational structure simultaneous to learning productivity practices which drive ROI (return on investment) and ROA (return on your attentions).
7. Strengths Management:
Keys 1 through 6 have put a great foundation in place for your business to thrive within: Together they have created the best possible launching pad for your organizational culture. Now we turn to bigger investments made in each employee, business partner, and stakeholder involved, so you can truly say, “Our people are our biggest asset” —and mean it. Cooperation, connectivity and collaboration evolve to optimization and co-creation.
8. Sense of Place:
Think “working in my neighborhood.” Sense of Place is about greater community locally and connectivity globally. It is saying thank you, and engaging at a higher level with those Places which have gotten you this far, and continue to nourish you daily in a multitude of tiny ways that collectively are absolutely HUGE factors in your success. It is giving back, recognizing that Place nurtures and sustains us; it shapes our experiences and lends cultural richness to life.
9. Palena ‘ole (Unlimited Capacity):
This is your exponential growth stage, and about seeing your bigger and better leadership dreams come to fruition. Think “Legacy.” Create abundance by honoring capacity; physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual. Seek inclusive, full engagement and optimal productivity, and scarcity will be banished.
What will be the result you achieve when you work to manage with Aloha? New learning, increased energy, passionate commitment to vision, and dramatic shifts in personal engagement. Said another way, you will grow as you learn the Ho‘ohana of self-management and self-leadership as you make extremely valuable contributions to whatever organization you are presently involved with.
I’ve been noticing some very nostalgic longing in the “Most Wanted” lists of several managers when they speak of the people they would most want to work with.
They talk about wanting an increased sense of responsibility, better reliability and dependability, honesty and integrity, humility and a hunger to do whatever it takes to learn, grow, and improve. What they will say they are longing for, are “old fashioned” values in the innate character of their staff, and within other partnerships.
They want these things with good reason. If I had to choose just one from that signs-on-the-wall framed triad of mission, vision, and values for my manager’s toolbox at work, regardless of the kind of company or industry I was in, I would choose values.
Why?Values determine behavior. When you
a) choose the values which will be the hallmark of the character found within your company, and b) you align all your operational systems and processes with those values, c) and you use your values to create a workplace where people thrive when they practice them, What you get, is the performance which separates winners from everyone else.
When you choose the right values, you get everything else you need to be successful —including those other two; vision and mission.
Ah, but there’s the rub; what are the “right” values?
“To manage with Aloha is to draw out the best performance of your own management practice from the values that are inherent in your nature and a match for the demands of your business. To be a great manager, is to realize your success depends on the people you manage, and they are driven by their values just as much as you are. You have to respect their culture, and learn to speak the language of their values. In all likelihood, their values will match up with your own much more than you think.” —Managing with Aloha, Bringing Hawaii’s Universal Values to the Art of Business
There is no magic formula in choosing value statements in companies; the right values for one company are not necessarily those which will work best for another. The reason is simple: From company to company, vision differs.
The values of a company begin to take shape when that first dream happens in the consciousness of that company’s founders, because they had a vision of how something they are extremely passionate about can come to be within a business built to make their vision happen. After that, it’s about enlistment; the founders look for the right partnerships in the assistance they’ll need to work out the nuts and bolts of their mission. If they are wise, they interview for values which will match or complement their own, in staff, in suppliers and industry partners, and even in customers.
Don’t get overwhelmed by the enormity of what you need to do at work, and in your business. When you have to choose the next best thing to work on, choose values. Then, be true to them: You will find that they do the rest of the work.
With my aloha, ~ Rosa Say
Value your Month, and Value your Life
Learn to put the 19 Values of Managing with Aloha in practice in our value of the month program: Live, Work, Manage and Lead with Aloha!
The 19 Values of Managing with Aloha
Aloha— Aloha is a value, one of unconditional love. Aloha is the outpouring and receiving of the spirit. Click for the Recent Article Index
Ho‘ohanohano— Honor the dignity of others. Conduct yourself with distinction, and cultivate respectfulness. Click for the Recent Article Index
Alaka‘i— Leadership. Lead with initiative, and with your good example. You shall be the guide for others when you have gained their trust and respect. Click for the Recent Article Index
How can we move beyond measuring economic expansion to broader indicators of progress that assess whether countries are providing for human well-being in a meaningful and lasting way? This question is the focus of the Commission on the Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress created by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and chaired by Nobel Prize winning-economists Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz of Columbia University and Professor Amartya Sen of Harvard.
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The Commission has recently issued a draft report of its findings. Among the indicators mentioned was the Ecological Footprint, marking an important milestone for incorporation of the Footprint and ecological limits into policy-making at the highest levels.
The organization has collected public comments on the draft and is expected to issue the final report later this year.
Data on resource limits will be the critical intelligence business and government leaders will need to remain competitive in the 21st century, Mathis and Susan say in a video interview at the Skoll Foundation’s Skoll World Forum. The two discuss why they launched Global Footprint Network, and why the work is more relevant now than ever. “It’s not about future generations anymore. It’s about my life, our son’s life,” Mathis says.
“What do all these resource trends of using more than one planet mean for a country’s competitiveness or for a company’s success? Now we are in a new century. In the past we could ignore resource constraints. If we do that in the future, we will be toast.”
The 21st century demands a highly skilled, educated work force and citizenry unlike any we have seen before. The global marketplace and economy are a reality. Change and innovation have become the new status quo. A strong foundation in reading, writing, math, and other core subjects is as important as ever, yet insufficient for lifelong success. These demands require a new and better way of approaching education policy and practice—a whole child approach to learning, teaching, and community engagement.
The Whole Child Initiative proposes a definition of achievement and accountability that promotes the development of children who are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. We seek to redefine what a successful learner is and how we measure success. ASCD is helping educators, families, community members, and policymakers move from rhetoric about educating the whole child to reality.
Whole Child Tenets
Each student enters school healthy and learns about and practices a healthy lifestyle.
Each student learns in an intellectually challenging environment that is physically and emotionally safe for students and adults.
Each student is actively engaged in learning and is connected to the school and broader community.
Each student has access to personalized learning and is supported by qualified, caring adults.
Each graduate is challenged academically and prepared for success in college or further study and for employment in a global environment.
The framework presents a holistic view of 21st century teaching and learning that combines a discrete focus on 21st century student outcomes (a blending of specific skills, content knowledge, expertise and literacies) with innovative support systems to help students master the multi-dimensional abilities required of them in the 21st century.
The key elements of 21st century learning are represented in the graphic and descriptions below. The graphic represents both 21st century skills student outcomes (as represented by the arches of the rainbow) and 21st century skills support systems (as represented by the pools at the bottom).
While the graphic represents each element distinctly for descriptive purposes, the Partnership views all the components as fully interconnected in the process of 21st century teaching and learning.
The elements described in this section as “21st century student outcomes” (represented by the rainbow) are the skills, knowledge and expertise students should master to succeed in work and life in the 21st century.
The elements described below are the critical systems necessary to ensure student mastery of 21st century skills. 21st century standards, assessments, curriculum, instruction, professional development and learning environments must be aligned to produce a support system that produces 21st century outcomes for today’s students.
Teaching the Habits and Attitudes Our Students Need in the 21st Century
by Angela Maiers“Education shouldn’t be about adding more to our lists of HAVE’s, DO’s , and BE’s, but rather thinking outside the lines, intentionally about the BE’s, DO’s, and HAVE’s that matter most.
The 21st century world needs learners to BE critical, BE creative, and BE strategic. The 21st century world demands learners to DO their own thinking, rather than relying on someone else to think for them. The 21st century world expects learners to HAVE the endurance, fortitude, and courage to brave through each new challenge with confidence and competence.”
I just watched a really cool video from the crew at www.350.org. It's about new global campaign focused on making sure the world takes the kind of big, bold, fast action that we need to solve this crisis--check it out: http://www.350.org/video
I think you'll agree that it's beautiful--I've included the link so you can pass it on to your friends!
Here in Brazil we are mobilizing the youth to help them and the planet in this campaign !!
If you have any idea, please let us know!!!
Love and peace Hugs
I love you all
Gustavo
Action Ideas
Looking for some ideas for your October 24th action? We've collected some of our favorites here.
Whatever you choose to do just remember to plan a time for taking an action photo that visibly displays the number 350. If possible, choose an iconic or meaningful location for your action -- a place you wish to protect from climate change or which represents what matters to you and your community.
Walk, March, or Rally: Visibly walking through your community shows movement and solidarity with the cause. Ending at an iconic site (a monument, mountain, hill, river, temple, park -- you know what's best for your place) with speakers and musicians is a great way to spread the word while having a good time.
Show the Tide Line: In coastal areas, rising sea levels caused my melting sea ice may flood many iconic and meaningful places. Standing on or marking potential tide lines could be a powerful image and educational experience for your community.
Teach-In: October 24 will be an excellent teaching opportunity! Do some online research about global warming and invite your participants to learn more about the issue and discuss why 350 is such a critical benchmark for international action on this issue.
Faith Celebrations: Connections between the world's diverse religions and the issue of global warming are numerous and strike a strong moral chord. This is a great way to gather people together who already have a community in which they discuss the big questions -- now is the chance to add global warming to the list.
Invite Government Officials: October 24 will be a great day to directly engage government officials and call for real action on climate change. Who in your country has influence on climate policy? Consider inviting your mayor, environment minister, representatives, or perhaps even prime minister or president. Whoever you try to invite, just be sure to give them plenty of advanced notice, be polite, call back if you are not hearing from them, and maybe even visit their office to demonstrate how much you care about their participation.
Biking Action: Biking, like a march or walk, is a great way to get out and be visible in your community. It can also demonstrate the need for improved infrastructure for our alternative modes of transportation.
Campus Action: College campuses have a huge role to play in any social movement. Push the creativity and tech-savvy contributions that youth can provide, and give a strong base of energy for our elders.
Trash Clean Up: Sadly, some of our iconic places aren’t as pristine as we’d like. Why not leave the place better than you found it?
Service Actions: Spend part of your day actively creating a more just, sustainable world by helping weatherize buildings in your community, constructing new pedestrian or cycle paths, or running whatever sorts of service projects you can come up with to work towards getting CO2 back below 350 ppm.
Art Installation: Provide art supplies and invite your participants to create art—maybe something that speaks of the importance of your iconic place.
Support Better Foods: Have a feast, potluck, or carbon-free picnic in your best local spot. This is an easy way to get everyone participating and highlight local and/or organic foods.
Sports: Bring a football or a frisbee, and invite everyone to play a game outside! Click here to learn more about athletes participating in October 24.
Music: Perhaps you know some local musicians who might want to join the effort. Or, you could invite participants to bring instruments themselves and create music.
Letter writing: Encourage your participants to sign and/or write letters to government officials to formally adopt the 350 ppm CO2 target.
Film Festival: Film is a powerful medium and a great way to inspire people to take action! Introduce sensitive issues, tell powerful stories of those making a difference and provide solutions to our climate crisis in a fun and captivating way. The Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival out of Nevada City, CA offers a turn-key program that makes it easy and affordable for communities to “host a tour” venue. Find out more at www.wseff.org and click “On Tour.” Or call 530-582-5334.
When you sit down with someone in an attempt to resolve a disagreement, you should start out by establishing ground rules to create a space of tolerance and respect in which you can both iron out your differences. In many instances the problem is not so much the nature of the dispute itself; instead, the problem is the way in which those differences are handled.
During any conversation in which you’re trying to resolve a disagreement, the aim should be to identify each side’s interests. In other words, instead of focusing on positions-where each side takes a firm stance as to exactly what it is that they’ve decided they want–each side should express the needs, concerns, desires, fears, and aspirations that underlie their position.
In the words of Stephen Covey: “If I were to summarize in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in the field of interpersonal relations, it would be this: seek first to understand, then to be understood. This principle is the key to effective interpersonal communication.”
Once you’ve identified each side’s interests you can come up with creative ways to satisfy them. Stop looking for a single best answer– come up with as many solutions and alternatives as possible–and don’t assume that there’s a fixed pie.
Walk, March, or Rally: Visibly walking through your community shows movement and solidarity with the cause. Ending at an iconic site (a monument, mountain, hill, river, temple, park -- you know what's best for your place) with speakers and musicians is a great way to spread the word while having a good time. 
Show the Tide Line: In coastal areas, rising sea levels caused my melting sea ice may flood many iconic and meaningful places. Standing on or marking 
Teach-In: October 24 will be an excellent teaching opportunity! Do some online research about global warming and invite your participants to learn more about the issue and discuss why 350 is such a critical benchmark for international action on this issue.
Faith Celebrations: Connections between the world's diverse religions and the issue of global warming are numerous and strike a strong moral chord. This is a great way to gather people together who already have a community in which they discuss the big questions -- now is the chance to add global warming to the list. 
Invite Government Officials: October 24 will be a great day to directly engage government officials and call for real action on climate change. Who in your country has influence on climate policy? Consider inviting your mayor, environment minister, representatives, or perhaps even prime minister or president. Whoever you try to invite, just be sure to give them plenty of advanced notice, be polite, call back if you are not hearing from them, and maybe even visit their office to demonstrate how much you care about their participation. 
Biking Action: Biking, like a march or walk, is a great way to get out and be visible in your community. It can also demonstrate the need for improved infrastructure for our alternative modes of transportation. 
Campus Action: College campuses have a huge role to play in any social movement. Push the creativity and tech-savvy contributions that youth can provide, and give a strong base of energy for our elders. 
Service Actions: Spend part of your day actively creating a more just, sustainable world by helping weatherize buildings in your community, constructing new pedestrian or cycle paths, or running whatever sorts of service projects you can come up with to work towards getting CO2 back below 350 ppm. 
Art Installation: Provide art supplies and invite your participants to create art—maybe something that speaks of the importance of your iconic place.