, 23 APR 2010

Author Joelle Badman is an MSW practicum student working with Alberta Acts. She has been working with many youth, who may not be facing burnout yet...

The past 10 months of working with communities has given Alberta Acts a unique glimpse into the process by which individuals, groups and communities become environmentally engaged.  And what we've noticed is that, for some groups, getting started is the hardest part, and for others, not knowing what to do after achieving great success, or conversely, coming up against frequent barriers, results in the group becoming immobilized.

After a recent discussion with a community group comprised of engaged and active citizens, experiencing this kind of action purgatory, Alberta Acts strategized around how we can help groups (or individuals) reassess where they currently stand, how far they've come, and what needs to be done to keep going, with the goal of utilizing that dialogue as a catalyst for further change.

So if you're reading this, and you find yourself (or your group or community) in a place of limbo, not knowing how to move forward, take out a piece of paper and a pen and brainstorm your way through these questions.

1. As an individual/group/committee/town/community, what are some of your sustainability successes? What are you proud of?
2. What conditions facilitated the above successes? (Reflect on the Who, What, When, Where and Why of how it all became possible.)
3. What are some of the barriers that you're currently facing that impede further successful initiatives?
4. Who are your allies? Who can you learn from? Who can you share ideas with?

Use the dialogue that emerges from these questions as a jumping off point to stimulate further plans, ideas, initiatives, and changes into action. And remember - not every act of change is immediately groundbreaking or revolutionary. As long as enough people are striving to achieve the social and environmental outcomes required for real sustainability, we will get there eventually. But discouragement and burnout are among the top killers of volunteer groups and we must do what we can to avoid them.