Bring The Sustainable Communities Corps To Your Region

Further the Global Goals and by supporting a few local non-profit events each year!

The Sustainable Communities Corps (SCC) was created by UNA Global Goals Ambassadors working with the Triple Bottom Line Institute to support local non-profit events with broader Global Goals principles. Subscribers to the Sustainable Communities Corps Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts receive notice of regional events related to five broad sustainability categories:  Ecosystems, Water, Consumption, Energy, and Buildings. 

Each category is introduced with a 3-to-5 minute video highlighting three topics for discussion at events. SCC members use the topics to guide discussion at events hosted by local nonprofits.  The  videos apply principles of adult learning theory to empowering community action at all levels: beginner and advanced, immediate and systemic. The program prioritizes having fun, connecting with community members, and immediate application of new knowledge. SCC staff help local residents interested in facilitating in-person or online discussions by providing videos, discussion outlines, event information, and optional facilitation training.

The SCC pilot began November 2021 in Northeast and Central Florida coastal communities with high exposure to climate impacts like flooding, water scarcity, and habitat loss. The program is expanding throughout 2022, in Arizona, Colorado, California, Florida, Missouri, Texas, and Virginia – – and any other area where a few folks are willing to help promote local non-profit events and facilitate meaningful discussions.   

Abigail Cotton-Jones is a Jacksonville, Florida resident who recently led an event for the Consumption category. She sent out a three-minute video provided by the Triple Bottom Line Institute and facilitated discussion at an event hosted by White Harvest Farms, a local nonprofit that helps homeless and low-income residents learn skills for employment in Florida’s emerging green economy. “The Sustainable Communities Corps provided a fantastic opportunity to support a local organization that alleviates food deserts for the community while also learning about composting. Working with the Sustainable Communities Corps has been a great experience!” 

The power of Abigail’s work is evident in a comment from Rav Garcia, an attendee at the White Harvest Farms: “I would’ve never attended a composting workshop had it not been for the event that popped onto my social media feed. The video was interesting, so I went. I met inspiring people and learned a lot from the discussion. Now I feel like part of the Global Goals movement and am taking part in Earth Month EcoChallenge 2022.”

“Sustainable Communities Corps is a great opportunity to practice facilitation skills with support from more experienced people,” says Kristina Escudero, a Florida resident who helped promote Climate Reality Project’s kayak trip down the St. John’s River. “We sent out the discussion video and dove into the three discussion topics while we were on the river. It was an immersive discussion in nature that helped people see, with their own eyes, the need for climate action to protect our Ecosystems and Water resources. I appreciated the videos because they were short but did a good job of connecting big sustainability principles to things we could go out and see. I also like how the videos encourage each person to reflect on what we can do to help.”

Global Goals ambassadors and UNA members interested in bringing the Sustainable Communities Corps to their area are invited to visit TBLinstitute.org for more information. We will help you – – as little or as much as you want – – through the entire process! Our goal is to help support you in bringing local residents together for fun events and meaningful conversations that promote the global goals, directly and indirectly.  

To register for a session, or invite SCC to your area, please visit TBLinstitute.org or email us at: admin@tblinstitute.org

Donna LaSala & Ema Phelps are instructors at the Triple Bottom Line Institute, and serve as  co-ambassadors for SDG#11: Sustainable Cities & Communities in the United Nations Association Global Goals Ambassadors program. They are also co-captaining a team for Earth Month EcoChallenge 2022.