Green13 Sustainable Community

Look at different kinds of communities to explore the key ingredients of a community.. Then, creatively express ideas of your own ideal sustainable community.

Goal

Participants will feel more optimistic about the potential communities in their futures. They will have a clear vision of the kind of communities they want to co-create. They will leave feeling empowered to use their imagination and feelings to create change in their own community.

Resources

Colored pencils/crayons/markers
Blank paper
Examples of Different Communities PowerPoint click to download
Activity Instruction Sheet (optional) click to download

Instructions

Look closely at your handout. It shows images of different communities. Make a list of components (things) you notice in the pictures, such as: parks, schools, food, energy, transportation.
Next to each component, write some of your feelings about that. For example, how do you feel about a park? About a building?
Some of the components use up energy and resources which can REDUCE the sustainability of the community (sustainability means it can last a long time without creating harm). Some ADD resources. Talk with someone else about your ideas: How might these different components affect sustainability?
Now that you’ve seen some examples of other communities, if you could create your ideal, sustainable community, how would it feel to live there? What are some of the components that you would include, or would exclude, from your community?
Take a blank paper and draw YOUR ideal sustainable community. This can be a mix of some things you saw in the images or something totally different. Use your imagination!

Discussion

What are some of the feelings you would have in your ideal sustainable community?
What are some components that would include or exclude from your community to make those feelings happen?
After seeing others’ ideal communities, what do you want to add or change in yours?
Now, think about your real community where you live. What is one small action you could take to feel more of your “ideal community feelings” in your real community?