The morning of Thursday October 7th, I had the pleasure of gathering together a group of Ottawa area NGO representatives to share their sustainability stories.  Presentations highlighted achievements both professional and personal, from achieving Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold status on an office renovation to organizing a sustainability-minded wedding.

The atmosphere was warm and supportive, with sounds of applause and laughter spilling out into the hallway.  I felt a strong sense of celebration of achievement, and was encouraged by the shared commitment to the sustainability journey. 

Over lunch, plans were hatched to continue monthly meetings amongst the group, and to invite others to join the conversation.  I’m convinced that these opportunities for sustainability champions to support and learn from one another; to share successes and invite new ideas and perspectives on our challenges; are a crucial ingredient to scaling up our sustainability work.  Congratulations to all of the GONGOs participants - I look forward to continuing the journey!

- Karen Miller, Junior Advisor

This workshop marks the final in the Greening Ottawa area NGOs  (GONGOs) program, which has been running for two years in the National Capital Region.  This program has offered capacity building and networking opportunities for NGOs in the region, to accelerate progress towards sustainability.  The GONGOs program has been delivered through a partnership between Envirocentre and The Natural Step Canada, and has been generously funded by the Trillium Foundation.