The first edition of The Natural Step Canada’s Community Sustainability Planning course has now come to a successful close. Throughout the five-month program, 23 participants from across Canada and one from the Unites States participated in a series of  online seminars and in-person workshops to receive in- depth training in the development of integrated community sustainability plans (ICSPs) grounded in the backcasting approach of The Natural Step Framework.

The course recently culminated with a final session in Toronto, where participants presented their final team projects: ICSP process plans for communities where they live or work, from High River, Alberta to Halton Hills, Oakville, and Ajax, Ontario to Lockeport and Richmond County, Nova Scotia.

Feedback from the pilot course has been overwhelmingly positive. Some of the highlights noted by participants included: the chance to work in collaboration with others in the field; the opportunity to meet and engage with leading experts such as Bryan Smith, the co-author of The Necessary Revolution; and the learning atmosphere in general. “I learned from the TNS trainers the humility and discipline required to be an effective agent of adaptive change,” said course participant Carolyn Frances Lair. “The engagement with my fellow students gave me insights into the diversity of the issues and challenges facing this enormous country we call Canada.”

The Community Sustainability Planning course will be offered again in June 2010 till January 2011. If you are interested in being notified of the details when they are finalized, please join our mailing list. See photos from the first session on Flickr.