Written by: Celeste Côté, our volunteer Youth Storyteller

When I first got the e-mail from a colleague about the IMPACT! Sustainability Champions Training program in Ottawa, I was admittedly skeptical. Was this going to be another one of those trite ‘youth leadership’ things? Would we throw around the word “sustainability” a lot without really defining it (beyond that ubiquitous Brundtland commission definition), and come away with a warm fuzzy feeling without having accomplished much? Because I’ve been to my fair share of those already.

As it turns out, it was much, much better than that. Sustainability was defined from the very beginning in a very concrete way (with what The Natural Step calls the four principles of sustainability), we had a great discussion about holistic, system-wide thinking, and went over a  strategic planning method called backcasting, which both encourages us to dream big, and helps us understand how to break down our actions into tangible steps towards achieving our end goals.

I learned a lot over the course of the weekend, but one of the phrases that stands out most in my mind is “the difference between an idea and a project is a plan.” Part of the weekend actually focused on the nitty gritty parts of project development, including how to write a business plan and seek out financial support.

We talked about some of the different projects that participants from previous IMPACT! training sessions are working to develop. One example that stood out was a ‘living fence’ of greenhouses around the University of British Columbia campus in Vancouver, both as part of an overall campus sustainability strategy, but also an initiative seeking to solidify food security for students.

Each of the participants had their own innovative ideas for contributing back to their communities, and appeared to learn as much from each other as from the guest speakers. Now, post-event, there’s a networked group of young eco-minded social entrepreneurs who can keep in touch and support each other through the project development process. I’ve volunteered as a mentor and have been paired with one of the participants, (coincidentally one who attended both of the workshop discussions I facilitated!) and I look forward to supporting her in achieving her project’s goals.

Overall, I’m glad that I attended this IMPACT! Sustainability Champions Training; I came away with some great tools I wasn’t previously aware of, and feel like the weekend also served as a much needed reminder for why I work within this movement.

Sustainability challenges can seem incredibly complex and overwhelming, and it seems that progress can stagnate with decision-makers at international, national, provincial, and even municipal levels of government; it was inspiring, however, to see so many fresh ideas in the room for tangible actions that we can proactively take on our own at the local community level to start making the changes we want to see in the world. --Though I suppose I should say ‘projects’ in lieu of ‘ideas’, as the weekend’s participants have already started mapping out their next steps and creating plans, complete with monitoring and follow up, which I’m sure will be fun given the local support and dynamic of the group.

So I have to say, this wasn’t trite at all. It was truly useful, and inspiring. I’m glad to be part of this network now, and look forward to watching these projects unfold!

The Co-operators and The Natural Step Canada are partnering to offer the IMPACT! Sustainability Champions Training in Ottawa, with generous local support from the Community Foundation of Ottawa, the Ottawa Sustainability Fund, IBM, and Alterna Savings. Visit IMPACT! Sustainability Champions Training to learn more about this program, including information on upcoming sessions.

This project has been generously funded in part by the following local supporters: