In an article for a special issue of the National Civic Review on the civics of sustainability a couple of years ago, Joel Mills, director of the Center for Communities by  Design, noted a correlation between civic capacity and environmental sustainability.

He later blogged on our All-America City Award site about Dubuque, Iowa, a city I’ve mentioned in a previous post for its success in engaging residents in large scale strategic planning sessions. As Joel noted, Dubuque’s efforts in the sustainability field were getting noticed. The National Trust for Historic Preservation named Dubuque as one of “three partner cities for its new Green Lab initiative to develop best practices in sustainability and preservation.”

Also, “the Obama administration included the city on its tour of America to highlight urban success stories. IBM recently announced that Dubuque will serve as its first Smart City partnership in the United States, with the hope that it can develop a model for other communities regarding energy efficiency.”

Lakewood, Colorado, an All-Amereica City in 2011 is another good example. Lakewood has done a lot to engage residents in budgeting and planning efforts. So with a hat tip to Joel, let me point out that Lakewood, an All-America City in 2011, is also green pioneer.

It all began a few years ago when the Learning Source, one of the country’s biggest adult literacy programs, realized its utility costs were higher than that of a 50-unit apartment building. Worried about the rising costs, the Lakewood-based nonprofit organization began looking for information about energy efficiency.

A conversation with members of the Alameda Community Gateway Association led to more conversations and, eventually, the founding of a “Greening Lakewood Business Partnership,” a public-private collaboration with a twofold mission: 1) to bring energy efficiency to the more than 1,500 existing office and commercial buildings in Lakewood; 2) to provide job training for local residents, including military veterans, particularly those returning from the current overseas conflicts.

First in line for an energy makeover was the Learning Source, which reduced its utility costs from $3,500 a month to $200. The renovations included exterior building insulation, a multistage boiler system, an efficient condensing unit and upgrades to the air handler. An energy management system, solar lighting and photovoltaic and thermal solar panels on two sections of new roof also were added.

City government takes the lead in facilitating relationships with the utility company, the banking community and the Governor’s Energy Office. The Better Business Bureau is providing marketing for the partnership. Other partners include Red Rocks Community College, the Alameda Gateway Community Association, Veterans Green Jobs, the Jefferson County Workforce Center and the Better Business Bureau, each agency has played a unique role in developing the program.

As Lakewood Mayor Bob Murphy sees it, the partnership is both a win-win and a “great catalyst” for the community. “It creates jobs, particularly for veterans, provides the training and encourages sustainability,” he says. “Most importantly, it helps our small businesses. Money saved on energy bills can be reinvested in inventories and new hiring.”

Red Rocks Community Colleges developed an energy-auditing, retrofitting and financing curriculum for students. Under the direction of experienced proctors, the students gain field experience needed to pass industry auditing certification tests by conducting the free audits for businesses. The Veterans for Green Jobs mobilize the military veterans to enter the Red Rocks program. The Jefferson County Workforce Center coordinates funds providing paid internships for the students.

Another local Greening effort is the Sustainable Neighborhoods Program for homeowners and apartment dwellers and owners. The program creates partnerships between the city and various neighborhoods to complete projects, host workshops or design other creative ways to engage in sustainable practices.

The city gives annual Sustainability Awards to inspire community members and hosts an annual Earth Week festival that includes an expo of displays, hands-on demonstrations, live music and information on sustainable practices, lectures, tours and cleanup and educational activities.

Two things Dubuque and Lakewood have in common is that both communities have long histories in engaging groups and individuals in creative partnerships. Both cities recognize that they can’t go it alone, and the ability to work across boundaries is essential in tackling difficult challenges such as environmental sustainability.

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Mike McGrath is senior editor and chief information officer for the National Civic League. A former newspaper reporter and magazine writer, he is editor of the quarterly National Civic Review, which will be beginning its centennial year of publishing this spring.

Mike’s posts will appear every Thursday on the State of the Re:Union website.

In 2003, Gladstone, Missouri, faced some difficult challenges—an aging population, strict boundaries that prevented physical growth, declining revenues, a declining business environment and inadequate city services. There was only one ambulance and two paramedics to provide emergency services and no place to house the city’s recreational programs for youth.

With technical assistance from Derek Okubo, a former National Civic League vice president who now works as Director of Human Rights and Community Relations for the city of Denver, more than 150 citizens participated in the community effort known as “Gladstone on the Move…Citizens Making a Difference.”

The group identified six key performance areas or KPAs: Business/Economic Development, Neighborhoods, Community Center, City Services, Education, Identity/Regionalism. The group researched and discussed the issue and came up with a list of priorities.

Gladstone on the Move came up with a plan that could be used to guide the city over the next 20 years. Next step: create an implementation committee to figure out a timeline and an action plan for achieving the desired results.

The citizens themselves recommended Gladstone’s first ever property tax increase to the city council, also to extend a sales tax that was about to expire to pay for parks and recreation needs. The council put the tax increases on the ballot and Gladstone on the Move campaigned to get them passed.

The community now has a complete ambulance service that is fully staffed, not only basic life support for getting people to a hospital but advanced life support for people suffering heart attacks, strokes and other medical emergencies.

It also has a marketing program. It is building more sidewalks than ever before. It has a comprehensive street lighting program, three major economic development initiatives, several hundred square feet in retail and several thousand in housing units with an affordable housing philosophy.

With the parks and recreation sales tax, they invested $1.3 million in an existing outdoor pool to make it a family event center, the city constructed a $25 million community center in partnership with the nearby school districts, complete with indoor recreation pools and the fitness area and the conference rooms and all that. It also has a competitive swim arena used to host the high school swim competition.

The point here is not that taxes are good and every community should raise them. The point is, if you have these needs and desires: a recreation center, a better ambulance service, an economic development plan, more street lighting, you need to figure out how to pay for it, and it helps to have that conversation out in the open with members of the public taking the leading role.

There can be little doubt that these tax proposals could easily have failed without the Gladstone on the Move process.  As one local official put it, “When you involve people and you listen and you take action, positive outcomes result.”

Gladstone was an All-America City Award winner in 2008. The Gladstone on the Move process won a Program Excellence Award from the International City/County Management Association in the strategic planning category.

Use the box below to tell about people in your community who are rallying together to make improvements for your town possible.

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Mike McGrath is senior editor and chief information officer for the National Civic League. A former newspaper reporter and magazine writer, he is editor of the quarterly National Civic Review, which will be beginning its centennial year of publishing this spring.

Mike’s posts will appear every Thursday on the State of the Re:Union website.

Thirty years ago, the main vehicle for citizen participation—other than voting—was the public hearing. Public hearings are well and good, but they often serve as little more than a steam-valve for irate citizens to vent. In fact, the very term “public hearing” is considered by many civic experts to be something of a misnomer.

Dan Kemmis, a former Missoula mayor and speaker of the Montana House of Representatives, said it best in this book, Community and the Politics of Place: “Out of everything that happens at a public hearing, the emoting, the attempts to persuade the decision-maker, the presentation of facts, the one element that is almost totally lacking is anything that might be characterized as public hearing.”

More and more communities are discovering new and betters ways of talking about (and hearing about) public issues. In Portsmouth, New Hampshire, for instance, an all-volunteer organization known as Portsmouth Listens conducts regular “study circles” on important local issues.

The study circles process works this way: The small group, consensus-based discussions of 8-12 people take place over a four-week period, meeting once a week. Then they produced a written report on their findings, which was published in the local paper, the Portsmouth Herald.

Portsmouth Listens began as a one-time effort to mobilize parents and students to deal with issues of bullying and violence in schools. Local attorney Jim Noucas and a group of citizens contacted the Study Circles Resource Center (now known as Everyday Democracy) to help put together a dialogue on the subject. More than 12 years later, the city is still using study circles for local dialogues, most recently, an extensive dialogue and report on the city’s budget challenges.

It was Portsmouth city manager John Bohenko’s idea to use the study circles process to review the city’s master plan, the document that guides policy on such issues as development, open space protection, affordable housing, transportation and infrastructure needs.

The master plan involved over 400 citizens over a period of two years. The process led to the development of a visioning statement and set of recommendations adopted by city government.

Portsmouth Listens has also held candidate forums using a dialogue-based roundtable to allow meaningful interaction between voters and candidates.

Portsmouth has a nine-member council with an average of 18 candidates running every two years. So the roundtables were divided into five groups of two or three and the voters into groups of 12-15. Each voter group was given 15 minutes to engage in a roundtable with the candidate groups. Each candidate was given three written questions and their answers are printed in the Herald. The questions were formulated by city officials, former council members and school board members.

Portsmouth Listens co-chair Jim Noucas says study circles have changed how the local government does business. The city is much more likely to consult the public on issues before evaluating the solutions, and the public is much more likely to support solutions that have been developed through deliberation. “It’s not just showing up and giving your opinion,” he says. “You have to be able to work with others, and people walk away with their opinions changed.”

The group is now working to organize a “New Hampshire Listens” to foster dialogue and deliberation on statewide issues and to get more communities in the state to conduct their own local study circles.

You can link here to read a longer article on Portsmouth Listens on the Everyday Democracy website.

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Mike McGrath is senior editor and chief information officer for the National Civic League. A former newspaper reporter and magazine writer, he is editor of the quarterly National Civic Review, which will be beginning its centennial year of publishing this spring.

Mike’s posts will appear every Thursday on the State of the Re:Union website.

Woodrow Wilson High School in Los Angeles, California

Within the past few years, aided by the decline of the economy, there have been a growing number of food deserts across America. This has become a serious issue in the fight to provide adequate nutrition to many children and families.  School Spotlight salutes Woodrow Wilson High School in the El Sereno neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, for its role in working to eliminate this food deficit in their community to help make a difference. (To read the original Los Angeles Times article in its entirety, click here.)

According to the CDC, “food deserts are areas that lack access to affordable fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low fat milk, and other foods that make up the full range of a healthy diet.” After working with a nonprofit in doing a comparative study of El Sereno’s access to fresh foods versus other communities, one undeniable conclusion was found: they were in need of another community garden.

As an answer to these findings — and with the help of his class — Kevin Armenta, a teacher of Environmental and Urban Studies at Wilson, spearheaded a project to change this reality. They transformed a forsaken back entrance to the school that was sitting in disrepair and created a healthy food source option, the People’s Garden. According to the article, Armenta says of the garden “It’s a physical solution to a research topic about food deserts.”

They are also using it as a community-building tool. Different cultures representing the makeup of El Sereno are coming together to assist in the success of the People’s Garden, as it is aptly named. However, the physical labor — think planting, weeding, and watering — is done by the students and staff. The students began preparing the seeds last winter that are currently in the ground. They have a vested interest in this project, which is evidenced by their presence at workdays, where time is spent doing general maintenance. After all, the garden’s control ultimately lies in the hands of the few students, teachers and community members who are involved.

Because Wilson High School members want this project to blossom, they utilize the guidance of the Native Green Gardener Program, a group offering advice that teaches sustainable gardening and landscaping practices.

The members of the high school are focusing “on growing plants that reflect the communities of El Sereno.” Among other items, included in this garden menagerie are medicinal plants from China and the “three sisters” of Mesoamerica: corns, beans and squash.

The People’s Garden and Wilson High have endured a few setbacks due to vandals destroying the water delivery system — three garden hoses that snake down through the garden, lying in wait for someone to use — but they keep their eye on the prize. This garden is a living representation and physical manifestation of the will of a few to make lives of many better.

Food deserts are a hard fact to swallow, but it is a reality that many still live with. More and more people, organizations and groups are seeing the need and rallying to close the gap on a serious issue affecting too many in the United States. Schools, in particular, have been hit hard by this. A growing number of children and families are participating in free meal programs at their schools on a daily basis. Include in this the food deserts that are becoming more of a norm and it makes for a challenging future of a healthier America.

What these dedicated “urban gardeners” are doing to combat this issue deserves accolades. Thanks to the endeavors of Armenta, his students and community members, and Woodrow Wilson High School, what started out as a school research project for a few students has now become an invaluable lesson and tool for its community. Kudos!

Know of any plan(s) or organization(s) in your community or schools working toward a similar goal? Use the box below to tout the commendable efforts of those working to make a difference.

Being that the 52nd week of 2011 is upon us, State of the Re:Union hereby designates this week “Auld Lang SOTRU” — a time to ruminate and revisit the magnificent moments captured in both the Spring and Fall season episodes.

In the few days following, we will release five favorites from SOTRU team members, including a list of Al Letson’s top five – with a bonus favorite for good luck.

 So, to help get things started, we offer a refresher of the people and places we visited. Take a look, and when you have been thoroughly sated with SOTRU 2011, use the box below to tell us five of your favorite moments, stories or episodes. On Friday, we will share some of these with the rest of our audience.

 The 2011 Spring episodes:

• Las Vegas, Nevada
• Miami, Florida
• Birmingham, Alabama
• Oakland, California
• Utica, New York

 

The 2011 Fall episodes :

• Cleveland, Ohio
• Sacramento, California
• The Mississippi Gulf Coast
• The Bronx, New York
• Wyoming

All of the stories featured in this season’s episodes have made an incredible impact, not just in the lives of those telling them, but in the lives of those who have heard them.

A Visit From St. Nicholas

School Spotlight takes us to Jacksonville, Florida, where one heart-warming program is spreading holiday joy, hope and cheer to some less fortunate students in challenged schools throughout the community.

“A Visit From St. Nicholas” is a program targeting schools that have 70 percent and higher free and subsidized lunches. It surprises these underprivileged children with books and gifts, and – you guessed it – a visit from the one and only St. Nick.

For more than six years, HandsOn Jacksonville has partnered with volunteers and businesses in the Jacksonville area to put smiles on the faces of thousands of children. A month in advance, they are hard at work, diligently collecting items to stuff into backpacks that will be given as gifts, lighting up the eyes of these students.

A Visit From St. Nicholas also allows many individuals and companies the opportunity to give back to their community. They express their charity and generosity through giving children in-need something special for the holidays.

And for some, this backpack filled with books, small trinkets and toys will be the only gifts that they receive. HandsOn Jacksonville Director Judy Smith says, “The principals and teachers are so grateful for this visit, because they tell us [HandsOn Jacksonville] that in many of the kids’ homes there are no books that they can call their own, or maybe there are no books at all.”

Community members partaking in event preparations enjoy coming together. Volunteers say that although it is only a few hours of their time, it makes them feel good that that time is going to make a difference in the lives of some less fortunate children and families. These volunteer elves assemble thousands of backpacks that will be distributed at selected schools on the first Friday in December.

Once the backpacks are ready to go, more volunteers show up to the recipient schools and put operation “A Visit From St. Nicholas” into action. The halls and classroom doors are decorated and a backpack is placed on the desk of each child. The children are then read a holiday story by a volunteer reader, followed by a surprise visit from St. Nick. The excitement is so incredible, and the looks on their little faces are priceless.

As one teacher says, “Just to have someone to come and share to them the unconditional giving – it’s an amazing treat for them, and it’s gonna teach them to be able to give on to others.”

During this season of charity and giving, it is wonderful to see community come together and make a difference in the lives of so many children and families. This efforts put forth by HandsOn Jacksonville and its community members embodies the essence of the season and serves as a great motivation to give a little more. To see a video about this project, click here.

This charitable vigor is alive in every city, town and parish throughout this great land. What are some of the ways your community is coming together to perpetuate the spirit of the holidays? Use the box below to fill our ears with encouragement and our souls with warmth. Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas!