jocolo

http://connect.kaboom.org/?page=blogs/view&BLID=225

In any given service project, a series of materials will be used to carry the mission forth. Decisions on what materials to use and how they will be used safely and effectively is paramount to any sustainable project.

What should a project team do to minimize the purchase of new tools and equipment while ensuring appropriate tools are available in the right numbers and how should supplies and materials be selected so that they are:

1. environmentally appropriate and sustainable in terms of the quality of the product, the packaging, the distance shipped, etc.; and


2. practical and suitable for the site location, weather conditions and end-users? How can a project team make decisions about selecting project materials that are appropriate for a project and safe for volunteers and the environment to be using?

Examples from the internal working group:

• Create a checklist for sustainable materials


• Select long-lasting tools


• Consider local materials and carbon footprints


• Consult EPA's Environmentally Preferable Purchasing Program


• Borrow tools from a local organization

Communities across the country can make smart, earth-friendly decisions early in the process, simply by choosing service projects that make less of an impact on the earth. What considerations should typically be made for the design and location of your service project to minimize its environmental impact? How can communities access plans (by site needs, by numbers of volunteers, by skill of volunteers) for community projects?

Examples from the internal working group:

• Make sure project locations do not hinder other activities that may go on in the area


• Complete asset mapping -- consider the budget, maintenance, timing, reasonable projects for volunteers, and number of volunteers


• Confirm desires of the surrounding community


• Include recycled materials if it makes economic sense

We are interested in developing guidelines to assist folks who are conducting and leading service projects to minimize energy use whenever possible. Consider all the places you might utilize or tap sources of energy. Please share your thoughts or best practices you have seen or employed that can help to conserve energy during the planning, implementation, maintenance and use of your finished product.

Examples:

• Consider volunteer transporation options (car pooling, bussing, individual responsibility)


• If landscaping, building a rain water collection system and developing plans with site owner to utilize system for watering plants to conserve water use


• Utilize manpower instead of power tools to complete tasks


• Borrow tools instead of buying them


• When selecting vendors, consider their carbon footprint/environmental stewardship


• Installation of a solar-powered lighting system


• Consider modes of energy use by project activities: manufacture, transport, operations, life-cycle

Your project may also include programming or campaigns that can further illuminate or educate on relevant issues

• Encourage a community energy conservation campaign


• Develop a service-learning curriculum to pair into the rain water collection system that is being used to water the plants


• How do decisions effect the carbon footprint?

So much thought and effort goes creating a service project with impact. One of the most important things a project manager can do is to prepare a site well in advance, engaging the right people to make sure the project goes on without a hitch. And keeping a project sustainable yet safe takes some savvy know-how even before the project begins. With careful planning it can be done.

How do you help a local project partner prepare a site responsibly to ensure volunteer safety, site readiness, and environmentally-responsible site preparation?

Examples from the internal working group:

• A local lab can run soil tests for a reduced price


• Discuss site history/characteristics with the local community


• Use site preparation early as service learning


• Consider storm water runoff, erosion, and drainage


• Have an early meeting with local departments to confirm permitting process

The concept of community is a fluid concept. Understanding the dimensions of this concept will enable those in the community to better target their efforts and work with community leaders and members in developing meaningful strategies that will have a lasting impact.

What types of community needs assessments and direct community involvement in planning and decision making can best ensure that a service project will continue to pay dividends after it is done, considering how it will be used carefully and cared for over time, ensuring the longest possible lifespan of the project?

Some examples from the internal working group:

• Identify key stakeholders and engage the groups in creating sustainable projects early in the process


• Encourage communities to think about the environmental impact the project will have


• Identify various pockets of the community and assertively work to include and invite people from the different pockets. Your project can be a bridge to the different sectors.


• Think about the amount of time individuals can devote to your project. What assets do they have that they can share?

Choosing the right project partners is a crucial part of any service project, and to be a true sustainable partner the organization has to hold several key attributes.

What needs to be true about a local project partner to ensure that they have the capacity, resources and the enthusiasm to ...

1. ... lead a successful and sustainable volunteer project; and


2. ... to maintain what you create together over time?

No matter how big or small your project is there are many ways you can lessen your environmental impact. However, larger projects can have a greater impact, especially in the realm of volunteer supplies. How can the basic needs of large teams of volunteers be met in ways that create the least waste?

Examples from the internal working group:

• Mandatory use of paper plates/cups vs. styrofoam


• Food collection container next to trash cans for compost


• Use corn-based or other highly biodegradable tableware


• Serve pot-luck or site-prepared meals


• Use plastic reusable large jugs of water


• Have clearly-marked recycling bins if plastic bottles must be used


• Contact local tool banks, construction companies, etc. to get tools donated


• Provide incentives to people who bring their own water bottle, gardening gloves, etc.

We hear the three "R's" - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle all the time and oftentimes complete our own recycling at home or the office. What kinds of activities or practices can organizations do to raise awareness and ensure that supplies and equipment is reused or recycled?

This could be as simple as having recycling dumpsters handy and reusing drinking cups to making it more of an overall community program. Some examples include:

• Have volunteers/teams guide sorting projects


• Work with local organizations to recycle paint and brushes, etc.


• Reuse buckets as planters


• Use local mulch from city trees that have been cut down


• Tie in with other community events (e.g. Nike shoe recycle day)


• Use other organizations/resources (such as ecocycle)

How can volunteer teams create effective and practical plans and execute on these plans for the reuse and recycling of all excess materials, as well as all other material used during the project?

One of the most powerful and meaningful ways to convey the a project's sustainable message is with ongoing education about the practices that are being utilized in the project and the impact that the project is making on the environment. What educational fixtures should be added to a project to explain the sustainability practices or environmental or sustainability issues that are relevant?

• Include environmental signage


• Sustainable tracks signage


• Where collecting rainwater, add a sign about the watershed and the importance of water conservation


• Paint murals/post signs that explain the idea of a community garden and impact it will have

What types of educational pieces can be implemented on an ongoing basis that raises awareness of sustainability?

Examples:

• Creating recycling bins that tells the story of recycling


• Develop a living classroom


• Create a community Web site with educational facts

Your responses should include the answers to:

• Why are we doing this?


• Why should people be involved?


• Why should they encourage other people to adopt these practices?


• How can I make a difference?

Please describe your engagement in service projects.

1. How often do they occur?


2. Who manages them?


3. Is it the core of what you do or an ancillary (but important) part of your organization?


4. How are volunteers organized?


5. How are projects decided and managed?

Do you have any sustainability guidelines or standards?

How would your volunteers use a sustainability best practices guide?

How do you define sustainability?

We'd like to capture specific case studies for use in our sustainability guidelines document we are creating. We know you have valuable experience and we would like to hear about it. Your information can help us to develop guidelines that are smarter and more broadly applicable to hlep anyone prioritize sustainability as they plan their project. Below is a basic template which you can use to tell your project's story.

Basic Project Information

• Name of project


• Size and type of project


• Location


• Budget

Project Narrative

• Project overview


• Site context


• Sustainable practices in the areas of:






Site preparation and readiness




Energy use




Project choice




Materials selection and reuse




Community engagement




Volunteer supplies




Waste reduction/recycling/reuse




Educational fixtures on sustainability




Other






• Project cost


• Monitoring information


• Maintenance


• Issues/constraints of the site


• Lessons learned


• Additional project details