Back to Sustainable Indicators: A Review of National Methods and Suggestions for Long Island

GETTING STARTED! WHO SHOULD BE INVOLVED? Once you know something about indicator projects, how do you start one in your community? One route is to contact a local or regional community organization that is willing to lead or fund the process. For example, the Institute for Sustainable Development is initiating indicator projects in the City of Glen Cove and the town of Riverhead. Or, there may be politicians or public planners interested in sponsoring local indicator projects. Interested citizens or organizations can initiate their own projects by contacting local community leaders and assessing their willingness to contribute to an indicator project. If you are unfamiliar with the full range of leaders in your community or region, it is easy to generate a list by asking community leaders you know to recommend other relevant organizations and individuals. By contacting different community leaders and asking them which leaders should be contacted, you'll gradually develop a thorough list of community stakeholders. Just make sure you're not skipping any vital community areas such as interest groups, religious groups, or ethnic populations. As more and more people and organizations are connected and a network is formed, you will gain a clearer idea of available resources and organizations for your project. Many foundations are providing grants to sustainable development projects and this is worth investigating. For example, the EPA provides grants for sustainable development, environmental education, and environmental justice. Projects can begin without a lot of money, however. Get local organizations to provide meeting space, xeroxing, and refreshments. Solicit volunteers as you begin conducting community meetings. To begin your community meeting process, use existing reference; for example, free presentations materials are available on the internet. Maureen Hart's site, has overheads and a trainer's manual. Develop a task force that will take responsibility for generating a draft indicator report. Set up subcommittees to investigate specific topics. Try to encourage government officials to recognize and support your work. Publish your results and encourage the broader public to provide feedback. Use your indicators to press political leaders into making public policy changes. Revisit this process on a regular basis and update your indicators and objectives. These ideas are developed more fully below.