Sustainability

Train the Trainer Sustainability Workshop

The City hosted a sustainability train-the-trainer workshop on January 28-29, 2011, to train citizens and staff to become sustainability trainers as part of the City’s comprehensive planning process and internal employee education efforts.

Although a growing number of cities and communities are undertaking sustainability initiatives, Lake Oswego is one of the first to strategically embed sustainability in its comprehensive planning process. Sustainability is a complex and at times confusing topic for many people. To be successful, citizens need to have a clear understanding of what sustainability is and a common language to guide community discussions. The power behind the Natural Step sustainability framework is that it is a non-prescriptive set of scientifically sound principles that does not dictate what the community should be but instead acts a compass to guide discussions to ensure that whatever vision or path is chosen, it is sustainably grounded.

Achieving this understanding requires a more in-depth presentation and discussion than is normally achieved in 10 or 20 minutes. Though this workshop, participants had the opportunity to become more grounded in sustainability concepts and the Natural Step framework, and learn affective techniques for delivering presentations and understanding their audience.

Upon completion of the workshop, participants gave sustainability presentations to a variety of civic, business, educational, religious, and employee groups. The goal is that through targeted outreach, more members of the Lake Oswego community will become well-grounded in these sustainability principles and better able to help craft a comprehensive plan for future generations of Lake Oswego citizens. 

Trainers are available to give small group presentations upon request. Please contact Susan Millhauser (contact information below) to be connected with a trainer.

Links to the materials for the January 28-29, 2011 workshop are included below:

Additional materials that may be of interest are included below:

For more information about the Train the Trainer Sustainability Workshop, please contact Susan Millhauser, Sustainability Coordinator by email or at 503-635-0291.

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