If you've spent any time on the WiserEarth events, groups, or resources sections, it's likely you've run into GreenEric. He's the 'Water guy', always posting the latest activity, primarily on more efficient uses of the stuff. So who is he? What drives him? Could his answers to these questions inspire you to take a closer look at one of our most precious resources on earth? › Continue reading... ]]>

If you’ve spent any time on the WiserEarth events, groups, or resources sections, it’s likely you’ve run into GreenEric. He’s the ‘Water guy’, always posting the latest activity, primarily on more efficient uses of the stuff. So who is he? What drives him? Could his answers to these questions inspire you to take a closer look at one of our most precious resources on earth?

First steps on WiserEarth

During a class at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA with permaculture activists Kat Steele and Ben Fahrer, Eric was introduced to WiserEarth. From there, he joined a number of groups including Northern California American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association.  He became an inspired contributor and administrator of this group and then expanded out to create the Graywater Solutions, and Green Infrastructure-Low Impact Development Solutions Groups.

Boots on the ground

Eric has a broad background as a civil and environmental engineer.  He designs and builds green infrastructure, including graywater and rainwater catchment systems, living roofs and floating treatment wetlands. He has been working primarily with Hyphae Design Laboratory, an innovative ecological design firm which emphasizes regenerative ecosystems in design and construction. He recently designed a graywater system for the Esalen Institute and led the installation as a part of Kat Steele’s Ecoliteracy in Action class.

Eric’s career path encompasses restoration and transition.  “I used to do projects where I was cleaning up soil and groundwater contamination.  While that is very interesting and valuable work, I eventually realized that it’s more important for our society to transition to a sustainable future.  Cleaning up messes from the past is important, but unless we can create sustainable systems, our systems and infrastructure will break down and then everything will be a mess.”

In the past few years, Eric has transitioned to working with sustainable water infrastructure.  “I work with people who want to be more sustainable with their water use, but don’t know how.  A lot of times, people will be doing a remodel or building a new house, but the builder or architect won’t have the expertise with water reuse and water efficient technologies, so they look to people like me to design them a system. I put it together and give them numbers, how much they save per year in gallons and dollars. They’re sold on the idea generally, but just don’t have the information.”

It affects us

Eric finds satisfaction in working out water-use solutions, and then spreading the news. WiserEarth is one tool in his getting the word out. “Water issues are big in California,” he notes of his home state. “It can be a challenge to make the economic case.  People want a quick payback, but water is getting more scarce and it will definitely be more expensive in the future.  California’s population is expected to double by 2050, and the supply is expected to drop due to climate change and a decrease in the Sierra snow pack.  The per capita water supply will keep dropping, so the only thing we can do is increase efficiency and reuse.”

Graywater, for the uninitiated, refers to any water used for washing in the home, everything from dishwater, shower, to laundry and sink, excluding toilet water. A graywater system treats and filters this water so it can be used for irrigation, supplementing water from the tap.

“In a sense, graywater is pioneering, ahead of the curve,” Eric says. “If we conserve water through efficient landscaping and graywater, every gallon saved is a gallon that doesn’t have to be taken from a faraway ecosystem, pumped across the state, treated and then pumped to the tap. And if you combine that with rainwater catchment, you can take the water from those watersheds and use it two or three times.  For example, we can design a system to catch the rain for free off the roof, store it, then use it to wash our clothes.  We take the graywater from the washing machine to irrigate an apple tree in the back yard, then eat the fruit, compost the apple core and build the soil, which sequesters carbon.  It’s all about closing the loop and modeling our human systems on the stable models of nature.”

Saving water also saves energy that is used to pump it, treat it to potable standards and then treat the wastewater before it is discharged to the environment.  According to the California Energy Commission, “water-related energy uses annually account for roughly 20 percent of the state’s electricity consumption, one-third of non-power plant natural gas consumption, and about 88 million gallons of diesel fuel consumption.”

“The potential is tremendous. We estimate that you can derive around forty gallons per person per day of graywater production, and half of that water is used for landscape irrigation,” Eric comments. “If you can make your landscape more water-efficient, use graywater and/or rainwater, you can save a lot of water and not feel guilty taking a nice long shower when you need one.”

Political issues play a role, and graywater professionals work to reassure public health officials about safety concerns. Eric has been involved with the graywater community in lobbying state officials to rewrite the graywater plumbing code. The code has recently been changed to allow people to install simple systems without a permit.

Making connections

Eric recalls meeting Frank Patton, one of the other editors. “I called him up six months ago, and talked to him about water and his experiences with the site.” The two had a common bond in their interests as well as relating on the challenges of forming online groups and distributing content, and later met in person at the editors meetup. He enjoys being a part of the editors’ community. “Participating in the editors group creates more unity and connection on the site,” he says, “and the local event was really nice.”

The site has also broadened his circle in some ways. Eric says, “WiserEarth is a way to encounter others that may not live nearby, often people that have created their own groups. It’s interesting to see the presence people can create online. It’s funny because sometimes I recognize people by their handle rather than their name and vice versa. Some people I’ve run into have said, ‘Oh, you’re GreenEric!’ It feels good to know that my efforts are being felt. ”

How to help

“I keep trying to get the word out about issues that I feel are important,” Eric says, “It feels good to post an event and make a connection.  It benefits both the people attending the event and the people hosting the event.  You make a connection and the network of sustainability is strengthened.”

His advice to people who want to get involved: “You can learn a lot of information from the resources on my sites, attend the listed events and get hands-on experience with workshops. Find an opportunity to get out there and get your hands dirty!” Eric concludes, “The main thing to remember is that WiserEarth is a constant creation of online community. Community is what we make it. I see a lot of groups where one or two  people are doing all the work. So get involved, start adding something, don’t just keep events to yourself, let other people know. Let’s make it a vibrant, active place to connect and build a sustainable network together!”

Eric’s graywater installation class at Esalen

More resources: WiserEarth Editors Group (editors moderate content, help make connections between members, and provide support to new members)

We are sharing some of our standard advice for designing an effective online group. We believe the key to any effective group is simplicity. Relatively few key topline messages, a lack of clutter, and relatively little functionality. Do you have any ideas to share? › Continue reading... ]]>

We are sharing some of our standard advice for designing an effective online group. We believe the key to any effective group is simplicity. Relatively few calls to action, a lack of clutter, and a limit to functionality. Do you have any ideas to share?

These suggestions are mainly about the design and layout of the group. We have written about purpose, membership, and content in other posts:

• Be upfront with your purpose: You created your online group for a reason. Share that somewhere accessible for your members, especially if you have a public group and want to recruit new members. On WiserEarth you can edit the tagline and description for your group by going to Admin Tools > Edit Group Details. A good example of this would be the Earth Charter + 10 Forum
• Emphasize only one or two action steps: Decide what you want your visitors to do and put those items at the top of your group. On WiserEarth you can use a Bulletin Board module and provide text and hyperlinks out to where you want your members to go. A good example of this would be the Weversity
• More functionality equals more frustration: For every new feature there is more to learn, more to tweak and configure, more to customize, more to read about in help documents. If you can choose which features to display on your group take advantage of it. For example, on WiserEarth, Group Administrators can add and remove any of twelve different modules. Just use the features that you need – it will make your group members happier.
• Go beyond text: Videos and photos can communicate a great deal of information in a brief and entertaining way. WiserEarth allows you to embed YouTube Videos and add photos, so you can quickly incorporate these alternate methods into your discussion. A good example of this would be Story of Stuff
• Allow for some white space: Research shows that readers enjoy websites more when they aren’t too dense with text.
• Make activity visible: Highlight your members’ contributions and stroke a few egos! If you can, look to see if your group has a way to track and share activity. On WiserEarth you can see group activity by going to Admin Tools > View Group Activity.

More resources: Overview of WiserEarth Groups, To create your group, click here, To see how others are customizing and using their group, click here

Over 60% of the people using WiserEarth are coming from outside the US. They are from 231 countries and speak 172 languages! But the majority of our members are still English speakers. People have been asking us for WiserEarth in their own language. Can you volunteer or chip in some funding to help us do this? › Continue reading... ]]>

Over 60% of the people using WiserEarth are coming from outside the US. They are from 231 countries and speak 172 languages! But the majority of our members are still English speakers. People have been asking us for WiserEarth in their own language. Can you volunteer or chip in some funding to help us do this?

It’s great news that WiserEarth has become such a global resource for the non-profit environment and social justice community. But we need to help the billions of non-English speakers join the community for their nonprofit sustainability work. Speaking just English isn’t good enough! Can you help us by volunteering or chipping in?

Volunteer on a translation team

There are currently 4 translations teams with a total of 40 volunteers. As you are reading this, the site is being translated into French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. We are hoping to translate WiserEarth into at least five other languages including Hindi, Chinese, Arabic and Indonesian as well as one indigenous language over the next 12 months. Love to translate? 2 hours per week of your time will make a big difference: contact camilla [at] wiserearth.org if you are interested.

Chip in to fund local community managers

We currently have three local community coordinators in France, Mexico and Brazil (see their quotes below). More people are approaching to expand in other languages. Help us raise the funds needed to provide support or the local community coordinators and their teams of volunteers. Be a part of our global fundraising for this crucial part of WiserEarth! We have set a goal of $10,000 before December 15, 2009.

Help us make WiserEarth a true global community! Please pass on this appeal to your friends.

Best,

Peggy Duvette
WiserEarth Director

Juan Carlos, WiserEarth Mexico/Spanish Regional Coordinator “As the world grows smaller, the challenge of effective and multicultural communication, becomes more and more relevant to ensure a safe pathway towards a society living under the principles of cooperation, respect and justice; WiserEarth is key to meeting this challenge.”

Theresa Williamson, WiserEarth Brazil/Portuguese Regional Coordinator “The tools WiserEarth has developed for sharing content across civil society worldwide are powerful and in constant evolution. We are translating them with the specific aim of supporting Brazilian and Portuguese-language-civil society generally.”

Over the past 6 months, I’ve had the pleasure of facilitating a community of practice for funders supporting networks. The question that keeps coming up is: how to make the case that working through and investing in networks will produce the intended social impact? At the same time, the belief in network impact is becoming more widespread–-the potential for organizing without organizations, the power of developing a strategic understanding of webs of relationships, and the promise of openly sharing both data and new knowledge. There is more and more experimentation with network models for social impact. › Continue reading... ]]>

Over the past 6 months, I’ve had the pleasure of facilitating a community of practice for funders supporting networks. The question that keeps coming up is: how to make the case that working through and investing in networks will produce the intended social impact? At the same time, the belief in network impact is becoming more widespread–-the potential for organizing without organizations, the power of developing a strategic understanding of webs of relationships, and the promise of openly sharing both data and new knowledge.

This piece was originally published on WorkingWikily by Diana Scearce.

There is more and more experimentation with network models for social impact. There are a handful of funders investing in these experiments. Yet there is only limited evidence to make the case that networks work. I’ve been trying to figure out how to make that case. As a strategy consultant, not an evaluator by training, I come to this with truly a beginner’s mind. Here a few things I’m learning about assessing network impact in collaboration with the network funders community of practice.

• Top of the list: assessing the impact of networks is really hard.
• People participate in networks for multiple reasons (and similarly, funders fund networks for multiple reasons). It’s hard to align around and clarify desired outcomes – and/or figure out how to assess progress towards multiple sets of outcomes.
• Network impact can be hard to see. It’s difficult to measure causality (or even simply track activity) in decentralized, complex systems with lots of players.
• Some of the most powerful network impact may be unexpected. How do you measure the impact of emergent, self-organized action?
• Finally: it can take a really long time to achieve measurable impact.

Added to the challenges is the fact that, according to evaluators I’ve spoken with, the tools for assessing emergent systems are lacking. (Social network analysis does seem to be promising in some cases, though it is resource-intensive). Kudos to the evaluators who are bravely taking on the challenge of measuring network impact!

Challenges aside, what can you measure? I really like the framework set out by Madeline Taylor and Pete Plastrik in Net Gains, and Bruce Hoppe and Claire Reinelt in “Social Network Analysis and the Evaluation of Leadership Networks” (both highly recommended reading). In both these thought pieces, the authors outline three levels of network impact to consider:

• Connectivity: what is the nature of relationships within the network? Is everyone connected who needs to be? What is the quality of these connections? Does the network effectively bridge differences? Is the network becoming more interconnected? What is the network’s reach?
• Overall network health: how healthy is the network along multiple dimensions (participation, network form, leadership, capacity, etc.). How have participants been impacted by the network?
• Field level outcomes: what progress is the network making on achieving its intended social impact (e.g. policy outcomes, innovative products)? How do you know?

The network funders community of practice has been working on this question: how do you make the case, and what principles to keep in mind when assessing the impact of networks? Here are few starting points:

• Be clear about 1) the network’s value proposition, 2) expectations for the network, 3) to whom is the network accountable, 4) the donor’s role in the network
• Pay attention to network history and context
• Gather data from diverse perspectives, including feedback from constituents outside the network
• Emphasize learning over near-term judgment, so that the purpose is not punitive
• Focus on meaningful contribution toward impact
• Integrate into an ongoing process of network learning and adaptation
• Build capacity to conduct self-evaluation

What are you learning about making the case for network impact? How do you know networks work?

Photo Credit

The climate change movement has been gaining momentum in recent months. We've felt it building at organizations like 350.org in preparation for the major UN Climate Change conference in Copenhagen this December. We had a call with social media coordinator Joe Solomon of 350.org to get a sense of what it's like to be in the middle of it all, and his thoughts on how to effectively network for a cause. › Continue reading... ]]>

The climate change movement has been gaining momentum in recent months. We’ve felt it building at organizations like 350.org in preparation for the major UN Climate Change conference in Copenhagen this December. We had a call with social media coordinator Joe Solomon of 350.org to get a sense of what it’s like to be in the middle of it all, and his thoughts on how to effectively network for a cause.

The person: Joe has roots in technology and social change, and figuring out web-connected community solutions for an array of causes. He was the Director of Social Actions’ Change the Web Challenge and joined 350.org to get closer to the point of impact. “The climate movement affects many of the issues of our time,” he said. “It’s also a matter of survival.” The desire to help the world came early for Joe: he can remember drawing pictures against rainforest logging in third grade.

The connection: He’s no stranger to WiserEarth, having helped us network with NetSquared for our first WiserTuesday Paris event!

The plan: At the time of the interview, 350.org was leading up to the International Day of Climate Action, and Joe mentioned excitedly: “Twitter and Facebook are on fire right now! It’s such an offline, collaborative movement that explodes onto the online scene. We’re really riding a wave, with at least two dozen active 350 organizers on Twitter – with accounts like @350Vermont, @350Peru, @350London — And so many new people are jumping on board, asking, ‘Where am I going to be on October 24?’”

The advice: Joe has been working in the social media arena for some time, and offers some tips on how to get impact:

• Highlight your partners’ efforts: “350 is a super collaborative campaign. We’re trying to build and demonstrate a movement, and like any open movement, it’s not about us — as much as it’s about a collaborative groundswell of organizations, organizers, rock climbers, messengers, bloggers, super models, photographers, you name it — all working to get us back to 350. We’re always trying to highlight our friends at Greenpeace, TckTckTck, Avaaz, Powershift, 1Sky, Oxfam, Transition Towns – and hundreds more, plus all the thousands of grassroots organizers who are the reason why we’ve collectively come this far…. How can your organization act more like a movement and shine the light on what others are doing to change the world with you?”
• Try open threads on Facebook: “As a way to support the conversations that were already happening, we started inviting organizers and supporters to connect around ‘open threads’ in Facebook. Literally, we would start an update with ‘Open Thread:’ and then share quick updates and a few questions. So far, we’ve had some very positive results.”
• Start or support a Twitter hashtag for your cause or sector. In the global climate movement headed towards Copenhagen, there’s #350ppm, #COP15, #FABTreaty, and others. What hashtag can help your cause area connect, share resources, and collaborate for more effective impact?
• Group people together using TweepML: This is a way to highlight a group of community members via a list that any Twitter user can follow all at once. 350 tries to employ this to connect organizers to each other.  Joe says, “There are also Twitter Lists, but what’s great about TweepML is community members can actually follow each other. The stats from the 350 Organizers list claim to have generated over 1,300 followers. Now we just gotta figure out a way to help the 1,077 350 badge wearers connect! Ideas welcome!”
• Don’t feed, inspire: In the days before the International Day of Climate Action, 350 turned off all feeds. They don’t pipe their blog into Twitter or Facebook, and purposely choose where to share that people will find useful and inspiring, and can connect around. The feeds are still off.
• Get face to face: “We’re way ahead of ourselves in mastering how to connect on Twitter, Facebook, and other online communities. We’ve discovered the most brilliant ways to build our lists. We’re all of us social media gurus. Now it’s time to invite our supporters outside, empower them as leaders, and together transform our communities for the changes we all seek. WiserTuesdays are an amazing step in this direction.”

The hope: Joe says, “In December (next month!) world leaders from every country on the planet are meeting in Copenhagen to craft a global climate treaty. What’s at stake at that meeting is massive — a treaty that’s in line with what science and justice demand could be key to turning the tide on global warming and getting our planet back on a sustainable path.

“The hope we can act on is that we keep the pressure on, through delivering 350 photos directly into the hands of our leaders, and other actions — December 12 looks like it’s gonna be big — to help world leaders see just how powerful and global this movement has become.”

The reward: “It’s incredible to watch all of us rise together, to be a part of this call to action around a scientific data point that’s above our organizations’ walls and shows how widespread and collaborative the climate and social justice movement really is,” Joe reflects. “Many thanks to WiserEarth for all your support, for being such a great resource, and for inspiring calls to action as strong and adorable as this one:

Top Photo Credit

Last Monday, WiserEarth hosted its first ever face to face gathering of our volunteer editors. Seven California-based editors plus a few staff met to discuss the role and future direction of editors. We didn't just talk, but engaged in a friendly game of four-square. How does your organization take volunteer moderators to the next level? › Continue reading... ]]>

Last Monday, WiserEarth hosted its first ever face-to-face gathering of our volunteer editors. Seven California-based editors plus a few staff met to discuss the role and future direction of editors. We didn’t just talk, but engaged in a friendly game of four-square. How does your organization take volunteer moderators to the next level?

The WiserEarth editors group is a group of active members (currently 42) who moderate content, support new members, and help people network. In order to become an editor you have to have been on the site for at least three months, use it heavily, and be somewhat knowledgeable about WiserEarth’s policies. In return, you gain some special content-moderating privileges and the active engagement of Bowo, WiserEarth’s Chief Editor.

For some of our editors it was the first time they had met face-to-face despite years of online collaboration. But in no time we were working away on the common goal of improving the editor role at WiserEarth. Some of the lessons learned from the gathering can be summarized as follows:

• Make tasks bite-sized: We live in hectic times, deadlines and discrete tasks are real motivators.
• Make sure responsibility goes hand-in-hand with training: If there is a certain level of expertise you want all your moderators to have, engage them with a set of fun (but brief) tutorials and be available for questions.
• Face time matters: In online communities, it isn’t always possible to meet face to face, particularly if you work with a global community as we do.  In this case, a phone call or video chat is advised. But if volunteers do live close by, invite them to stop by. In an hour, you can often find out who they are better than in several months of online contact.
• Focus on the people, and good work follows:  Your volunteers have their own reasons for wanting to donate time to your organization. If you figure out their passions and give them tasks which ignite those, you will have loyal helpers.
• Engage your volunteer moderators’ unique skills: Some will be wonderful at networking, others at building your content, still others at monitoring. Observe carefully, then guide them to the positions they are the strongest in.
• Have fun with them: Whether online or in person, volunteers return to sources of enjoyment. If you make some time for playing games, joking, and keeping it light, they’ll have a higher tolerance for getting down to business.

All in all, a very successful meetup! Do you have further ideas for activating your volunteers in higher positions of responsibility? Let us know!

Left to Right: Mike Kwan, Angus Parker, Bedy Yang, Roger Eaton, Peggy Duvette, Frank Patton, Deborah Phelan, Eric Olson, Wibowo Sulistio, Honore Louie, Timonie Hood, Kerry Vineberg

Photo Credit

We would like to encourage you to become involved with the International Day of Climate Action! The momentum is building for Copenhagen... › Continue reading... ]]>

We would like to encourage you to become involved with the International Day of Climate Action! The momentum is building for Copenhagen…

In our last climate change post, we gave you background and a list of actions you can take. Now here is a little more detail on one of them. This Saturday, October 24, 350.org, along with a groundswell of friends and allies, is calling on individuals and organizations across the world to take action against climate change.

They encourage incorporating the number 350 into your event, at an iconic place in your community, and then uploading a photo of your action to the 350.org website.

With your help, 350.org will deliver these global images to the media and world leaders. Let’s show how diverse, large and unified the climate change movement has become!

So this Saturday, be a part of it! See what your community is up to in the climate change movement, or start your very own transformative action!

Find an event near you

Related post: Blog Action Day – Climate Change 2009

Where would WiserEarth be without the hard work of its contributors? If you've added an event or an organization, a resource or a job, you are one of our valued contributors. Each small step we take adds up to a huge wave of sustainable knowledge and action. We'd like to take this opportunity to feature some of our most prolific volunteer contributors to date who continue to make WiserEarth the community it is today. Thanks for all that you do! › Continue reading... ]]>

Where would WiserEarth be without the hard work of its contributors? If you’ve added an event or an organization, a resource or a job, you are one of our valued contributors. Each small step we take adds up to a huge wave of sustainable knowledge and action. We’d like to take this opportunity to profile some of our most prolific contributors who make WiserEarth the community it is today. Thanks for all that you do!

Kathryn McCallum (kathrynmccallum)

Why she’s on WE: I work collaboratively on environmental campaigns and WiserEarth gives me incredible tools to communicate with my teams. Having the wiki pages cuts time as we share and work on documents. The instant chat brings us all in the same place without having to install different software. The file library feature helps us share documents without having to email them back and forth. The whole workspace ends up being a diary of each person’s contributions to the project.

I have yet to really take my contribution into the wider WiserEarth community. So far I have mainly used it as a tool to communicate with project teams. I work from home and my teams are spread all around Australia so it makes collaboration powerful. Because the climate crisis is so urgent, collaboration is more important than ever. I also have two small children, so WiserEarth means I can check the workspace, without needing to commute and leave my home.

What inspires her to contribute: The purpose of my work is threefold: to leverage digital networks for climate action; to explore ways of communicating that lead to action and engagement; and to find the tipping points toward a vibrant, safe climate future.

A few favorite contributions: I’ve used WiserEarth as a workspace (The Hero Generation). It’s a tool to get things done.

John Rainbird (jonrainbird)

Why he’s on WE: I expect the same reasons many others are  – to connect with other folk passionate about justice and protecting this beautiful planet, the learn and finally hopeful to help effect some useful change.

What inspires him to contribute: I enjoy sharing my ideas and thoughts and getting feedback from others on them – I find that there is great synergy when a few people bend their minds to a common issue and  new ideas emerge and occasional revelations that elevate your own understanding of the issue.

A few favorite contributions: I have learned a great deal from so many people, it’s hard to choose I’m afraid.  I do really enjoy the sharing of great quotes though – like the one Bowo posted recently: “War does not determine who is right, only who is left…” – Sylvie Schapira or “The difficulty lies not in the new ideas, but in escaping the old ones.” – John Maynard Keynes 

Juan Manuel Ledón Roig (ledon)

Why he’s on WE: I’m on WiserEarth because here I find a powerful way for creating meanings, sharing values and connecting the hearts of wonderful people, groups, organizations and communities of action… Based on the Truth that we are all one, I believe WiserEarth helps us to make this sense of Unity more visible, conscious and useful in order to build, all together, a better world.

What inspires him to contribute: What inspires me most to contribute is the possibility to create strong synergies of talent which help to turn “impossible dreams” into realities.

A few favorite contributions: EcoSITE (solution) and PAE Mexico (group)

Anthony Robinson (anthrob)

Why he’s on WE: I’m on WiserEarth primarily to use the space provided to our group (Commons Governance Work Group) both as a window for the research we’re doing to the WiserEarth community, and as a collaborate space for ourselves.

What inspires him to contribute: Wanting to share information and ideas with anyone inside or outside of our group.

A few favorite contributions: Bibliography, SIFCo Case Study (Slocan Integral Forestry Cooperative)

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