Stakeholder and Community Support

Aside from the permissions and involvement you will need from key players, the community will need to support your efforts. Community support helps decrease vandalism, and community support will help you find funding, recruit volunteers, and navigate bureaucratic hurdles (Ritchlin 2001). Start educating and involving the community as early as possible. Talk about the project to local clubs and schools. Do field trips to the site, and if possible, to a site that resembles your predicted ecosystem. Let community members be involved in building your baseline data through interviews, art projects, and storytelling sessions. These activities will enhance the success of your restoration efforts (Ritchlin 2001).

Dave Polster
Involving the community in your restoration project will enable you to recruit volunteers, garner support, and provide education about the importance of caring for local ecosystems.

The boxes below (adapted from Brown 2000) give more examples of ways to build community around your project:

Tools for Increasing Public Involvement Stream cleanups Tree planting Invasive species removal Storm drain marking Public art projects Urban ecology adventures Community festivals	Tools for Educating Case studies - illustrate similar projects in other areas Field trips - demonstrate important ecosystem features and problems School projects - allow students to experience ecosystems Training projects - increase community capacity
Tools for Receiving Input Workshops Open houses Task forces Public hearings Training seminars Surveys Interviews Focus groups Websites Community mapping	Tools for Informing Public meetings Newsletters Press releases Websites Brochures or fact sheets Radio and TV "ads" Telephone hotlines Report summaries Training seminars Community art Community mapping