What can I do about climate change? What can I do to live more sustainably, to use energy wisely, to decrease my carbon footprint, to eat local and to support the community economy? How can I ensure a sustainable future for my kids? What resources are available, and what are other people doing?
These questions prompted Karlie Cole, a local web designer and single mother of four, to research sustainability resources throughout the Twin Cities metro area. She discovered countless groups, organizations, individuals, businesses, educational opportunities, advocacy networks and events focused on sustainability, but they were scattered, disconnected, and hard to find.
Recognizing a problem she could have an impact on, Cole immediately took on the task of building a web platform to bring all of these resources together into a collaborative online community.
SustainingCommunity.org, which launched last month, employs an innovative, crowd-sourcing approach to making Twin Cities’ sustainability resources more visible, accessible and engaging by welcoming everyone to add their favorite local resources and upcoming events, as well as to connect with online social networking. The site adds tools for groups to share skills, ideas and opportunities, while inviting the community to suggest new tools to meet emerging needs.
SustainingCommunity.org provides users:
- A local resources directory with free-of-charge listings for groups, organizations, neighborhoods, congregations, businesses, educational opportunities, advocacy networks and community leaders.
- An interactive events calendar
- Local and national articles and videos addressing sustainability topics
- Tools to facilitate group discussions, conduct polls and coordinate volunteers
- A forum for locating and sharing free goods and services
- Online social networking opportunities including searchable member profiles to make it easy to connect with people based on neighborhoods and interests
- Easy integration with other social networks from Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
To learn more, visit SustainingCommunity.org.
