Welcome to Ontario's big green, environmental, sustainable, resilient, transitional, ecological, conservation movement.

Funny thing about this movement: we can't even agree on the name.  So before we introduce you to our strategy, here's a few things you should know:

1. Our goal is a conserver society.  We use that term because, when it was introduced in 1973, it was the first model to look at harmonizing social and economic needs with the carrying capacity of the environment.  In our minds, it is synonymous and interchangeable with sustainable development, green or any other similar term.
    

2. We believe in voluntary transition.  We prefer conservation by choice over conservation by crisis.  By acting decisively now, we can choose a future that is greener, healthier, and more resilient to future economic and ecological crises.  This is not the path of least resistance -- on the contrary, it requires a commitment to change that flows from individual consumers up to the highest levels of government.  It requires we act now, rather than later.
    

3. Our principal strategy is to build a movement.  The transition to a conserver society is a challenge that far exceeds the scope of any one organization or government.  It can only be accomplished through the combined efforts of an entire society.  In our strategy we are all green leaders, each according to our means.
    

4. We embrace complexity and promote simplicity.  We provide a simple framework for understanding a complex movement.  We start by identifying the lead organizations and existing networks that can address the top ten conservation priorities  -- both through policy and though support for voluntary action. The trick to building a stronger movement is to identify who has already assumed the responsibility for key roles in a movement, and then concentrate on filling in the gaps.
    

5. We look for catalytic projects and campaigns.  The real challenge lies in building a stronger movement.  At the Conservation Council of Ontario, we focus our resources on projects that further promote and support a united conservation movement.

• We Conserve is our flagship campaign to promote the movement, with artwork you can use to show your support and participation

• EcoScore helps promote individual action

• GreenLeaders provides a simple way to demonstrate leadership

• Community Conservation Networks helps communities organize for change

• the Great Green Directory will soon allow us to host an entire movement on one database

• weconservetv will create an online library of community projects and success stories

We're just scratching the surface of innovative ways to build a movement.  Here's some of the other ideas we're working on...

• collaborative campaigns around conservation solutions, designed by the lead organizations and networks

• a united funding appeal that would support community action plans and province-wide collaborative campaigns 

Networks and Leaders:

Our strategy is built around the key networks and lead organizations that are helping shape the vision for a conserver (or green) society

Big Changes are coming to our strategy --  the kind of changes you can contemplate when

1. the world is beginning to realize the value of a cooperative transition strategy, and

2. the internet gives us new ways of collaborating and transforming our strategy into a living document.

Watch for the scoping paper first, and then, we hope, an online wiki where our members can contribute to, and update, Ontario's voluntary transition strategy.
 

Background Papers
Greening Ontario draws on over fifty years of consensus development and cooperation within the Conservation Council of Ontario.  From the mid 1980's, we have played a key role in planning for a sustainable future for Ontario. 

In 2003, however, we shifted our focus to concentrate on building the voluntary movement.  The 2003 strategy laid the groundwork for We Conserve initiative, and many of our catalytic projects.
 

Next, in 2006, we launched We Conserve as our flagship campaign to promote a united movement. A year later, "Are you in" laid out a five year plan for shifting Ontario onto the conserver society path. 

We're continually refining our strategy, based on our on-the-ground experience and new emerging opportunities.

Stay Tuned