Ecotrust's Citizenship Program
Overview
Runners get in their roles at the 3rd annual Swim Like Hell 5K in Portland. Runners must make their way uphill on SE Salmon Street from the Willamette River to the Mt. Tabor Reservoir — source to source — in empathy of the struggle of Pacific Salmon.
Ecotrust seeks to strengthen the values, broker the ideas, and nourish the connections that underscore a more reliable prosperity for the citizens of this region.
Key Objectives
Inspire and empower this region's residents to re-evaluate the way we think about our relationships to ourselves, to each other, and to nature — so that we are all able to "live like we mean it."
Along the Pacific Coast of North America — from the California redwoods north to the Arctic Ocean — any summertime stream that carries more than a couple of garden hoses' worth of water is probably home to at least one species of salmon. Beyond salmon, we are bound together by other regional issues, as well — by water, by power and trade. We face common challenges, share common interests and look to each other with a common history.
For Ecotrust, the idea of Salmon Nation provides a unifying concept, offers an energizing public face, and broadens our outreach. With respect and thanksgiving, we celebrate the people, the lands, and the waters of Salmon Nation.
Keep the Gift Moving
Ecotrust works to foster a sense of place among the citizens of this region. With playful and positive storytelling, Ecotrust develops a vision of Salmon Nation. It's a place where an active citizenry makes choices that contribute to enhancing the health of whole watersheds and the economies of the people that live in them.
We learn from the region's first peoples. And we seek to invest older ideas of bio-regionalism with an inclusiveness that embraces all the region's residents and with an icon that embodies the spirit of celebration.
"I am a proud citizen of Salmon Nation," declared former Oregon governor John Kitzhaber at a fireside chat on October 4, 2003. The next day, over 4,000 joined the festivities at the first Salmon Nation Block Party here at the Natural Capital Center. At a second Block Party in September 2006, the number of participants doubled — and so did the partners. Over a hundred speakers, musicians, and citizens' booths joined us to look ahead, spin tales, toss ideas, sing, dance, eat, drink, and stimulate engagement.
The creativity that the citizens of this region bring to Salmon Nation will make all the difference. At SalmonNation.com we feature the stories of Salmon Nation Ambassadors, Translators, and Business Partners — as well as offer tips on joining the parade.
Brokering Ideas
Since 1991, Ecotrust has engaged in an ongoing project to gather and disseminate ideas. Our goals are to foster a more reliable prosperity for the citizens of this region and to serve as a model for other regions.
We published the first detailed maps of the temperate rain forests and Pacific salmon of North America. Our books The Rain Forests of Home and Salmon Nation are used in classrooms around the region. On the internet, Ecotrust pioneered human-powered, regionally-focused news aggregation, with the Tidepool News Service website, and developed a pattern-language approach to thinking about a Conservation Economy. Our SectionZ newspaper inserts have been described as the most innovative and informed social marketing around and succeeded in quantifiably changing behavior on specific issues. Our flagship Salmon Nation publication is called Voices and it features the words of those who are working today to create a better world, for all of us.
Recently, Ecotrust's Howard Silverman worked as guest editor of the regional policy magazine Oregon's Future (soon to be re-named Sockeye Magazine). The issue's focus is on sustainability, and contributors include Herman Daly, Brian Walker, Frank Ackerman, and Ecotrust's Bettina von Hagen. We'd be happy to send you a copy.
We will also be launching a new online journal, People and Place, which will gather the spoken and written words of a wide range of thinkers, as well as daily weblog updates. Look for it in 2008.
The Next Web
Today, our notions of how relationships build, how value is created, and how change occurs have all been radically altered by the internet. How to remain nimble? "Leverage more and lift less," advises Allison Fine in Momentum.
At Ecotrust, the role of catalyst has always been part of how we define our business as un-usual. Ecotrust's Citizenship program is working to deploy emerging internet technologies for social change — and to push power to the edges. More to come in the weeks and months ahead.
Partners
See SalmonNation.com
