What if Kermit got it wrong?

Maybe it is easy being green? Or at least easier than we thought?

Is it possible that applying sustainability strategies can actually improve the bottom line of a company?

Bob Willard, owner of the Sustainability Advantage in Whitby, Ontario answers with a resounding, “Yes”. In fact, he says, “Addressing the environmental footprint of a company can improve their bottom line by 51 to 51%”. 

Business has a vested interest in how challenges such as climate change, industrial pollution, food insecurity,… More Posted on 12-16-15

Because It’s the Right Thing to Do…

Change is hard. It really is. Most people see it as something they don’t want because it means leaving what they know and stepping into something more likely to be messy and unclear. It may even be that change is hard because we overestimate the value of staying the same, and underestimate the value of what could be gained.

However, In my work, which generally involves supporting change in organizations and communities, we’ve also learned there is a small minority of people for whom change isn’t as hard. Instead they view change as moving forward, learning, growing, and ideally, innovative… More Posted on 11-29-15

Tall, Dark and Charismatic

As he put it, he wanted to meet and develop a relationship. It definitely wasn’t personal, it was simply because in the not-to-distant future, he knew his employer would be in need of the community development training offered by my company.

Our connection over coffee stretched to over an hour and resulted in a deep, rich, and meaningful conversation about community building and its importance.

And, while I truly am a happily married woman and probably old… More Posted on 11-03-15

Miss Cranky Pants Needs Her Exercise

I was definitely a “Miss Cranky Pants” this week.

In addition to being cranky, I suffered from monkey mind, my body hurt, and I was far more tired than usual. In short, I simply wasn’t firing on all jets.

While there’s no doubt it was due in part to having been on the road for two weeks, I also realized that not exercising regularly was a major factor. Whereas I was still walking as much as I could, I had missed the thrice weekly gym workouts that have become an essential… More Posted on 10-29-15

How I was Reminded About Gratitude

I am grateful for the many good things that are part of my life. And, while I do my best to reflect an attitude of gratitude, I recently heard a story that truly put everything into perspective.

The story came a few weeks ago from a neurosurgeon I only knew as the result of a breakfast conversation at a B & B where we were both staying.

It started as the… More Posted on 10-12-15

I’m Losing Patience with the Old Boys

I’m losing patience and respect for the “Old Boys” among us.

While I’ll be the first to admit they bring extensive experience and often great wisdom, there is an alarming sameness in their sense of entitlement and a usually masked yet unmistakable arrogance.

Yes, without a doubt, there are exceptions. You might even think you are different if you are an Old Boy. But trust me, the odds are you aren’t. You might even be one of the most dangerous because you are smart enough to say and sometimes… More Posted on 09-25-15

The Critical Hours

I was reminded this week about an incident with one of our sons that took place when he was about thirteen.

With judgment likely impaired by the bouncing hormones of adolescence, he and a friend found and decided to use a pellet gun to shoot at a gallery of glass canning jars. That in itself wasn’t a brilliant idea but it was compounded by the fact that they decided to do it in the rather confined space of our basement.

Ultimately one of the pellets ricocheted off a jar, a wall, and then hit my son’s friend square… More Posted on 08-06-15

Recreation: Poised for Big Data Analysis?

In the late 1990’s I got involved in a Canada-wide movement that collected evidence and research to document the benefits or outcomes delivered by recreation and parks.

Little did any of us know the field was ahead of its time in putting into place a precursor to what is now referred to as big data analytics. Let me explain.

The reality is that we create 2.5 quintillion bytes of data every day. What makes it… More Posted on 07-27-15

When Economy Trumps Quality of Life We Pay a Price

Community building is in my heart and likely in my DNA.

While my career path first took me into the corporate world, I was attracted to the field of recreation because of its focus on outcomes—helping people grow and be healthy, building strong families and communities, working with those who were disadvantaged, protecting the environment, and adding to the quality of life in our communities.

I subsequently worked in a variety of settings including a Boys and Girls Club, municipal recreation, Niagara College, then with the Alberta Recreation and Parks Association (ARPA), and now with my own social enterprise… More Posted on 07-26-15

Small Town Advantage

After living in Edmonton for the past eight years (population 877,926), we recently moved back to Welland, Ontario (population 50,631).

In Edmonton I could go anywhere and the odds are I would never run into a single person I knew. In Welland, that’s not the case because, as in other small towns across the country, people know each other. That’s one of the many things I missed.

In addition to not knowing a lot of people in Edmonton,… More Posted on 07-12-15

Peace Pilgrim: Her Inspiring Legacy

I must say it’s disconcerting to walk into stores and see clothes that look so much like those I wore in my younger years. Fortunately most of them are pretty unattractive and are clothes I would never wear again even if I could.

On the other hand, they bring back memories of an era and a generation that staged protests and raised their voices in an endeavor to make the world a better place.

I like that I often see that same desire in today’s youth.

While my generation may like to think they invented the concept of… More Posted on 07-04-15

Born to Dance?

A friend recently told me how happy she was to know that all of the students in her young daughter’s class had been tested to determine their strongest forms of intelligence.

As a parent, she had received the full assessment. Interestingly enough, the teacher only received the aggregated results of all students. There was great value in terms of knowing how her teaching could best accommodate the particular ratios in her classroom. However it wasn’t important for her to know the specifics of each child’s test.

A well informed and involved parent, my friend’s daughter’s results weren’t all that… More Posted on 06-06-15

Homeward Bound

Eight years ago my husband and I spread our wings as empty nesters and made what many considered to be an irrational decision to pull up stakes in Welland, Ontario and move to Edmonton, Alberta.

One month before the move, I flew out to find a place to live in a city that at the time had a vacancy rate of less than 1%.

A colleague picked me up at the Edmonton airport and as we exited the parking lot, we looked up to see a stunningly beautiful rainbow. I took it to be an omen that our risky decision… More Posted on 05-22-15

Need Some Vitamin N?

I’m not what anyone would describe as a tree hugger or as even as being the outdoor type. However, this year’s never-ending winter left me with a distinct longing to be outdoors tromping through the woods. It was as if my body and mind were telling me I needed to push myself away from the computer and find me a good dose of what author, Richard Louv, has termed Vitamin N – the N standing for nature.

In his book, “The Nature Principle”, Louv shows that this connection to nature, or… More Posted on 04-18-15

Why You Gotta Be So Mean?

As Taylor Swift has been known to sing, “Why you gotta be so mean?”

While I’m typically much more interested in grassroots leadership, Alberta’s recent provincial budget temporarily shifted my attention to the grasstops. The new budget includes a mean-spirited cut to the sector that can afford it the least, reflecting once again, a major disconnect between the provincial grasstops and the grassroots of our communities.

Until the most recent budget,  Alberta provided a 21 per cent tax credit for individual charitable contributions.  Given the impact of declining oil revenues, the government made the decision to cut the charitable tax… More Posted on 04-15-15

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