We first noticed GreenSudbury through their dynamic, well-connected, socially-driven web site. We dropped them an email recently to see what they have been up to…
Q: So how did GreenSubury come about?
A: GreenSudbury was inspired by the local EarthDay festival in 2008 when I realized that so many small grass roots groups and individuals were quietly working away on their own Green projects and initiatives and only came together once a year. I saw that we need to share information and start to change our thinking about our own cities – like Sudbury, which had such a tarnished image based on years of mining activity and industrial pollution when the reality was Earth activities were blossoming by the dozens. So we started GreenSudbury to publish a daily round-up of local urban and green news from across Northern Ontario – kind of like a Readers Digest or a press clipping service to make it easy to follow the big picture and get a regional view of what the traditional media is covering and make it easy to stay informed.
Q: Any highlights?
A: The highlight of our first year was the City’s marketing dept listing our website as an official media outlet right up there with the BBC and Canada’s Globe and Mail. In addition our logo was designed by a great graphic designer Frank Chartrand of Bureau.ca who got in touch with us through Facebook and offered us to do design work for us because he saw the work we were doing – which was a great booster.
Q: You seem to be all over the web. What other social network services does Green Sudbury use?
A: Yes, Web 2.0 is my viral method of networking. In terms of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Flickr and YouTube are the quickest ways to have your group or links listed in search engine results because they are indexed quickly. You need to add your meta-tags as well!
Also, by using the comments fields in blogs or websites you read or follow with a hyperlink back to your website also increases your web 2.0 ‘stickiness’. Over all, the key is to post/blog/photograph/comment often and consistently in order to become visible on the web
- I use a Flickr account at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ideanorth/
- A YouTube Channel at http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenSudbury
- A GreenMap at http://www.opengreenmap.org/greenmap/greensudbury-map
- And a small blog at http://greensudbury.blogspot.com/
Q: Any lessons learned?
A: In terms of lessons learned I tie in the website to an active Facebook group and employ social networking to cross-pollinate membership and readership which has been very successful in terms of developing a base. The challenge that all media are facing are advertising and sponsorships and we are no different, instead I have concentrated on hand picking great resources and stories to follow and building up web site traffic and trust that over time – if you build it they will come. As well, translating online subscribers into active volunteers is always ongoing work as we have branched out into co-hosting Earth Hour Artists Tours, No Parking Day Installations, and 350.org Climate Change rally’s we are finding natural allys. People need events to go out to and make friends and charge up their Green spirit
Q: What’s next for 2010?
A: What next? In 2009 we formally incorporated as a not-for-profit and are now working on an urban forest initiative to help preserve Sudbury’s heritage trees in neighborhoods and the downtown as a climate change and healthy city project. Sudbury has 20 years experience in regreening and the urban forest and tree hugging projects are a great way to help celebrate and change the Cities brand. This is occurring at that same time that a new Northern Ontario School of Architecture is planned for the downtown and Design Guru Bruce Mau is working on establishing a Center for Massive Change in Sudbury – so the pieces seem to be falling in place for some creative, innovative and ground breaking synergies and collaborations in 2010.
Q: Got any green idols?
A: Wow Green idols. Thomas Berry and Matthew Fox who combine a gentle but radical mix of monastic and Christian theology with a Gaean twist and of course the Anishinabe Mide – traditional Ojibwa first nations medicine lodge who have kept the traditions alive and continue to work for healing and helping.
Q: Favourite Colour?
A: HaHa Actually yellow and occasionally the rainbow
Q: Any final, lasting message?
A. There is absolutely no reason to despair. There is so much happening and even though the numbers or response may seem small – that is actually the key. Start small, keep working away and keep networking – changing our ways of thinking and living take time and we need to start experimenting now for a greener future.
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Visit GreenSudbury at http://www.greensudbury.ca/
No Parking Day 2009
Street-stenciling for 350.org Climate Action Day 2009
Tree Planting with Cambrian College Graphic Design program
Discover more from thegreenpages
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