Individually and collectively, we can impact the future of our world and our community by creating:

• A sustainable vision of the future
• A widely held ethic of stewardship
• Innovative solutions for sustainable use, development, and revitalization

This section includes some ideas about simple ways in which you can help create a sustainable community.

What Is "Sustainable"?

To put it simply, "sustainable" means that we use our resources so they last forever.

How Do We Know When A Community Is Sustainable?

There is a balance between resources used and resources generated:

• When we use resources, for example, lumber from trees, we ensure that new trees are planted to replace those that were harvested.
• Resources are as clean at the end of use as at the beginning.
• Water that has been used in cities is cleaned at treatment facilities and reused.

Learn more:

Begin by expanding your understanding of the resources in our area and the methods to conserve them. For residents and adult groups, the RCRCD offers the Help Create a Sustainable Community project, which explains simple ways that we can all begin to live and build communities that conserve natural resources for future generations.

The project includes:

• A companion booklet with information about creating more sustainable communities
• A tour, of the LandUse Learning Center or Sycamore Creek Interpretive Center, with publications and plant lists that empower residents to conserve resources at home, at work and in the community.

Take action:

• Through your vote, your purchasing power, and by the way you live.
• Share your concerns with others.
• Donate your time, money, and expertise.
• Make lifestyle choices that reduce your personal "environmental impact", conserve resources, reduce waste, and stop pollution.
• Become a responsible, conscious consumer of sustainable products.

Sustainable Planning and Land Stewardship

Help guide your community by becoming involved in sustainable planning and land stewardship efforts.

Take an active role in land-use and development decisions by participating in planning workshops, community meetings, and zoning hearings.

Assist habitat and farmland conservation efforts by supporting your community's conservation organizations.

Discuss the potential for healthier natural and urban habitats with government leaders, planning commissions and staff, even developers. Remind elected officials that you would like them to support sustainable growth and development. Vote for officials whose records show strong support for quality of life issues.

Voice your concerns by sending letters to legislators. Some groups will notify you of urgent issues and needed action, via the internet. They will notify you of letter writing campaigns and petitions and will suggest ways to make your voice heard. Be an advocate by sharing your knowledge. Support eco-system based land management, pedestrian-friendly cities, and environmentally responsible businesses.

What is eco-system based land management?

Cycles of nature, such as the water cycle, operate in "ecologic systems", or ecosystems. Ecosystems are places where communities of plants and animals, including people, interact with one another and with the natural resources of a region. It's crucial that ecosystems operate effectively to cycle air, energy, and water in order to provide services that are fundamental to life.

Healthy, functioning ecosystems are indispensable because they:

• clean water and air
• decompose waste and cycle nutrients
• generate soils and renew their fertility
• regulate disease carrying organisms
• moderate weather extremes and contribute to climate stability and more.

There are no "human made" substitutes for these natural processes. It's hard to believe that human activities could so impact natural systems that they would fail to function properly. However, when natural cycles are interfered with, sometimes we can help restore them by re-engineering what humans have altered.

Ecosystems function, to a greater or lesser extent, in each of the three main land uses of Southern California: native habitats, urban areas, and agriculture.