Capacity Building & Training

• Open Space Toolkit AB
• Open Space Toolkit BC
• Landscapes, Wildlife & People
• Parks Canada Training
• Measuring Change in Rural Communities

Community Assistance

• Crown of the Continent
• Crowsnest Pass
• Canmore
• Golden
• Fernie

Outreach & Partnerships

Chinook Institute Services

Applied Research

1. Research on community-based land use planning, stewardship and conservation practices available to municipalities, developers and landowners, including case studies of successful practice.
2. Data-based analysis of local/regional economic and demographic trends as it relates to community planning, land use and stewardship (producing a community profile as a tool for information sharing, broad based discussion, and decision-making).
3. Indicators for assessing and understanding the stages of community transition, and entry points for appropriate interventions that address the opportunities and impacts of growth and change.

 Educational Programs And Resources

1. Educational workshops and resources to build local understanding of the drivers and impacts of regional growth; encourage appreciation of the ecological, economic and cultural values of natural landscapes; and help people to identify appropriate tools and strategies to address local land use and community planning issues (e.g. the Open Space Toolkit community workshop series). 
2. Community-based mapping workshops to increase understanding of the state of a community’s local ecosystems and land usages by gathering and mapping a range of ecological and cultural information (as a tool for information sharing, broad based discussion and decision-making).
3. Regional training programs that bring together municipal leaders and land managers to learn about and share innovative tools for effective community growth management and sustainable land use, and collaborative processes for working effectively together.
4. Public outreach presentations to build awareness of the context and drivers of community growth, and community-based approaches to protecting local assets and addressing the impacts of change.

 Community Assistance And Support

1. Development of tools/toolkits, models and resources to directly assist communities and community groups in the practice of community stewardship (e.g. Home Buyers’ and Home Owners’ Guides to Community Stewardship, community asset inventories/surveys; community dialogue forums).
2. Facilitation and assessment aimed at identifying core community values related to land, culture and economy; and facilitation of a values-based and collaborative approach to community development and land use planning.
3. Assistance to communities and local groups in planning and implementing local stewardship projects, and support for building local organizational capacity to lead and facilitate long-term stewardship projects in the area.
4. Assistance to municipal and regional planners in their efforts to engage local resident’s in identifying issues and opportunities for proactively managing community change and land use in the rural area.