Pass it on, the Challenge is spreading. During the month of May, thousands of people across the country will take coordinated, grassroots action to build resilience in their communities. Together, we’ll show the world what’s possible when communities come together to get things done. Will you join us?

Last year we collectively helped register over 16,000 actions as part of the Community Resilience Challenge! Way to stand up and be counted!!

The Community Resilience Challenge is organized around four themes: Save Water, Grow Food, Conserve Energy, and Build Community. During the Challenge participants commited to undertake specific actions that fall under each theme such as installing a greywater system, planting a garden, weatherizing their home and/or coordinating a community project. The Challenge is a great reason to take care of home and garden improvements, to organize a work party in your neighborhood, or to plan a community visioning event. By registering our actions through a shared online portal, we can count our collective impact and demonstrate the strength of our movement.

Now’s the time to start thinking about what kind of project you’d like to organize for this year’s Challenge!

Here are a few ideas:

• A work party to do much-needed maintenance on a school or community garden, vacant lot, or a neighbor’s yard
• Launch Transition Streets in your neighborhood
• Install a greywater, rainwater catchment, or composting system
• Host an event or community discussion around building local resilience
• Get creative!

Need some inspiration to get started?

Consider this: planting and tending a garden is one of the most powerful sustainability actions we can take, because it enables people to reconnect to their food source and to the natural cycles of the life giving forces we depend on for survival, like water, soil, and photosynthesis.

And, for more inspiration on reconnecting to nature, tune into the online Earth Day Summit to hear from dozens of visionary leaders on awakening a sacred relationship with the Earth. Thanks to Summit organizers for highlighting the Community Resilience Challenge as an opportunity for summit participants to move from awakening into action!