My Turn: Enlisting local efforts to combat a global environmental crisis

Galvanized groups of concerned citizens in communities across the country are working to create positive change for a healthier planet and national nonprofit Ocean River Institute is offering their support and resources to enhance those efforts.

Ocean River Institute’s philosophy is that grassroots environmental efforts from people taking action in their own communities and regions can be more effective than efforts from large national and international organizations. They support that belief by connecting small, local, regional and/or newly formed environmental groups with donors and advocates to assist with specific community-based opportunities to practice stewardship, save wildlife and protect ecosystems with environmental education, science, and conservation.

Those resources and services help maximize each organization’s impact, capacity and ability to effectively manage any unanticipated setbacks. Available assistance includes help with raising money to replace broken monitoring equipment for a river or coastal group, and assisting a group in creating a website to publicize upcoming events and initiatives.

Our organization lives by the principle of subsidiarity, which is defined as an organizing principle that matters ought to be handled by the smallest, lowest or least centralized competent authority. We call this approach environmental subsidiarity and each small step bring us closer to a healthier global climate.

Ocean River Institute has assisted environmental groups throughout the U.S and beyond including Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, the Coastal Bird Program of Cape Cod, Sunshine Wildlife (Florida), the Campaign for Environmental Literacy, the British Virgin Islands Environmental Council, and Sea Change, Friends of the Wester Ross Marine Protected Area (Scotland). Organizations interested in partnering with Ocean River Institute are encouraged to contact us.