Andre Riopel had a vision.

In talking to Andre Riopel, he shared with us how he and Robert Rattle, another local environmental activist, were observing how locally, lots of ideas get started, but few sustain long enough to bring about desired change.

Looking back at the Hub Trail, Andre noted two important ingredients: a catalyst and the right mix of people. The initial spark was an effort to bring motorized trails to downtown, something Andre and others felt would be bad for the city. So, a group of concerned individuals, some working for the city, some environmentalists and some local business owners, got together and committed to establishing a non-motorized trail system in the Sault.

We know the end result. The Hub Trail is well underway. 

Travis, along with a group of passionate youth and youth advocates, thought our city needed a skatepark. They got together and formed the Superior Community Skatepark Association (SCSA). The SCSA became a non-profit community group formed to focus on the needs of Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma area skateboarders. 

The group lobbied for several years. They held dozens of fundraisers over the years, petitioned the City and aligned with community partners. They recognized that Sault Ste. Marie was one of the only communities that did not provide a skatepark for the resident boarders. 

We know the end result. The skatepark is now enjoyed by many young skateboarders. Phase II plans are underway.

We see from these two collaborations, that 1: change can happen when the community comes together and 2: change is not a sprint.

We've all worked on issues and struggled to make change happen. Why do some efforts succeed and others don't. We want to get to the root causes, and find solutions.

Next week together, we will answer this question:

How can we create a change movement?

This will be our focus, rather than an open series of topics, because this is a challenge that every cause faces, and we want to tackle it now. The ChangeCamp team wants to see change sprout all over the city, with the right ingredients so the harvest will be plenty.

RSVP for ChangeSalon event at the *new* ChangeCamp Sault community site.