An hour and a half south of New Orleans and 21 miles from where Hurricane Katrina made landfall in August 2005, the remaining six houses of Grand Bayou, Lousiana are perched above waving marsh grasses and shrimp-filled water. Twenty homes were lost to the hurricane, and the families that lived in them were forced to relocate. Accessible only by boat, Grand Bayou is home to the Atakapa-Ishak tribe whose members have lived here for 300 years working as shrimpers, oyster fishermen, trappers and more recently for oil companies. Like so many communities that dot the U.S. Gulf Coast, tribe members are struggling to rebuild and preserve their way of life. And they realize that sustainability—considering environmental, social, and economic issues in balance—is key to their survival. “People ask, ‘Why don’t you just pick up and leave?’” says Myrtle Phillips, deputy chief of the tribe. She maintains that coastal communities play a critical role in protecting cities further inland—like New Orleans—from storm surges and flood damage. “If we move and don’t come back, the land will erode a lot quicker.” She explains: “There’s no one there to take care of it—to bulkhead a little piece or to stop boats from going too fast. So it’ll erode. Once it’s gone, the Gulf will be against the back levee.” One sign that communities on the coast are

increasingly taking matters into their own hands are the many grassroots groups that have sprung up since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. “As communities look to rebuild, residents want to have a voice in how that happens,” says Betty Weiss, ISC’s director of community initiatives. “They want redevelopment that is respectful of the environment and culture and not driven by outside interests or a purely financial bottom line.” Over the past few years, ISC has helped leaders in Moss Point, Mississippi rebuild sustainably and involve residents in decision making. When other communities requested similar help, we launched the Gulf Coast Sustainable Communities Network for leaders from Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas who want to share ideas and work together to rebuild stronger and more resilient communities. Network meetings address how the community land trust model can help resource-poor communities, how to assess community risk and resiliency, and how digital advocacy can help them reach a wider audience. “This has been great,” said Diane Huhn, of Bayou Grace Community Services. “We come from different places and work on different issues. At the core it’s really the same issue, though,” she said. “How do we create sustainable communities?”

Sue Taoka, executive vice president for ShoreBank Enterprise Cascadia; Trenton

Allen, director, Municipal Securities Division for Citigroup Global Markets,

and Cisco DeVries, president, Renewable Funding LLC.

continued from the front cover

ing loan model that is helping homeowners offset the initial investment of a retrofit, while Steve Morgan of Clean Energy Solutions outlined key elements of a successful large-scale retrofit effort gleaned from best practices from several cities. Many city leaders commented on how un-usual it is for city officials responsible for energy, workforce and economic development to get the opportunity get together to explore new ways to approach important issues. But this kind of collaboration is critical if leaders want to move beyond working building by building to retrofit-ting on a citywide scale. “This is just absolutely amazing to see you here, “ said Gil Sperling of the U.S. Department of Energy, who oversees the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program, a key Recovery Act funding source. “I can’t tell you how grateful I am that all of you would take the time to do this, which is why I am taking the time away from the things that I do because this is really important.” By the end of the camp, leaders from each city were reinvigorated and prepared to return to their cities to tackle the next steps. Some, for example,

set specific targets to retrofit half their buildings in 10 years’ time. Others committed to creating a revolving loan program modeled on those already underway in several cities. Many said that they would continue to meet as a team to move their plans forward. The San Francisco team, whose members met for the first time at the airport, said they would work together to build a coordinated, systems-based approach. The boot camp was part of ISC’s broader Climate Leadership Academy program, which pro-vides training and peer-learning services to local climate practitioners in four areas: building energy efficiency, climate-friendly transportation and land use, green job creation, and climate adaptation. Next up, in conjunction with the Urban Sustainability Directors' Network meeting on September 21-23, 2009 in Chicago, ISC will hold an intensive workshop on reducing carbon emissions through smart transportation and smart growth management strategies. Future programs will focus on climate adaptation and other topics. To find out more about the Academy or to download the Green Boot Camp Resource Guide, visit www.iscvt.org.

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Myrtle Phillips, deputy chief of the Atakapa-Ishak tribe, and Michael Amos,

the tribe's principal chief.