Public Participation
- Archived: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 14:53:00 -0400 (EDT)
- Date: Wed, 11 Jul 2001 13:28:02 -0400 (EDT)
- From: LaTonya Spencer <spencer.latonya@epa.gov>
- Subject: Public Participation
- X-topic: Outreach
Good Afternoon to Everyone
Introduction: My name is L'Tonya Spencer. I am a Community Involvement Coordinator at EPA in Region 4.
I have read all the comments made on today and have tried most efforts and learned from reading others. In Region 4, as Betty Winters mentioned, we try a variety of things. In some communities one thing works better than the other. The most important thing that I have found is getting to know the community first. In most instances, communities don't respond because they either don't trust the gov't, have tried efforts before and nothing worked or they are uneducated about the environmental basics.
Especially in minority communities, they don't understand a whole lot about the environment. I am presently trying to seek ways to get minority/EJ communities first educated about the environment (basics like conserving water, energy, etc. things that concerne their everyday living), second introduce the the site that may surround their area (background/history about the area - the elderly can usually talk a mile a minute, you just have to take the time to listen), and then move on from there.
Some of the things listed above is just about gaining trust.
Anymore suggestions?
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