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WORKING AT ACTION SAINT-FRANÇOIS

2011 216

FIELDWORK

FIELDWORK RELATED TO WATERCOURSE CLEANUPS – COORDINATOR

Every year, Action Saint-François completes between 20 and 30 cleanup activities, which involve removing various waste materials from watercourses. We mainly recycle tires, glass, metal, wood, and plastic, but the remaining waste found on sites is not recoverable. To assume its duties related to watercourse cleanups, our organization needs a coordinator to plan each step of a successful watercourse site cleanup. Essentially, the coordinator must:

  • Find sites that may contain waste materials to dispose of
  • Contact municipalities
  • Conduct site visits
  • Assess the amount of waste to remove from watercourses
  • Plan cleanup activities
  • Call volunteers
  • Supervise planned cleanup activities
  • Transport waste materials to appropriate locations
  • Share the outcome of cleanups on social media and other platforms
  • Seek funding to prepare future activities

In addition to the coordinator, we also need an assistant-coordinator to lighten the workload and ensure the safety of all. An assistant can perform the duties of a coordinator and replace him or her as needed, without having the lead responsibility regarding volunteers and municipal authorities.

The last point is one of the coordinator’s most important duties, as cleanup activities cannot happen without funding. The coordinator must take the time to secure funding and convince citizens, institutions, private companies, municipalities, and governments to invest in watercourse cleanup activities. Everyone is responsible for the quality of our waters and depends on clean water to live.

FIELDWORK RELATED TO PLANTING ACTIVITIES – COORDINATOR

Our organization plants many trees and shrubs not only to stabilize shorelines, but also to sequester CO2 and create ecosystems that provide a habitat and food for countless species.

As with cleanup activities, Action Saint-François needs a coordinator and an assistant-coordinator to ensure all the steps are taken for a successful planting activity. Here are the main duties of this position:

  • Use advertising to inform the public of Action Saint-François’s shoreline revegetation services
  • Find clients who require revegetation work
  • Plan a site visit and inform the landowner of costs associated to this visit and the upcoming revegetation contract
  • Visit the lots where revegetation is needed
  • Provide the landowner with a revegetation plan
  • Sign the planting contract
  • Schedule a planting activity with the landowner
  • Execute the plan and determine the number and species of plants to purchase
  • Purchase the plants required
  • Carry out the planting activity
  • Ensure the planting activity was successful by visiting the site a few months later, as per the agreement between Action Saint-François and the landowner
  • Seek out funding and clients in order to conduct more planting activities

Due to the repetitive nature of planting activities, we need to hire planters who will assist the coordinator and his or her assistant. Volunteers can also give a hand with planting or carrying plants and tools.

OFFICE WORK

OFFICE WORK RELATED TO FIELDWORK – COORDINATOR

Many of Action Saint-François’s projects on the field require some preparation at the organization’s office.

Brainstorm: This important step involves all the thinking around the creation of a new project. Some questions must be asked to determine if an idea can be put into practice. Does Action Saint-François have the financial and technical means to bring this idea to life? Has it been implemented elsewhere? Etc.

Securing funds: Once the project has been approved by the board of directors and all related expenses have been estimated, the coordinator must secure proper funding to carry it out.

Finding suppliers: Whether it be for watercourse cleanups or planting activities, Action Saint-François requires materials (tools, plants, etc.) to carry out field activities. The person in charge of planning field activities must plan the purchase of necessary materials in advance.

Planning: The planning stage of field activities is crucial, as it guides the frequency of media publications, the process to find volunteers or employees, and the timeframe for completing tasks. The coordinator must also consider the time of year where activities will take place and take holidays, summer vacation, and seasonal weather into account.

Media communications: Action Saint-François was created to empower citizens to take real action for environmental conservation. Field activities are the perfect opportunity for people to get involved. Hence, it is essential to inform the public of when these activities will take place. Media communication plays a key role for that purpose.

OFFICE WORK – COMMUNICATIONS AGENT

Action Saint-François needs to gain exposure and recognition. Thanks to its communications, the organization projects a positive image of the concrete, beneficial work it does for the environment. This image inspires municipalities, businesses, and citizens to do business with Action Saint-François. Hence, we must show citizens who we are and what we do through every possible media channel. The communications agent is responsible for this work.

Here are some duties the communications agent must perform to effectively promote the organization:
  • Share the organization’s accomplishments on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. and in traditional media, including radio, television, and newspapers.
  • Send newsletters to stay in touch with the organization’s members.
  • Use posters and brochures to increase the visibility of educational activities such as À Prop’EAU water-themed conferences, the Salon the la Nature show, and in-school workshops.
  • Advertise the organization’s field activities, i.e. watercourse cleanups and planting activities, in various media.
  • Promote the organization’s mission by raising awareness about its eco-crowdfunding campaign.
  • Release information to City of Sherbrooke media regarding our activities, including the city’s Internet platforms, business directory, activities calendar and electronic billboards.
  • Share information through the Collectif en environnement de Sherbrooke‘s network, in connection with the Conseil régional de l’Estrie.

OFFICE WORK FOR RAISING AWARENESS AMONG CITIZENS – AWARENESS ACTIVITIES LEADER

Part of Action Saint-François’s mission involves raising awareness about environmental conservation. For this reason, the organization hosts public education and awareness activities.

The educational activities leader carries out several duties to present these activities, including the following:

À PROP’EAU CONFERENCES

Set a budget

  • Reflect on conference topics
  • Scout qualified speakers
  • Rent spaces for conferences
  • Plan the event presentation
  • Create and place advertisements for these activities
  • Promote the conferences on all Action Saint-François’s media channels
  • Present the event and assist the speaker during his or her talk

SALON DE LA NATURE SHOW

  • Create a task force of employees and volunteers for the Salon
  • Set a budget for the entire event
  • For the conference portion, perform the same tasks as for À Prop’EAU conferences
  • Set the event dates
  • Find and rent spaces for the event
  • Find relevant exhibitors
  • Reserve and rent exhibition booths
  • Advertise the Salon as much as possible
  • Go onsite to ensure smooth running of the event
  • Conduct a post-mortem of the Salon to establish a benchmark for the next edition

OFFICE WORK FOR ORGANIZATION MANAGEMENT TASKS – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

The duties of an executive directorwill vary from one nonprofit organization to another. Action Saint-François’s executive director performs various duties that can change from one year to the next, depending on current projects and employees’ availability to help him or her. Here are some of the executive director’s essential duties to ensure the organization runs smoothly.

  • The executive director’s mission is to ensure the proper functioning of the organization and the fulfillment of its mission. He or she ensures the completion of all projects selected by the board of directors and general assembly of members.
  • He or she serves as an intermediary between employees and the board of directors, and informs the board of the current general situation.
  • He or she serves as an intermediary between Action Saint-François and the external entities it deals with, including governments, municipalities, businesses, other nonprofit organizations, and members.
  • He or she also acts as the organization’s media spokesperson, giving press conferences and sharing public information.
  • He or she ensures the organization’s finances are soundly managed.
  • He or she supervises employees and volunteers as they complete their respective tasks, and creates a positive working environment based on harmonious relationships across the organization.
  • He or she makes sure employees of all positions fulfill their duties, occasionally meeting with them to discuss the status of projects.
  • He or she encourages staff to accomplish their projects with the organization’s future in mind and to come up with ideas to keep Action Saint-François in the spirit of the times.

OFFICE WORK FOR THE ORGANIZATION’S FUNDING NEEDS – DEVELOPMENT OFFICER

As we say, money makes the world go round.

The development officer must secure the necessary funding for the organization’s various activities and ensure that budget estimates are respected.

He or she also works jointly with the treasurer of the board to share information about financial statements.

The development officer seeks out funding in many areas, based on his or her knowledge of financial resources. He or she must collect information and dig deep to find funding opportunities. For some projects, he or she will need to find very specific funding or explore unconventional paths.

Here is a list of funding sources Action Saint-François has already taken advantage of:

  • Provincial and federal government grants;
  • Planting and cleanup contracts with private companies, municipalities, and individuals;
  • Donations and membership dues from individuals, companies, municipalities, nonprofit organizations, and financial or religious institutions (thanks to recruiting and soliciting);
  • Crowdfunding campaigns;
  • Sales of scrap metals, plants, and t-shirts.

Many more sources of funding exist — it is up to the development officer to find them.

FIELD AND OFFICE WORK FOR THE ORGANIZATION’S FUNDING NEEDS – RECRUITER

Member recruiters are tasked with visiting citizens and inviting them to support Action Saint-François’s activities either by volunteering or by making a donation. The recruiter invites each person to become a member of the organization or make a donation and get involved as a volunteer.

He or she carries a binder with all the materials needed to inform citizens. Once this canvassing work is completed, the recruiter returns to the organization’s office to enter data and deposit donations as well as membership dues.

FIELD AND OFFICE WORK RELATED TO CITIZEN EDUCATION – EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES LEADER

In addition to raising citizens’ awareness about nature conservation, Action Saint-François educates individuals at an early age via in-school educational activities.

The organization has given environmental workshops in some schools and seeks to showcase these activities, which educate and shape the next generation.

IN-SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTAL WORKSHOPS

  • Set a budget for hosting the workshops
  • Establish a team of employees and volunteers to organize the workshops
  • Update existing environmental workshops for schools
  • Promote the workshops to schools and school boards
  • Find elementary and high schools open to workshops
  • Establish contracts for the workshops with partner schools
  • Present workshops in these schools
  • Prepare workshops for the following year

Action Saint-François would like to develop training workshops for adults. Many people are unaware of the impacts of air and water pollution on their lives. They are also unaware of the state of aquatic ecosystems in the Eastern Townships (or turn a blind eye to it). To fill this gap in knowledge or inspire them to care, Action Saint-François wishes to create and host educational events (courses, workshops, etc.) to introduce adults to our region’s environmental realities. The event format is not yet determined, but the idea is to start with basic biology notions and continue with some ecology principles.

OFFICE WORK TO PROMOTE THE ORGANIZATION’S VISIBILITY – EXHIBIT LEAD

Action Saint-François featured an exhibition of trash objects found along watercourses during its cleanup activities a few years ago. This exhibition was entitled: “Déchets d’oeuvre et des arts durs” (loose translation: Trash’terpieces and gARTbage). The goal was to show the public what types of objects we found on shorelines, while revealing to what extent people used to throw out consumer goods without care for environmental consequences. This form of careless disposal continues to this day. This exhibit may be presented again since considerable public awareness work is needed on this issue.

Here are the main steps to organize this exhibit:

  • Find trash objects to showcase
  • Make objects presentable to the public
  • Create information tags with some history about the object, including where it was found
  • Find spaces where the exhibit can be presented
  • Set up an itinerary to explore the showcased objects
  • Host the exhibit
  • Collect feedback from attendees
  • Plan the event for the following year