MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD

ECOBC: Advancing Eco-Civic Empowerment

At last! After months of planning, adrenaline and technical magic the British Columbia Environmental Network has launched its new website: ECOBC !

The Board of Directors believe in the B.C. environmental community; in its positive collective impact and goals. It is, definitely, a vibrant community that makes itself be heard. ECOBC is a means to widen the audience, to become the meeting point for the public to engage environmentalists from all over British Columbia.

We urge all B.C. environmentalists to wake up to the reality of this new online supersite and invest and support it, so as to provide partnering content accessible to the entire population - in the home, school, office, and in the field. In doing so, our existing and emerging regional and issue-based coalitions stand to play yet a greater decisive role in environmental affairs across the province -- like never before.

Supporting ECOBC's mission to empower conservationists to become more locally, regionally and provincially engaged presents a unique opportunity that translates into reaching out to the full spectrum of participation, from wide-network education to public service. As the largest online gathering of environmental leadership, ECOBC"s online presence will provide a platform for citizen organizing and critical policy discussions around key issues facing our province.

By implementing state-of-the-art networking strategies, and greater functionality to build and strengthen our relationship with the broader B.C. public, we are confident that ECOBC will enable and empower our conservation community so that it continues to be an increasingly critical, engaged and influential segment of society.

A few of ECOBC's impressive features:

• Direct online donations to member groups;
• Database access to over 555 groups in British Columbia;
• An online Members-Only Funding Directory - soon to be updated;
• A movement wide events calendar;
• A collection of environmental news feeds to start your activist work day.
• Password secure members-only toolset permits 'uploading' of member newsletters, action alerts, news releases, and coming soon, product uploading for a network-wide e-catalog, and a free photo gallery (for non-commercial uses);
• Member tools are easily-accessible, free and adaptable to the changing needs of member organizations. ECOBC services are appropriately designed for organizations just starting to consider communications in their work as well as those with more experience looking to further enhance their message outreach effectiveness in reaching wider target audiences.

We are confident ECOBC will become the province's leading online eco-civic audience, bringing together some of Canada's most important conservation leaders of today and tomorrow. We also believe ECOBC will have a highly distinguished record of creating environmental change and empowering civic opportunity and participation for tens of thousands. We are very happy to announce this new internet supersite and encourage all to partner with it in its very bright future.

Our thirty-year heritage makes us especially proud to be the preeminent enabling sponsor of ECOBC. It is our listening post to the needs of the movement.

See you back here often!

For a wild and healthy planet,

Your Board of Directors

British Columbia Environmental Network