Our Core Values and Beliefs

• We value people and organizations that care for and promote the enduring health and diverse richness of the Earth and her people.
• We place a high value on creating strong and healthy organizations that can carry out their missions over a long time, especially groups committed to working within their communities to foster civic action.
• We believe a healthy ecosystem of organizations and leaders is needed within communities, states and regions and that it is important to serve a wide variety of groups within a geographic area. 
• We believe that protecting the planet and human health requires leaders and groups to create inclusive and diverse participation, to respect and support one another, to work together strategically and to engage in a larger political and social context. 
• The Institute’s work is influenced by theories and practices that support sound principles of adult learning, a systems approach to organizational development, popular education and research.  It is also influenced by our own hands-on learning with conservation, environmental and other social change movements in the United States and abroad. 
• We believe that the best opportunities for success arise when people are engaged in participatory processes that draw upon their wisdom and collective experience and that offer high quality information.