When I was living in Vancouver we would often go to Bellingham to visit friends and it was always great to visit Nelson’s Market. This small convenience store and cafe is a hub of hospitality and neighbourly connection inside and out.  From the positive...

Recently I had the privilege of facilitating a retreat for the Board of an art and nature center. The members began by sharing what they loved about this place. Many things were identified including the look on a child’s face when they hold a snake for t...

Several years ago a group of community connectors I was part of partnered with several groups in Vancouver to develop and host a community photography event. The premise being that stories and pictures build community and create understanding and through them....

I have been struck over the past year over the power of an invitation. Invitations can come in many different forms and does not have to be to some type of formal event, which we often correlate with an invitation such as to my niece’s First Communion gather...

Remembering John I first heard John McKnight speak about Asset Based Community Development twenty-five years ago to a small group of parents of kids with disabilities. I carried the notes from that conversation in my backpack for years as a reminder to see the...

Recently I met with a group of residents of 100 Mile House in British Columbia. We spent some time identifying many of the assets in their community and identifying ways to discover more with an asset based lens. We learned that the value of their asset map is...

ABCD is all about using the strengths in your community. How have you seen your community use its assets? Let’s celebrate local initiatives like ReNewport and the tree planting groups; a great partnership of residents, non profits, local and federal gove...

What is Asset Based Community Development (ABCD)? ABCD empowers communities to recognize and build on the strengths they possess. Instead of focusing on the gaps, we focus on the assets to unlock the potential. I first learned about ABCD through a meeting with...

I saw the old Air Force plane from a distance as I started the bike trail around the small airport. As I completed the loop I went to see if I could get a closer look at the plane. At a fence I noticed another biker looking studying the plane and that there we...

Back in 2007 I had been facilitating this team of community connectors for 10 months when John McKnight visited us to hear about our experience and learning. We each shared stories of the assets in community and the impact of connections and contribution for p...