ABSTRACT
Communities of practice (CoPs) offer an effective professional development approach that can support informal educators in their climate change education work. This chapter tells the story – through both community facilitators’ and members’ voices – of how a facilitated CoP transitioned to an independent, unfunded, sustained effort that remains valuable to its members. The facilitators describe how they initiated and supported the CoP, including increasingly requiring members to take on leadership roles and eventually full control of the community. Members recall anxiety about this leadership transition but also a strong commitment to long-term community sustainability. This chapter outlines several lessons for transitioning to a self-sustaining CoP including the following: a shared resolution coupled with real passion for the focus of the CoP (e.g., climate change education); members who work at different levels in their organizations, practices that build trust and maintain good communication among members, and an openness to growth and evolution with ongoing efforts to recruit new members. Overall, both facilitators and members believe the CoP had dramatic professional and personal impacts on participating educators in terms of their climate change education efforts.
