ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses a story of the author's local coastal village, Cabarita Beach/Bogangar. This particular community articulated a different relationship with its coast that prioritized 'ecological sustainability' over 'development'. The chapter outlines an exposition of the methods the author used to elicit community participation, the presentation of his fieldwork and its implications for communicative democracy and ecological democracy. The Community Plan adopted a multi-layered methodological approach to gathering community opinion and ideas, employing a range of both quantitative and qualitative data-collection techniques. In this work, the concept of 'radical democracy' has been extended to 'radical ecological democracy' to account for inclusion of diverse cultures of natures. The diversity of geo-community media and the ensuing amplification of local voices offering alternatives are goals of media democracy in an age of environmental crises. The Cabarita Beach/Bogangar community and others who take action to protect or protest local developments on basis of their environmental impact are at the forefront of innovation and creativity.
