Stategic Planning – Compost Education Centre

Looking for Strategic Clarity

September 12, 2025

by Claire

When I first started at the Compost Ed Centre (about 2 ½ years ago!), I remember being awestruck – and frankly, a bit overwhelmed – by all the different things the organization was doing. I was a new Executive Director after several years of turnover in the position (although amazingly, very little turnover in other staff positions), and I felt like we were in transition as an organization. In the absence of stable and consistent strategic leadership, I saw what I called “mission spill,” (or what someone else generously and thematically referred to as “organic growth amidst resource scarcity”). We were doing a little bit of everything related to composting, gardening, and conservation; and while those three topics are interrelated, I was finding it difficult to express with confidence what it was we were trying to achieve and whether we were being effective.

We did an initial strategic planning session in the first year I was at the organization, and the process was positive. It consisted of a staff retreat, surveying our community and key stakeholders, a facilitated weekend discussion with staff and board, and follow-up staff discussions. We came to a shared understanding that we were doing great work that our community appreciated. And our community’s hopes for the future? That we keep doing what we do – and possibly expand!

However, due a lack of time and expertise, our initial strategic planning process created a sense of overwhelm because of how much time we collectively spent in a “generative” mode without creating much-needed strategic clarity tools like an impact statement, theory of change, or action plan. We started a lot of conversations without finishing them, produced a wish list of blue-sky ideas, and left feeling like we had added a lot to our plate without taking anything off it.

It felt very clear to me after a year in the Executive Director position that we didn’t have any strategic guardrails in place. We were doing a little bit of everything – and our community loved it – but we couldn’t assess how impactful we were being. At a more foundational level, we hadn’t articulated our hypotheses around our intended impact and theory of change – and that made it difficult to figure out our strategic priorities and action plan.

Intended impact statement: A clear and rigorous statement of the impact that it will hold itself accountable for achieving
Theory of change: A logical flow describing how their work leads to achieving that intended impact.
Strategic priorities and action plan: an outline of the work required to implement the theory of change.

At this point in the process, I was beyond grateful to connect with Stephanie and Véro of Garrow & Evoy. With the support of MakeWay funding through Innoweave, a core group of staff and board members embarked on an almost 12-month process of developing our intended impact statement, theory of change, and action plan. We discussed, consulted with stakeholders, analyzed our programs, and discussed again. We were well-supported by our coaches Stephanie and Véro, and they led us – with insightful and challenging questions, endless examples from other organizations, and a lot of enthusiastic support – to our “final” products.

Check out our Theory of Change (beautifully assembled by Zoe-Blue) and let us know what you think.

Posted in Announcement, Blog, Reflections, Stategic Planning

Strategic Planning Updates

December 1, 2023

I joined the Compost Ed Centre as Executive Director in February 2023, and I’m constantly learning about who we are and what we do. Let me begin by saying that I am so grateful to work with Elora, Jeffrey, Kayla, and Zoe-Blue. Earlier this year in anticipation of our strategic planning, we sent out a survey to gather data from our community as to what they view as the Compost Ed Centre’s strengths and what they might want us to do differently in the next three to five years. Consistently, the responses highlighted knowledgeable, engaging, and passionate staff as our core strength. And for the future? For us to keep doing what we have been doing – and possibly some expansion!? The responses highlighted for me how well-established and well-loved the Compost Ed Centre is after 30 years of operation.

We want to share our many thanks to everyone who filled out a survey! We compiled the responses into a short PowerPoint to provide some context to our strategic planning.

What has resonated for me most in this role and what we have learned from you all is how the Compost Ed Centre creates impact through education and research. On one level, we transfer technical skills that empower workshop participants, site volunteers, university students, and schoolkids to take on climate mitigation and adaptation action. But on another – and more profound – level, we integrate folks into our community of plants and people. The Compost Ed Centre cultivates an increased sense of connectivity and reciprocity, and we do it by sharing knowledge in a welcoming way.

I can speak personally to how welcomed I have felt to this role and to the Compost Ed Centre’s community. I want to highlight how fortunate I’ve been to work with Alexis so much over the past few months as she has transitioned out of the Executive Director role. The pandemic and post-pandemic inflation has hit nonprofits hard, but Alexis’s steady and wise tenure as Executive Director made it possible for me to step into this role with a confident rather than crisis mindset. Amidst so much change in the world, I feel reassured that the Compost Ed Centre will continue to thrive in the same way for the next 30 years by catching and mixing folks right on into our community – just like the browns and greens in a hot compost pile.

Haven’t yet hopped into the hot compost pile?

Become a member of our community today!

We want to express our gratitude to the Government of Canada’s Community Service Recovery Fund, which has made our strategic planning work possible. The Community Services Recovery Fund is a one-time $400 million investment from the Government of Canada to support community service organizations, including charities, non-profits and Indigenous governing bodies, as they adapt and modernize their organizations. We have been able to engage in the staff retreat and other strategic planning activities with the support of the CSRF.

By Claire Remington, Executive Director

Posted in Announcement, Blog, Board, News, Reflections, Stategic PlanningTagged strategic planning

Shaping Our 3-Year Strategic Plan

September 14, 2023

The fall is a time for fresh starts. As students head back to school and our child and youth programming kicks off, we’re laying the foundation for our three-year strategic plan. So much has happened in the past three years that we’re taking a moment to reflect on the challenges and successes, gather insights from our community, and come together and connect.

The CEC’s staff, board, and volunteers met the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic with innovation, commitment, and care. External demand for the educational services offered by the CEC increased significantly in the first two years of the pandemic. COVID-19 greatly impacted supply chains and availability of food, and, in parallel, lockdowns and social distancing protocols offered a moment for community members to begin gardening and composting. The CEC was able to provide educational resources that were extremely popular and led to more people growing food and making compost. We observed a significant increase in our membership, retail sales, web hits, and phone calls.

The increase in demand for CEC’s services stretched the organization’s internal resources and capacity. The CEC’s five-person staff rapidly responded to the pandemic by teaching workshops over Zoom, creating take-home educational kits, and modifying the demonstration site’s visiting hours.

As a whole, the organization continues to adapt and grow, and in February 2023, the CEC hired me (hello!) as the new Executive Director.

Last week, we went out to Shirley, BC for our staff retreat. It was wonderful to take time for nature, snacking, and intentional conversations. We spent some time on Muir Creek Beach and French Beach: Elora wandered off looking at all the mosses and flowers; Zoe-Blue identified loons and sea lions through her binoculars; Kayla facilitated some funny team-building games; and Jeffrey and Claire almost lost a Frisbee to the ocean waves. We talked about our strengths and areas of growth, both as individuals and as an organization. We discussed how power works in our organization and how we hold ourselves accountable for how the organization wields its powers. Overall, we came away with a greater feeling of connection to each other and more clarity on how we might be more impactful as an organization moving forward.

We’re going to be taking those thoughts with us into the strategic planning days that we’re having with our board at the end of September. To help contextualize our conversations, we have been surveying our community via an online questionnaire.

Interested in helping shape our 3-year strategic plan?

Fill out this form here – and enter in your email to win a prize!

We’ve already received such wonderful feedback from you all. In response to the question, “How will we know we are succeeding?” one respondent shared,

We have a team of staff who feel supported, thriving programs and services, connections with many partners in the community, and we are working in alignment with our organizational values and principles.

We’re so grateful for you all – and we do feel supported! We know that the next three years will be full of challenges, and we are confident in our ability as an organization to strengthen our community’s resilience and ability to adapt to those challenges.

Excited to hear about what happens behind the scenes?

Become a member of our growing community today!

We are so grateful to have received funding through the Government of Canada’s Community Services Recovery Fund (CSRF). The Community Services Recovery Fund is a one-time $400 million investment from the Government of Canada to support community service organizations, including charities, non-profits and Indigenous governing bodies, as they adapt and modernize their organizations. We have been able to engage in the staff retreat and other strategic planning activities with the support of the CSRF.

“I am continually impressed by the passion, dedication, and creativity of community service organizations, like the Compost and Education Centre. I am equally proud the Government of Canada has supported their important work through the Community Services Recovery Fund. By investing in these organizations and their projects we can help to create a more just and equitable society, where everyone has opportunities to succeed. I look forward to seeing the positive impact of this investment in (community name) over the years to come.”

– Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development