Urban Homesteading by Rachel Kaplan offers some invaluable advice for neighbors who want to improve their community:

Work to answer these questions for yourself and your family-

1.) Can you trace the water you drink from precipitation to tap?
2.) How many days from today until the moon is full and/or new?
3.) Describe the soil around your house.
4.) What were the primary subsistence techniques of the cultures that lived in your area before you?
5.) Name five edible plants in your bioregion and their seasons of availability.
6.) From what direction do winter storms generally come?
7.) Where does your garbage go?
8.) Where does your sewage go?
9.) How long is your growing season?
10.) Name five resident and migratory birds in your region.
11.) Name five resident and migratory human beings in your area.
12.) What is the the land use history by humans in your bioregion in the past century.
13.) What primary geological events and processes influenced landforms of your bioregion.
14.) What animal or plant species have become extinct in your region?
15.) From where you are point to the north.
16.) Name one of the first spring wildflowers to bloom in your area.
17.) What kinds of rocks and minerals are found in your area?
18.) Were the stars out last night?
19.) Name some non-human being with whom you share your space.
20.) Do you celebrate the turning of the winter and summer solstice?
21.) How many people live next door to you? What are their names?
22.) How much gasoline on average do you use each week?
23.) What form of energy costs you the most money?
24.) What is the largest wilderness area in your bioregion?
25.) What are the greatest threats to the integrity of the ecosystems in your bioregion?
26.) What is the name of the creek or river that defines your watershed?
27.) What geographic and|or biotic features define your bioregion?
28.) What particular place or places have special meaning for you?