Some Calgarians went to camp Saturday, but it wasn't all fun and games.
About 150 people gathered for Civic Camp Calgary.
Camp Organizer, Naheed Nenshi, says regular citizens from all walks of life attended.
"Civic Camp is an opportunity for citizens of Calgary, and there are about 150 of them signed up, to come and talk about the kind of community they want to live in, what they think the city should look like."
Nenshi says Calgary is in a unique position that other communities are envious of.
"We're at a point where the decisions we make now build the city we want to build for our grandchildren, and great grandchildren. We're not one of these places where it's already done."
The event is hosted by the Sustainable Calgary Society and the Better Calgary Campaign.
The camp is based on a concept from the tech industry where a group comes up with the issues, rather than following a pre-set agenda.
Chris Turner is the author of a book called The Geography of Hope, a Governor General Award finalist. He says the real key to achieving sustainability is creating the public will to embrace change.
"Hopefully what we're beginning to do here is putting together a critical mass of civic engagement that can put the kind of pressure on political bodies."
Organizers hope that Civic Camp will bring about lasting change in Calgary for generations to come.
At the end of Civic Camp, participants came up with a list of hopes for the city that included walk-able and safe neighbourhoods with higher densities.
A new citizen's group will likely be formed now to lobby governments to achieve those goals.
