Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 79.37
Liaison Jillian Leach
Submission Date March 4, 2022

STARS v2.2

California State University, Chico
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Jennifer Rotnem
Director of Energy and Sustainability
FMS
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :
Center for Water and the Environment

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? :
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe?:
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership?:
Sustainability-focused

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? :
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability:

The Center for Water and the Environment (CWE) is the CSU, Chico center for research on water, energy, and the environment. CWE cultivates collaboration for a multidisciplinary perspective on complex environmental and societal issues. Faculty and students work with regional partners on a variety of sustainability-focused projects. (For more information: https://www.csuchico.edu/cwe/) CWE offers community partners faculty expertise (agriculture, economics, engineering, energy, science, social science, and statistics), student interns, opportunities to partner on projects, partnering education with agencies, nonprofits and industry, and assistance with funding and support.


Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
California Science Project

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (2nd partnership):
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (2nd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (2nd partnership):
Sustainability-focused

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (2nd partnership):
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):

The focus of the California Science Project (CSP) is to provide area teachers with high-quality, standards-based professional development in science. The California Science Project of Inland Northern California, one of 18 CSP sites across the state, is a collaborative partnership between regional K-12 schools in northern California and California State University, Chico. Two summer institutes will be offered for North State teachers that involve community partnerships. The Sacramento River Floodplain Ecology Institute is a partnership with the Department of Water Resources, the Water Education Foundation, The Sacramento River Preservation Trust, Army Corps of Engineers, Chico Creek Nature Center, Sacramento River Discovery Center, USGS and Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. The summer institute includes a one-day float down the Sacramento River where teachers will learn about the ecology of the river and support projects, such as this group who worked to remove invasive rattlebox that was overcrowding native vegetation.Best Practices in Environmental Education (EE) and Stewardship is sponsored by the California Environmental Education Foundation, and is a partnership with the Plumas County Office of Education to introduce rural teachers to the Next Generation Science Standards through environmental education. This institute will be held in the historic Taylorsville School House in Plumas County and will explore the role of the Feather River in the State Water Project. The CSU Chico Latinas in Action (featured in a previous Spotlight) will be involved by helping classrooms implement stewardship projects during the Fall of 2018. https://www.csuchico.edu/cmse/teachers/california-science-project/index.shtml


Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
Big Chico Creek Watershed Tour

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Sustainability-focused

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (3rd partnership):
---

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):

The Big Chico Creek Watershed Tour is an innovative new program for students through CWE. Students metaphorically follow a drop of water along its journey, from its origin at the headwaters of Big Chico Creek, through campus, all the way to the confluence with the Sacramento River. Students from across campus can apply for a 1-unit course to explore watershed issues from the headwaters of Big Chico Creek to its confluence.

The purpose is to engage students in complex, real-world problem-solving using a local watershed as the model for exploring issues in the context of larger, multifaceted environmental and societal systems. Students will learn with faculty from different departments across campus; engage with fellow students from different majors, use multidisciplinary research techniques, and learn hands-on about the creek that runs through campus.

The Tour engages a variety of community partners including Sierra Pacific, River Partners, US Fish and Wildlife, CA Parks and Recreation, Department of Water Resources, CA Department of Fish and Wildlife, and more.

https://www.csuchico.edu/cwe/stories/big-chico-creek-watershed-tour.shtml
http://today.csuchico.edu/opting-outside/


A brief description of the institution’s other community partnerships to advance sustainability:

For a description of more community partnerships at Chico State that advance sustainability, visit the Office of Civic Engagement's website.


Website URL where information about the institution’s community partnerships to advance sustainability is available:
https://www.csuchico.edu/civic/

Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.