Calvin University
EN-9: Community Partnerships

Calvin College was appointed by the Mayor of Grand Rapids to serve on the leadership team of the Community Sustainability Partnership and this appointment is ongoing. The Grand Rapids Area Community Sustainability Partnership is a diverse network of for-profit and nonprofit organizations in West Michigan who embrace and support sustainability in their planning and operations and are striving to make a positive impact in our community. Members of the Community Sustainability Partnership (CSP) are committed to work together to restore environmental integrity, improve economic prosperity, and promote social equity, or the “triple bottom line.” http://www.grpartners.org/about/leadership-team

Calvin College received an Urban Waters Small Grant from the EPA and is partnering with with Grand Valley Metropolitan Council (GVMC) in planning and development for a Green Infrastructure Low-Impact Development Initiative to help address urban stormwater management in the Lower Grand River Watershed in West Michigan. The following link describes aspects of this collaborative effort: http://www.gvmc.org/EnvironmentalPrograms/LID.shtml a) Timeframe(s): Calvin began its collaboration with GVMC over a decade ago. Our current work related to regional rainscaping is ongoing, and will be for years to come. b) Multiple Dimensions: This partnership is multifaceted and multi-disciplinary. Together we are addressing the "triple bottom line:" social and environmental justice issues in our community and forging upstream/downstream connections. c) Institutional Support: Calvin faculty and administrators have served as board members for GVMC. Calvin has also applied for and received grants in partnership with GVMC. d) Campus and Local Community Engagement: The Lower Grand River Organizations of Watersheds (LGROW) is a project of GVMC and Calvin has helped facilitate campus and community engagement.

The Plaster Creek Stewards (PCS) initiative is a collaboration of Calvin faculty, staff, students, and community partners working together to restore health and beauty to the Plaster Creek Watershed, the most damaged urban waterway in West Michigan. Link to home page on the website: http://www.calvin.edu/admin/provost/pcw/ This initiative meets all of the following criteria to be a transformative partnership: 1. Scope: PCS works with community partners to provide opportunities where members of the college community join together with residents and businesses from the broader Grand Rapids community to address social equity and wellbeing through initiatives such as the High School "Green Team," Upstream/Downstream partnerships. We contribute to economic prosperity by providing jobs, job training, and experience for high school and college students. We also generate contract opportunities for local engineering firms, landscapers, and constructions companies. By restoring the watershed, we are contributing to ecological and public health on a community or regional scale. By introducing native plants and native habitats we are increasing biodiversity and ecosystem services. 2. Duration: The damage to this urban watershed has been ongoing for over 100 years. We have made a long-term commitment to reversing this degradation. We are working to bring systemic change and we anticipate it will take 20-30 years to accomplish. 3. Commitment: The Calvin institutional commitment includes providing faculty time and recognition that this is watershed restoration work is legitimate scholarship. Calvin absorbs many indirect costs including: office space, greenhouse facilities, laboratory space, classrooms, meeting venues, etc.The Science Division of the college has supported summer undergraduate research assistants and summer stipends for faculty researchers. 4. Governance: The PCS leadership team is engaged with stakeholders, such as neighborhood associations, community non-profit organizations, churches, local schools, downstream residents (vulnerable populations), and Calvin faculty, staff and students in program development, implementation and evaluation.

Examples of Calvin's distant sustainability partnerships include: Au Sable Institute (http://ausable.org/) and Creation Care Study Program (http://www.creationcsp.org/). Pierce Cedar Creek Institute (http://www.cedarcreekinstitute.org/).