Sonoma State University
EN-9: Community Partnerships

Petaluma Bounty is a local non-profit urban garden, operating under the goal of providing organic produce to low income families. SSU is involved with this project on a year-round basis. This program addresses multiple areas of sustainability. The farm supports and teaches about local, organic produce, and also works to mitigate for local food deserts and provide food for multiple income thresholds. The farm, and SSU volunteers, also participate in local gleaning efforts to minimize wasted food. The institution supports this partnership by providing advertising, offering internship credits for engagement, and forming a relationship through JUMP, the university's community service coalition. SSU engages in this community project by providing student volunteers year round through classroom service learning projects and community service days through the student-led organization JUMP. These students work on the farm learning about local agriculture, or meet directly with the families who are receiving the fresh food. In addition, an SSU faculty member sits on the board of directors. Petaluma Bounty also offers student internships throughout the season that translate into units for the SSU student.

Another community partnership is with the Sonoma County Water Agency and the Environmental Studies and Planning department at SSU. For the past 13 years, the Water Agency has funded a two-semester long class titled: Native Plant Propagation. This project addresses restoration initiatives in the local community while supporting education about sustainable restoration at the university. The institution supports the agency by providing labor for growing and cultivating riparian plants to be used in restoration projects in exchange for funding for the class. In this class, students work in the native plant garden and learn about flora native to this part of California. In turn, the class propagates native riparian plants that are given to the Water Agency for restoration work. Here, students receive hands-on knowledge of native plants and local restoration projects, as well as a connection to a local agency.

In addition in 2016 SSU sponsored the Nature!Tech Conference, supported by Pacific Gas and Electric Company and the Green Music Center, was hosted May 7, 2016 and brought together business, agencies, faculty and students to discuss how technology can be applied to measure environmental change. Faculty and their students presented research results, including new advances in bio fuel cells that purify water and generate electricity, flood warning systems, and wire walking robots that can monitor changes in the canopy. Over 100 people attended.

The Leadership Institute for Ecology and Economy was originally founded by an SSU faculty, and this entity still maintains a strong a collaborative relationship with the university. The partnership operates year-round, more heavily in the Fall and Spring semesters. The Institute supports economic prosperity on multiple levels, but does so specifically with the University by providing a year-long education course focused on being a leader on all major areas of sustainability. SSU students and graduates have taken this course. Graduates of this course have gone on to political office to be a leader in issues such as conservation, environmental justice, and clean energy. Currently, the Institute is working to create more programs that are available to full time college students, starting with a half-day Sustainability Ambassador certification class that is discounted for students. The university supports this institution by marketing on campus and offering ideas and interested students to the Institute. Stakeholders involved include students, faculty, administration, and community leaders. The partnership proposes to institutionalize systemic change by connecting leaders, especially college students, in the scope of sustainability. These leaders will move on to create change in social and political arenas around issues of sustainable communities.

SSU also is a center in the WATER Collaborative. Californians face increasing demands on limited water supplies. Funded by the Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) since 2011, the WATERS Collaborative involves students in all aspects of managing water through their coursework, research and internships. The approach is unique. SCWA and other partner organizations identify challenges for the Center to address. These have included water quality, water conservation, riparian restoration, and soil erosion. The Center and faculty then work with students to gather new data about the problem, test solutions and make recommendations. It’s an approach that’s working. This year, over300 students (from 3 schools and 12 departments) worked on 25 inquiry projects with 12 faculty and 16 partnering organizations.

In Addition our Nature!Ed Collaborative provides first-hand understanding of the beauty and complexity of the natural world is in decline. Through the Nature!Ed Collaborative, we create training programs that give students hands-on experiences in nature. The centerpiece of this Collaborative is the Naturalist Training Program, one of Sonoma County’s longest running environmental education programs. Naturalists learn how to become teachers and then, in turn, lead tours with local elementary schools. This year, Nature!Ed programs trained 67 participants, including disadvantaged youth and community members, who then provided educational tours for 700 elementary school students from 15 schools.

The Sustainable Enterprise Conference (SEC) is an annual conference held in Rohnert Park and serves as an integral part of Sonoma State's community partnership. This is the 10th year for the conference, which occurs in the spring of every year. However, the collaboration is year round. This supports economic prosperity in all fields related to sustainability, offering chances for local businesses and students to collaborate in areas of ecological health and environmental justice. The conference itself engages and connects three types of people: business supporting sustainability, businesses with a desire to become more sustainable, and students interested in "green collar" jobs, who wish to share their interest and accomplishments in the fields of sustainability. The conference features big and small businesses, non-profits, and funded projects, allowing students to have a voice in all of this. The institution supports this partnership in multiple ways. SSU faculty serve as guest speakers as well as sit on the organizing committee. SSU students serve as volunteers, and participate in the connected North Bay Youth Conference, where they can share their projects on sustainability. Students are the university mold and shape the outcome of the conference. Sustainable North Bay was born out of this conference, and now supports and plans many events in the Bay Area concerning sustainability. The businesses that attend serve as relevant stakeholders, and view the conference as a trade show of sorts, focused on environmental initiatives. This supports systemic change. It provides businesses not involved in sustainability to learn and partake in it, even if their business is not directly part of a sustainable practice. It also connects students to these institutions, providing them a way to apply their degree in a green collar job in the Bay Area.

http://www.petalumabounty.org/programs/educational-opportunities/ http://www.scwa.ca.gov/index.php
http://www.ecoleader.org/about_us

SSU also collaborates with other institutes of higher education:

SSU is part of the Water Resources and Planning Initiative which provides programs and meetings for participants across CSU campuses. http://www.calstate.edu/water/

SSU is part of the CSU Field Station and Marine Laboratory network which provides educational and research experiences for students at CSU campuses

Also part of COAST: http://www.calstate.edu/coast/