Southern Illinois University Carbondale
EN-10: Community Partnerships

The River Region Master Teaching Partnership in Environmental Sustainability is a multi-year partnership with regional teachers in high need schools and school districts aimed at transforming STEM education in the region. In its eighth year, the River Region program provides enrichment activities for teachers to engage in STEM learning, develop effective pedagogy, conduct scientific research and become leaders in their schools. The program focuses on local environmental issues that are pertinent to the youth in our region and that are easily applied to solving global problems. The first round of NSF funding of $3.25 million for the professional development program was received in 2011. That initial SIU program, titled “A Community of Problem Solvers: Teachers Leading Problem-Based Learning in Southern Illinois,” built a community of more than 40 regional teachers who conducted research in the Cache River wetlands, developing skills they subsequently took to their classrooms, impacting thousands of students. In 2018, SIU received another round of funding for a program that helps highly qualified teachers teach STEM subjects to junior high and high school students throughout the region. The National Science Foundation is providing the $2.2 million grant to continue its Robert Noyce Master Teacher Fellowship program at SIU. The second round of funding enhances the focus to more deeply impact the region. The grant has five science contact areas: general sustainability, biodiversity, toxicology, climate change and energy. The program serves 15 teachers to be master teacher leaders and draws in many other aspiring teachers (undergraduates) and in-service teachers to participate in the year-long activities. The co-principal investigators include SIU experts in plant biology, zoology, teacher leadership, effective STEM pedagogy and sustainability and environmental science. Teachers come from 3 states around the three regional rivers: Mississippi, Wabash and Ohio. The schools or school districts from Southern Illinois participating include Belleville Township High School West, Cairo Junior-Senior High School, Carruthers School, Norris City-Omaha-Enfield High School, Grayville Community Unit School District 1, Trico Community Unit School District 176, and Steeleville Community Unit School District 138. In addition to the ecological impact, this program supports the social and economic components of sustainability due to its impact on the professional development of the teachers as well as that the program is accessible to teachers who work in underserved communities. The program partners with the Carbondale Science Center to develop informal STEM education to our community. Teachers are developing an environmental field annex to the Science Center that will provide hands-on activities in the Shawnee National Forest at Touch of Nature Environmental Center, SIU Carbondale. Field activities will include an interactive native plant/monarch garden, composting and vermiculture demonstrations, solar panel and renewable energy displays, and animal research observation sites. https://news.siu.edu/2018/06/060818-siu-receives-stem-teacher-funding.php

Each year, the Sustainability Office collaborates with community organizations, University Housing, and other internal offices to help facilitate the movement of unwanted gently used items from our student population to the local community. This has been a multi-year, ongoing collaboration. Students living in the residence halls can donate unwanted items during move-out by placing them in designated spots. Local stakeholders collect and distribute items to local thrift stores and community organizations in need. During May 2019 Give Before You Go!, SIU students donated the following to community organizations, also diverting these items from the landfill! -6,210 pounds of clothing, furniture, appliances, shoes, bedding, towels, kitchen wares, and more -339 usable/unopened food items, plus 158 ramen packets Donations supported students and community recipients via our community collaborators, which include: -Campus Ministries (supported: Wesley Foundation Food Bank, Saluki Food Pantry, the Carbondale Thrift Shop) -Keep Carbondale Beautiful (supported: Jackson County Health Department) -Rotary Club of Jackson Williamson Counties Sunset (supported: Carbondale Towers, Night's Shield, Lighthouse Shelter, Herrin House of Hope, and more) -Career Development Center (supported SIU's Career Clothing closet for students) https://sustainability.siu.edu/participate/give-before-you-go.php

Touch of Nature Environmental Center (TON) has had a formal partnership with Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics (LNT) for over 5 years. As a part of their partnership, LNT provides resources, which TON utilizes for programming and other activities. TON facilitates this programming in varying situations, which may include paying clients as well as free community events and programming. https://ton.siu.edu/ https://lnt.org/partnership/community-partnership/ https://lnt.org/partnership/community-partnership/educational/ - TON listed on this page.

River Region Program: https://news.siu.edu/2011/10/100711tjc11090.php https://www.nsfnoyce.org/ River Region Program Contact: Dr. Karen Renzaglia, Phone: 618.453.3229, Office: Life Science II, Room 459, email: renzaglia@plant.siu.edu, https://plantbiology.siu.edu/faculty-staff/emeritus/renzaglia.php Leave No Trace Contact: JD Tanner, Touch of Nature