University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
EN-9: Community Partnerships

The Gathering: The mission of The Gathering is to provide meals and associated services or programs to those who would otherwise go hungry or without. Late summer in 2010 saw the formation of the Fresh Produce Preservation Project focusing on preserving excess donated produce received during the growing season for use in winter meals. A UWM Cultures and Communities grant originally allowed for collaboration with The Gathering, which has expanded over the years. The Conservation and Environmental Sciences' permaculture course and the UWM Food and Garden Club grow food for donation to the Gathering. In addition, UWM and The Gathering educate each other on food gardening and preservation for The Gathering's programs. Multi-year collaboration.

Growing Power: A national nonprofit organization and land trust supporting people from diverse backgrounds and the environments in which they live, by helping to provide equal access to healthy, high-quality, safe and affordable food for people in all communities. Growing Power provides service learning assignments for UWM students and is developing closely with the UWM School of Social Welfare's Institute for Urban Agriculture and Nutrition. Multi-year collaboration.

UWM has partnered with the Metropolitan Milwaukee Sewerage District (MMSD) on multiple green infrastructure planning and implementation projects and furthered regional research of climate-sensitive green infrastructure. MMSD is a regional government agency that provides water reclamation and flood management services for about 1.1 million customers in 28 communities in the Greater Milwaukee Area. MMSD serves 411 square miles that cover all, or segments of six watersheds. As a national leader in wastewater treatment and regional leader in watershed protection the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) is committed to carrying out its mission through policies, practices and programs that focus on environmental, economic and social sustainability for current and future generations. By embracing sustainability as an overall core value and operational philosophy, the MMSD focuses its’ services and processes to preserve the natural environment and reduce the amount of consumption, waste and emissions generated. Examples of UWM and MMSD's collaborative efforts include: MMSD and UWM have a 3-year partnership with Veolia to research the efficacy of green infrastructure interventions on campus (natural lawn care, green roofs, bioswales, etc). UWM student and faculty research partnered with MMSD to inform the Lincoln Creek Flood Management Project, which transformed a concrete-lined creek into a substantially safer waterway with improved water quality and habitat for fish, birds and other wildlife. The project greatly reduced the risk of costly basement flooding backups along the densely populated, economically-stressed neighborhoods bordering the 9-mile creek, reducing the risk for flooding for more than 2,000 homes and businesses. MMSD, the City of Milwaukee, and UWM's School of Architecture and Urban Planning have partnered for over three years on the in-depth planning process for the sustainable development of Milwaukee's Inner Harbor.

Partnerships with distant communities include Prof. Tim Ehlinger's work since 2001, working closely with collaborators in Romania and Costa Rica using watershed ecology as a foundation for planning sustainable development. A central aspect of the international work includes partnerships with Universities and Research Institutes in Constanta, Romania and in Thessaloniki, Greece.

UW-Milwaukee partners with numerous non-profit agencies, governmental offices, public and private schools to fulfill its civic mission. The Center for Community-Based Learning, Leadership and Research provides an excellent list of community partners at http://www4.uwm.edu/community/community/partners.cfm.