Washington and Lee University
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Growing out of an initiative launched through the planning commission for Lexington City (where W&L is located), the Healthy Green Neighborhoods Initiative was formed to bring key community stakeholders together in addressing community sustainability needs. The steering committee includes W&L, neighboring institution Virginia Military Institute, the City of Lexington, Carilion Rockbridge Community Hospital and Rockbridge Conservation. The steering committee meets monthly and is developing a pilot initiative to increase health of, and community access to , a local creek and walking path. The question of funding above is marked "no" because to date there have not been costs incurred (discounting staff time). It is anticipated that W&L will provide financial support for initiatives at the time of implementation.

W&L is proud to partner with the Indigenous-led non-profit NDPonics in supporting opportunities for place-based learning in the Irish Creek region of Rockbridge County.

Kihkǫspé:hla is a 6-acre parcel previously owned by W&L and donated to NDPonics in 2023 with a conservation easement. The site, a roughly 25-minute drive from the W&L campus, is an appropriate base for hands-on projects and research related to environmental science as well as topics from various disciplines that will be better informed through location-based learning. Topics specific to indigenous culture - historic and present - including traditional ecological knowledge, widely recognized as key to meeting the current environmental crises of climate change and destruction of biodiversity, are particularly appropriate. W&L's ongoing partnership with NDPonics makes the property available to members of the W&L community for teaching, research, and programming purposes on request. While projects of varying kinds are welcome, those that allow W&L and NDPonics to collaborate on advancing NDPonics goals in cultural and environmental restoration and conservation are the ultimate goal.
https://my.wlu.edu/provosts-office/curricular-resources/living-lab

Washington and Lee is partnering with the Friends of Woods Creek, a local conservation organization, on efforts to remove invasive plants, plant riparian buffers, and replace bridges that are obstructing healthy creek flow, along Woods Creek. This Creek runs through city and private property, including a section on W&L's campus. In Fall 2023 W&L made a grant to Friends of Woods Creek for planting efforts, and will contribute to restoration efforts as needs arise.

W&L's office of Community Based Learning partners with dozens of community organizations on valuable community-based curricular opportunities that benefit students and community partners alike.
https://my.wlu.edu/office-of-community-based-learning/for-community-partners

The Office of Sustainability is directly involved in the three listed partnerships and was able to supply information.