Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 57.29
Liaison Jennifer Kleindienst
Submission Date Dec. 1, 2016
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Wesleyan University
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.00 / 3.00 Cathy Lechowicz
Director, Center for Community Partnerships
Center for Community Partnerships
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :
Wesleyan Chapter of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? :
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe?:
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus?:
The partnership supports at least one, but not all three, dimensions of sustainability

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners in strategic planning, decision-making, implementation and review? (Yes, No, or Not Sure):
No

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability, including website URL (if available) and information to support each affirmative response above:

Wesleyan has established an official partner chapter of the Connecticut Forest and Park Association. A student in a paid position, as well as student volunteers, have maintained a campus chapter for over five years. WesCFPA plans hikes for Wesleyan and the local community, does trail maintenance work, leads hikes for local students, sets up events such as film screenings and lectures to raise awareness on key environmental issues, and creates video podcasts that the CFPA will use to educate their members.


Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
Middletown Urban Gardens

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (2nd partnership):
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (2nd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (2nd partnership):
The partnership simultaneously supports social equity and wellbeing, economic prosperity, and ecological health

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners in strategic planning, decision-making, implementation and review? (2nd partnership) (Yes, No, or Not Sure):
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability, including website URL (if available) and information to support each affirmative response above (2nd partnership):

The student group Middletown Urban Gardens is a group of Wesleyan students and Middletown residents who are interested in working at and creating school and community gardens in the larger Middletown community. Through working with the North End Action Team, Macdonough School, and other groups devoted to working in Middletown, we work to create a green “revolution” and produce food for the community. MUG utilizes garden work days and celebrations as community-building tools, linking Wesleyan students, Middletown residents, and others in the surrounding area. The group manages a garden education program at Macdonough School and co-manages several community gardens.


Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
Feet to the Fire: Riverfront Encounter

Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Yes

Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
Multi-year or ongoing

Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (3rd partnership):
The partnership simultaneously supports social equity and wellbeing, economic prosperity, and ecological health

Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners in strategic planning, decision-making, implementation and review? (3rd partnership) (Yes, No, or Unknown):
No

A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability, including website URL (if available) and information to support each affirmative response above (3rd partnership):

Beginning in 2015, Wesleyan led the planning and creation of an annual festival at Middletown's waterfront. Each year, Wesleyan has hired a festival coordinator, who has organized this festival via a planning committee with representatives from Wesleyan, the City, Middlesex Community College, and the community.

Wesleyan contributed significantly to the financing of this event with campus funds as well as Wesleyan Green Fund support, with additional funding from the State of Connecticut, City of Middletown, and foundations. The festival features live music, visual art installations, plein air painters, a kids' activity zone, environmental education exhibits, a craft fair and farmer's market, all designed to bring the community closer to the rich culture, history, and science of the Connecticut River.


A brief description of the institution’s other community partnerships to advance sustainability:
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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