| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 65.69 |
| Liaison | Jennifer Kleindienst |
| Submission Date | April 5, 2023 |
Wesleyan University
EN-10: Community Partnerships
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.00 / 3.00 |
Jennifer
Kleindienst Sustainability Coordinator Finance and Administration |
Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability :
Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? :
Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe?:
Which of the following best describes the partnership?:
Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? :
A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability:
The Reimagining Justice Initiative (RIJ) is a coalition of campus and community partners to leverage campus resources to support the intellectual development and community building interests of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated persons, their family members, and marginalized people in the region. The Pathways to Agriculture initiative, a component of Reimagining Justice, focuses on ways to increase BIPOC farmers (currently 99% of CT farmers identify as White) and overall access to growing food. Wesleyan hires annually a part-time RIJ mentor-in-residence; this role is expected to focus on agricultural inequities in 2023-24.
Specific supports through this program have included:
- Student Innovation Fund: https://www.wesleyan.edu/jccp/studentfunding/index.html
- Urban backyard chicken course, as well as at least three hens, a coop, and start-up materials provided to 5 families for free, prioritizing BIPOC families, formerly incarcerated folks, and/or low-income residents of Middletown. Classes are offered in English and Spanish.
- Growing Power, a day full of free community workshops led by organizations or businesses that center agriculture and gardening, animal husbandry, and fishing. The event is open to all, but specifically advertised to families of color, incarceration-impacted families, and low-income families.
Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (2nd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (2nd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership’s sustainability focus? (2nd partnership):
Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (2nd partnership):
A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (2nd partnership):
In May 2018, Wesleyan launched an internship position to support the City of Middletown's participation in the statewide Sustainable CT initiative; students have continued in this role through summer and/or academic year internships since. Sustainable CT focuses on holistic sustainability, covering the areas of thriving local economies; well-stewarded land and natural resources; vibrant and creative cultural ecosystems; dynamic and resilient planning; clean and diverse transportation systems and choices; efficient physical infrastructure and operations; strategic and inclusive public services; healthy, efficient, and diverse housing; and inclusive and equitable community impacts.
Students in this role have connected relevant classes and community members to provide much-needed research (ex: brownfields mapping, plan of conservation and development content research). They have also created a guide to local government participation (https://engageduniversity.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2021/12/16/introducing-the-middletown-government-participation-guide/), and built a partnership to educate and collaborate on environmental justice issues with the Middletown Antiracism Task Force.
Through this partnership, the City of Middletown received Sustainable CT bronze certification in October 2018 and silver certification in October 2019. The current Sustainable Middletown interns are working with City officials and volunteers to pursue certification again in Summer 2023.
Name of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
Does the institution provide financial or material support for the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership timeframe? (3rd partnership):
Which of the following best describes the partnership? (3rd partnership):
Are underrepresented groups and/or vulnerable populations engaged as equal partners? (3rd partnership):
A brief description of the institution’s formal community partnership to advance sustainability (3rd partnership):
A brief description of the institution’s other community partnerships to advance sustainability:
Website URL where information about the institution’s community partnerships to advance sustainability is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.