Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 51.46
Liaison Bradley Flamm
Submission Date March 6, 2020

STARS v2.2

West Chester University of Pennsylvania
AC-5: Immersive Experience

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.00 / 2.00 Bradley Flamm
Director of Sustainability
Office of the President
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution offer at least one immersive, sustainability-focused educational study program that is one week or more in length?:
Yes

A brief description of the sustainability-focused immersive program(s) offered by the institution:

West Chester University offers several sustainability-focused immersive programs every year (of at least one week in length) in spring break and summer break trips. For example, each Spring semester, beginning in 2013, a group of students (accompanied by a faculty member) has spent a week in Philadelphia engaged in service work and learning about sustainable agriculture. A major focus on the program is urban agriculture. During the week of service, students support urban organic gardening programs in Philadelphia, including the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society's (PHS) City Harvest program and the East Park Revitalization Alliance's (EPRA) community gardens in Strawberry Mansion. Students help prepare seedlings for distribution to over 130 urban farms and gardens throughout the city. Throughout the growing season, gardens that receive these seedlings will distribute organic produce they grow to their communities, through food cupboard donations and at free farmers markets. Students also work directly in gardens to prepare them for spring planting. The overall mission is to increase access to sustainably produced, healthy food in communities that are economically disadvantaged. The program is also sources the food used for communal meals throughout the week from local farms, which provides students further education on local, seasonal food ways.


Website URL where information about the institution’s immersive education programs is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Description and documentation provided by Professor Ashlie Delshad (Political Science), February 2020.


Description and documentation provided by Professor Ashlie Delshad (Political Science), February 2020.

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