Sustainable Working Landscapes Initiative partners with local communities

Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø¡¯s Sustainable Working Landscapes Initiative (SWLI) has expanded its program and will partner with the cities of Davenport, Geneseo, Morrison and Rock Island. Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø students and faculty will be conducting research and creating solutions for real-life challenges facing each city. This is the third year the college has partnered with local communities.

¡°The partnership is a win-win for all those involved. It creates learning experiences for students while sharing Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø¡¯s most valuable assets, its students and faculty, with our local communities to help tackle the challenges facing them,¡± said Dr. Michael Reisner, the director of the Upper Mississippi Studies Center.

A sample of these projects includes:

• Developing management recommendations for restoring portions of city parks into ¡°natural areas¡± to enhance the resilience of the parks, enhance park use, and reduce long term maintenance and operation costs (Rock Island and Morrison)
• Researching best practices to reduce damage from flooding (Geneseo)
• Completing a greenhouse gas emissions inventory (Davenport)
• Conducting a workforce and business diversity study to assess the number of minority-owned contractors in the region to establish goals for a minority hiring ordinance (Rock Island)
• Using music, theatre and the arts to bridge diverse communities (Rock Island)

Beginning in 2016, the SWLI entered into a two-year partnership with the Scott County Health Department to identify a more preventative approach to solving the lead poisoning health crisis in the county. More than 300 students completed 14 course-based projects spanning 8 areas of study, including accounting, business, economics, geography, public health, psychology and environmental studies.

Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø Sustainable Working Landscapes Initiative (SWLI)

The SWLI is the centerpiece of the Upper Mississippi Center¡¯s efforts to build cutting-edge learning partnerships that enhance the value of a liberal arts education by solving challenges facing communities. The model creates a transformative partnership between Å·ÖÞ±­ÍøͶ_Å·ÖÞ±­ÍâΧapp-Ͷע¹ÙÍø and a city/county partner, matching existing courses and other learning experiences (independent research, internships, etc.) with community-identified and driven sustainability problems. The SWLI enables cities and counties to achieve their economic, social, and environmental sustainability goals, while allowing students to learn through real-world problem-solving.