Bowdoin College
EN-10: Community Partnerships

The Environmental Studies department partners with 8 to 12 Maine based organizations each summer, typically in Brunswick, Portland and Augusta, that focus on environmental policy issues to provide and fund Bowdoin students to work as summer interns as part of the Maine-Based Fellowship. Students participating in the Sustainability and Environmental Justice Fellowship identify a Maine-based organization that focuses on Environmental Justice and Sustainability Work and apply for funding. This partnership both exposes Bowdoin students to sustainability environmental policy work and assists the local organizations in advancing their goals. A list of recent host organizations includes The Nature Conservancy, Maine Coast Fishermen's Association, the Brunswick Topsham Land Trust, GrowSmart Maine, Maine Conservation Voters and the Natural Resource Council of Maine. URL: https://www.bowdoin.edu/environmental-studies/fellowships-and-opportunities/index.html . The McKeen Center's funded Maine Community Fellowships program allows students to explore work in the public sector while developing an understanding of issues at the local level — what they are, and how to solve problems related to these issues by working with a broad spectrum of community leaders. Recent organizational partners included Oasis Free Clinics, MidCoast Hunger Prevention Program, Portland Housing Authority, Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, and Merrymeeting Food Council. https://www.bowdoin.edu/mckeen-center/fellowships/maine-community-fellowship/index.html

The Maine Partnership for Environmental Stewardship is an AmeriCorps program hosted at Bowdoin College, as well as other Maine colleges, which recruits part-time student and community members as well as a full-time member associated with the college. Members collaborate closely with community organizations including local churches, libraries, Habitat for Humanity, as well as individual community members to provide resource to increase energy efficiency and sustainable living, particularly among economically disadvantaged individuals. One of the main efforts of the program is for the AmeriCorps members to do community outreach with low income and disadvantaged community members in search of interested participants in a window insert program. Members then build and install window-inserts in the homes and provide other tips on ways to save energy and money through energy efficiency. The members also organized panel discussions, energy efficiency education programs, green networking events, etc. both on Bowdoin's campus and in the Brunswick community.

Every year for one day in the Fall as part of Common Good Day, Bowdoin pairs student groups with local community organizations for a day of service work. This work can range from trail building to spending time with at-risk elderly or youth groups. Although this is a yearly, one-day event it provides students opportunities to form connections they can build into relationships beyond Common Good Day.

Community Engaged Courses and Community-Based Option Courses at Bowdoin: Community Engaged Courses connect classroom concepts to community needs in order to enhance learning, promote active citizenship, and foster mutually beneficial ties between the campus and community. In partnership with local agencies, students in community engaged courses apply the knowledge and analytical skills gained in the classroom to address environmental, social, educational, and cultural issues within the actual lives of those most directly affected. Courses with a Community-Based Option provide just that - the option and support to include real community data in a final project. According to the McKeen Center for the Common Good, who helps facilitate and track these courses, twenty courses over the 2018-2019 academic year are categorized as "community engaged courses" . An example of a Community Engaged Course is the course "Understanding Place: GIS and Remote Sensing" taught by Eileen Johnson. A student from the course worked with the Brunswick Topsham Land Trust to map current trails in the towns of Brunswick and Topsham and identify possible trail development opportunities to connect the current trail network. In addition to these courses, some faculty also participate as advisors on regional or local working groups to increase sustainability, climate change awareness and adaptation, etc. Bowdoin Faculty have worked in partnership with numerous NGOs (The Nature Conservancy, Island Institute) on resilience planning for coastal communities. This has involved developing a resilience planning tool and providing trainings on coastal resilience.