University of New Hampshire
EN-9: Community Partnerships

UNH is New Hampshire's Land, Sea, and Space Grant University actively engaged in extending its expertise, ideas, and resources to New Hampshire, the New England region, and the world. A variety of UNH programs are actively involved with local, state, and regional governments, non-profits and businesses on sustainability efforts. Examples of supportive engagement include: UNH Cooperative Extension programs like the Master Gardner's Program, Marine Docents Program, Great Bay Coast Watch, NH Lakes Lay Monitoring Program, and more; Forest Watch, which involves local teachers and students; Seacoast Reads; and more. These programs have been on-going for years. http://extension.unh.edu http://forestwatch.sr.unh.edu http://cola.unh.edu/education/program/seacoast-reads

NH Farm to School (NHFTS) is a statewide program working to connect NH farms and schools. Farm to school connections enable schools to serve healthy, locally grown foods in their cafeterias, integrate farms, food, and nutrition into their curriculum, and explore food and agriculture-based learning opportunities. The NH Farm to School (NHFTS) Program was established in 2003 as a pilot program to introduce local apples and cider into NH K-12 schools. Today, over half the K-12 schools in the state are purchasing local foods for their cafeterias. NH Farm to School has an advisory committee that guides long-term programming. Members come from across the New Hampshire food system, from teachers to government officials to farmers. The Sustainability Institute at UNH houses the NH Farm to School program, providing staff and monetary support, from grant writing to communications to operating space for a NH Farm to School program coordinator. http://www.nhfarmtoschool.org Climate Solutions New England (CSNE) is an initiative of the Sustainability Institute that coordinates and empowers a New England network of individuals and organizations to promote collaboration and collective impact towards the goal of greater energy self-reliance and weather resilience, both of which contribute to healthy, productive, and sustainable communities. In support of this transition, the CSNE Network is organized around four integrated activities: a shared vision; research, analysis, communication; planning and implementation efforts; and convening of workshops and summits. Learn more at www.climatesolutionsne.org.

Food Solutions New England (FSNE) is dedicated to transforming the New England food system into a resilient driver of healthy food, sustainable farming and fishing, food system equity, and thriving communities. Four major activities serve to organize the complex initiatives required for food system transformation: A New England Food Vision 2060 Launched as a concept during the first FSNE regional summit, this aspirational vision calls for building the capacity to produce at least 50% of clean, fair, just, and accessible food for all New Englanders by 2060. The New England Food Vision is the work of a writing team of academic researchers and practitioners, and its content reflects nearly three years of review and input from diverse stakeholders throughout New England. New England State Food System Planning Each of the six New England states has embarked on its own state-level food system planning initiative: some have completed their design, while others are in more nascent stages of development. Part of the goal of FSNE is to help connect the state plans and networks to ensure shared learning, mutual awareness, and dialogue on our shared regional context. Annual New England Food Summits and Network Convening The annual FSNE New England Food Summit and broader year-round network convening contribute to shared learning, mutual awareness, and dialogue that inform emergent state and regional planning Communications and Championing FSNE promotes integrated, collaborative communications and active network development. The sharing of resources, the curation of data, and the discussion and analysis of emerging food system challenges and opportunities demonstrate the commitment FSNE has made to collaboration and the benefits of network engagement. FSNE brings together a wide network of New England food system stakeholders, from farmers to government officials to non-profits. FSNE is designed to be a collaborative and transformative network. Each New England state appoints delegates across their state food system to attend the New England annual food summit. The UNH Sustainability Institute serves as the backbone organization for FSNE. UNHSI provides a large amount of staff time for FNSE grant writing and budget management, meeting coordination, communications and outreach, and the like. Learn more at Learn more at www.foodsolutionsne.org

The Sustainability Institute at UNH is a co-founder of the Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium with member campuses across the U.S. Northeast and the northeastern Canadian provinces. UNH's chief sustainability officer and UNHSI staff also are on advisory committees, technical committees, etc., for AASHE and STARS, among other groups. The UNH chief sustainability officer has also presented or been part of planning and other meetings with Slow Food International, the Association of American Colleges and Universities, the Sustainable Campus Network of Chile, The Institute for Pedagogy in the Liberal Arts at Emory University’s Oxford College, and the Salzburg Global Seminar, among others.

Other contacts: Julia Williams, the Senior Vice Provost for Engagement and Academic Outreach, can speak to many of UNH's engaged scholarship activities. partnerships. Phone: (603) 862-1997 Email: julie.williams@unh.edu For general inquiries about community sustainability partnerships, please contact Sara McKinstry at the UNH Sustainability Institute.