University of Notre Dame
EN-10: Community Partnerships

The Green Ribbon Commission is a key partner for the South Bend Office of Sustainability and other businesses, academic institutions, and organizations working to further sustainability in South Bend. Mayor Pete Buttigieg re-instated the Green Ribbon Commission to empower sustainably-minded leaders from all sectors of our community as well as to facilitate the flow of info and ideas to and from the Office of Sustainability. Green Ribbon Commission quarterly meetings are a place to learn from peers, share best practices, discover partnerships and resources, and support and advise the Office of Sustainability. The Green Ribbon Commission was launched in 2009 by Mayor Steve Luecke. Public and private sector leaders developed recommendations for the City to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, be more energy efficient, and improve environmental stewardship. One year later, the Commission recommended developing a Municipal Energy Office using a federal energy efficiency grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. All Commission members hold a term of two years, must attend a majority of quarterly meetings scheduled throughout year, and may not serve more than two consecutive two-year terms.

http://engagement.nd.edu/community-partners/coalitions/ Bowman Creek is a tributary of the St. Joseph River in South Bend, Indiana. Over the years, the creek has become contaminated from a number of different sources along the creek, including a coal dismantle facility, paint factory, and defense plant. As the pollution worsened, residents grew less respectful for the creek, and started to treat it as a dump themselves. These contaminants in turn caused dangerous levels of E. coli and other bacteria. Fish can no longer survive in these conditions, and residents typically keep their distance from it in fear of the pathogen-infested water. Water level also causes problems in the creek. The water flow is very inconsistent due to poor water management. The pipes and culverts are old and improperly sized. This leads to the flooding of the creek when it rains and drying of the creek during droughts. Flooding in turn causes damage to homes along the creek.

http://environmentalchange.nd.edu/resources/nd-leef/ ND-LEEF was born out of a close partnership with the Park that provides an unrivaled opportunity for scientific and environmental outreach to regional school groups and other park visitors from South Bend, St. Joseph County, and surrounding communities. Built in 2014, the Morrison Family Education and Outreach Pavilion serves as the hub for outreach programming at ND-LEEF and as a source of information about current Notre Dame research for park visitors. A laboratory provides scientists with a predictable and controlled setting for conducting experiments. However, research in the environmental sciences also needs to be tested at a more realistic scale, in a whole lake or stream for instance. The Notre Dame Linked Experimental Ecosystem Facility, or ND-LEEF, provides scientists with a place to do these large-scale experiments without the challenges of field research, where controlling and replicating experiments can be problematic. ND-LEEF is a globally unique research facility that houses two man-made experimental watersheds, each consisting of an interconnected pond, stream, and wetland. Scientists use ND-LEEF to conduct experiments in a field-like setting but in a more controlled environment than one can find in nature. Both experimental watersheds are roughly the length and width of a football field and located five miles north of campus on six acres of land within St. Patrick’s County Park.

The University has three programs to donate food that is fit for human consumption to area residents who are food insecure. We are working to meld these three programs together to make more of a synergistic impact on food insecurity.