University of Richmond
EN-9: Community Partnerships

The Center for Civic Engagement (CCE) sends Bonner Scholars (students who receive a scholarship in exchange for serving weekly for 3.5 years with one local organization), students in community-based learning (CBL) classes, and other interested students to work regularly with the James River Park System and Envision the James, a collaborative of local organizations working to conserve natural resources within the James River watershed. Additionally, the CCE regularly supports students to serve at Shalom Farms, Tricycle Gardens, Peter Paul Development Center’s community garden, and Bon Secours’ Class-A-Roll, all of which work to get healthy, fresh food to Richmond’s families in need. Last year, the University formed a partnership with the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club in collaboration with our UR Downtown office. Sierra Club volunteers support their advocacy campaigns on air pollution solutions, beyond coal to clean energy, beyond natural gas and pipelines, clean energy solutions, climate change, and offshore drilling. These students, in addition to serving at the Sierra Club, also serve at UR Downtown. Finally, recognizing the CCE still has room to grow, we have formed a collaborative think tank with faculty, staff, partners, and students to address gaps in partnerships and create better connectivity across campus for sustainability partnerships.

The University of Richmond has formed a collaborative partnership with Envision the James. Envision the James is an on-going conservation initiative that works with communities and partners in the James River watershed to plan and implement projects that sustain and enhance the region’s natural and cultural heritage, local economies, wildlife abundance, and outdoor recreation assets for present and future generations. The University works with many of the agencies through both curricular and co-curricular projects to help meet their mission. The University of Richmond’s Office for Sustainability, the Geography and the Environment department, the Environmental Studies program, and the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement all work with Envision the James agencies, including James River Park Association, the Chesapeake Conservancy, and National Geographic Maps.

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Our faculty have various partnerships with non-local communities through their community-based learning classes. Examples include the following: Dr. Mary Finley Brook’s “Water is Power!” class and their service to communities in Norfolk, southwest Virginia, and Maryland; Emily Boone’s regular trips with her Biology students to the Chesapeake Bay; Malcolm Hill’s work on rising sea temperatures in the Chesapeake Bay and the Caribbean, which is integrated into his research with students and he and April Hill’s Sophomore Scholars in Residence community, “Out of the Sea;” Peter Smallwood and Steve Nash’s Environmental Studies students’ research that they presented to the Virginia Climate Change Commission; and Todd Lookingbill’s Sophomore Scholars In Residence community, called “Protected Lands of the American West,” which travels to the West Coast for a week as part of their curriculum.

Go to engage.richmond.edu and filter for Sustainability, Food Access, Environmental Conservation at url.