University of Richmond
IN-3: Innovation 3

In order to strengthen our partnership with Envision the James (a collaborative community network that works with conservation, recreation, and heritage partners in the James River watershed to plan and implement projects that sustain and enhance the region), the University of Richmond hosts the Chesapeake Conservancy’s Outreach Coordinator, Regan Gifford, and provides staff resources to support her efforts. The University provides office space, mentoring, physical and educational resources to Ms. Gifford in support of her efforts to inspire conservation efforts on the James River through education, exploration and community engagement.

This arrangement is an outgrowth of efforts from the Chesapeake Conservancy and faculty from the University of Richmond to "connect students to the James River."

Offering overhead and campus resources allows Regan to publicize enegaged learning opportunities with ETJ partners, manage student interns on site, meet with faculty to connect them to community partners, and develop workshops on community-based learning alongside the Center for Civic Engagement. Her presence is a consistent resource to students looking to do service learning projects in the James River watershed.

This partnership is unique in multiple ways. We know of no other community partner that is given similar opportunities to work on campus. The outreach coordinator represents multiple community stakeholders and provides student and faculty opportunities for research and hands-on curriculum development for more than 15 agencies. The coordinator is supported by multiple campus entities, including the Office for Sustainability, Department of Geography and the Environment, Bonner Center for Civic Engagement, and Outdoor Recreation. Bi-weekly meetings with the Director of Sustainability, including in the Environmental Justice Think Tank, and sponsored workshops make this an truly innovative partnership.

UR students have been involved in several ETJ projects, to date. For example, students assisted with the creation of informative "geostories," completed land use analyses to support the initiative's riparian buffer work, and mapped river trails with Terrain 360. A Bonner Scholar intern, managed by the Center for Civic Engagement, has worked with Envision the James on development of a website and other outreach materials. A recent faculty development roundtable yielded a partnership between an Environmental Studies course and the James River Park Association related to research on subsistence fishing.