RCE Grand Rapids-2014
a) Criteria/ indicators used to assess aspects of RCE work/ project: Character count 300 words:
No formal self-evaluation was undertaken this year.
The GR RCE continues to engage with the global RCE community. Indicators include:
• Attendance at various conferences, such as Western Jalisco
• Conference calls using the GVSU Blackboard Collaborative technology platform with colleagues in the global community e.g. primarily the RCE Americas
• Cutting edge programs. Our initial Youth Virtual Conference on Water Issues was definitely cutting edge and received good reviews from our RCE Americas colleagues. Another successful Youth Virtual Conference of food access and sustainable food systems was held in May 2014 with 5 RCE Americas participating each with a high school class.
• Advancement of the mission of our RCE to extend the reach of ESD throughout our West Michigan region. Six regional Community Sustainability Partnerships (CSPs) have been established including Grand Rapids www.grpartners.org); Holland/Zeeland; Muskegon; Grand Haven/Spring Lake; St. Joseph/Benton Harbor; and Kalamazoo/Battle Creek/Portage. A new regional CSP website is under development (www.gvsu.edu/wmcsp) Regional meetings of the CSPs are held at GVSU on a quarterly basis to develop collaborative initiatives. Resilient cities is one of the main thrusts of our regional work.
The GR RCE continues to engage with the global RCE community. Indicators include:
• Attendance at various conferences, such as Western Jalisco
• Conference calls using the GVSU Blackboard Collaborative technology platform with colleagues in the global community e.g. primarily the RCE Americas
• Cutting edge programs. Our initial Youth Virtual Conference on Water Issues was definitely cutting edge and received good reviews from our RCE Americas colleagues. Another successful Youth Virtual Conference of food access and sustainable food systems was held in May 2014 with 5 RCE Americas participating each with a high school class.
• Advancement of the mission of our RCE to extend the reach of ESD throughout our West Michigan region. Six regional Community Sustainability Partnerships (CSPs) have been established including Grand Rapids www.grpartners.org); Holland/Zeeland; Muskegon; Grand Haven/Spring Lake; St. Joseph/Benton Harbor; and Kalamazoo/Battle Creek/Portage. A new regional CSP website is under development (www.gvsu.edu/wmcsp) Regional meetings of the CSPs are held at GVSU on a quarterly basis to develop collaborative initiatives. Resilient cities is one of the main thrusts of our regional work.
b) Successes of the RCE and lessons learned: Character count 300 words:
The Youth Virtual Conference on food system issues organized by RCE Grand Rapids involved RCE Portland, RCE Saskatchewan,Canada, RCE Lima, Peru, RCE Grand Rapids, Michigan, and RCE Medellin, Columbia. This conference brought together high school students on several continents in a peer-educational initiative. Each school developed presentations on a food system issue and presented their findings to the other schools in a real-time virtual conference setting where they never had to leave their classrooms. Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids provided the technology (Blackboard Platform). This technology continues to be used and further developed by other participating RCEs, especially in the Americas. Identified challenges include:
• Engaging RCEs in other parts of the globe given time differences. Western Canada, Western U.S., and Europe are about as far as we can expect to reach and even that distance required getting some students to school very early and others staying after the traditional school day.
• Because the license for the software permits access by all participants for one year following the conference, we hope that students and teachers will continue the dialogue around water and food system issues.
In Grand Rapids, MI the Plaster Creek Watershed Initiative conducted by Calvin College in cooperation with RCE Grand Rapids continues to build momentum. This initiative monitors stormwater runoff in a tributary to the Grand River and educates citizens on stormwater pollution issues and involves citizens in clean-up and community education efforts. A major lesson learned is that the closer water pollution is to where people live the more likely they are to be engaged; or, said otherwise, "Think globally, act locally." Last year the City of Grand Rapids also experienced the worst flood in 100 years. Water pollution, flood and water runoff issues were of key concern to the City of Grand Rapids. The community at large turned out to help prevent further damage from this natural disaster. www.grcity.us)
Seeds of Promise is a self-sustainable sustainable neighborhood initiative that has ~2000 residents. This social, economic, and environmental impact initiative of RCE Grand Rapids works in a very low-income neighborhood of Grand Rapids to empower residents to address issues of poverty, unemployment, education, housing, health and wellness, and environmental issues in this neighborhood. The overall desired outcome is an improved quality of life for families, children, and residents that live in the local community. www.seedsofpromise.net) Lessons learned include:
• This work requires patience and a willingness to leave middle-class cultural assumptions behind and turn control over to the local residents
• Sustainability program funding has not become a significant issue, but funding for operational capacity is still difficult. Prospective funders want to provide project funding but are reluctant to provide administrative financial support.
• Collective impact reporting for Seeds of Promise remains a challenge as new metrics and performance measurements are required.
• Communicating the bottom up transformation Seeds of Promise model to others.
• Engaging RCEs in other parts of the globe given time differences. Western Canada, Western U.S., and Europe are about as far as we can expect to reach and even that distance required getting some students to school very early and others staying after the traditional school day.
• Because the license for the software permits access by all participants for one year following the conference, we hope that students and teachers will continue the dialogue around water and food system issues.
In Grand Rapids, MI the Plaster Creek Watershed Initiative conducted by Calvin College in cooperation with RCE Grand Rapids continues to build momentum. This initiative monitors stormwater runoff in a tributary to the Grand River and educates citizens on stormwater pollution issues and involves citizens in clean-up and community education efforts. A major lesson learned is that the closer water pollution is to where people live the more likely they are to be engaged; or, said otherwise, "Think globally, act locally." Last year the City of Grand Rapids also experienced the worst flood in 100 years. Water pollution, flood and water runoff issues were of key concern to the City of Grand Rapids. The community at large turned out to help prevent further damage from this natural disaster. www.grcity.us)
Seeds of Promise is a self-sustainable sustainable neighborhood initiative that has ~2000 residents. This social, economic, and environmental impact initiative of RCE Grand Rapids works in a very low-income neighborhood of Grand Rapids to empower residents to address issues of poverty, unemployment, education, housing, health and wellness, and environmental issues in this neighborhood. The overall desired outcome is an improved quality of life for families, children, and residents that live in the local community. www.seedsofpromise.net) Lessons learned include:
• This work requires patience and a willingness to leave middle-class cultural assumptions behind and turn control over to the local residents
• Sustainability program funding has not become a significant issue, but funding for operational capacity is still difficult. Prospective funders want to provide project funding but are reluctant to provide administrative financial support.
• Collective impact reporting for Seeds of Promise remains a challenge as new metrics and performance measurements are required.
• Communicating the bottom up transformation Seeds of Promise model to others.
c) Challenges experiences: Character count 300 words:
RCE Grand Rapids is an unfunded organization that lives on the good-will and shared resources of its partners. Only to the extent that the institutions of higher education and the City of Grand Rapids are willing to provide staff, technology and other resources, does the RCE succeed. The current leadership for the GR RCE is with the Mayor of Grand Rapids George Heartwell. A change in leadership among any of the key stakeholder institutions might result in diminishment of the RCE efforts. This is not a sustainable scenario for future planning. Finding stable on-going funding to support staff and other expenses remains a challenge. Cost sharing among partners has been a successful strategy to date with each partner having to incur their own expenses for conferences and workshops. GVSU has been able to provide administrative support for the RCE.
