I have been following the Changing Game Project since last year, and the book and the blog posts have been inspiring; I personally met John O’Sullivan himself when he stopped by in Madison. But it does not mean anything when we, parents, do not follow the inspiring messages, right! Knowing and doing have always been two very different things and they apply to almost all aspects of our lives.
New Exciting Partnership on Sustainable Agriculture
This has been long overdue, but I am happy to share that I have been offered a position as a Public Humanities Fellow with the Center for the Humanities, UW-Madison. The fellowship is a part of the center’s Engaging the Humanities, a multiyear project supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. My fellowship will partner with the FairShare CSA Coalition, a nonprofit organization based in Madison, Wisconsin. More details about this fellowship is available.
Continue reading New Exciting Partnership on Sustainable Agriculture
Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Environmental Studies Service Learning
I would like to thank Kelcie Kempenich on her candid observation on the Nelson Institute‘s capstone service learning program. Her journalistic project Connecting Through Capstones helps communicate the values that we are trying to embrace from our community-university partnership.
Just a quick disclaimer though 🙂 since I am really hoping that I do not offend scientists in my comments captured in this project (nothing in here is anyone’s fault but mine that I might not clearly articulate my message). I got nervous when I heard my recorded interview I might say stupid stuff. Continue reading Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Environmental Studies Service Learning
Being honest in partnership
Waiting for my food order at the Union South, here it is a reflection.
Being honest and being clear is one of the hardest thing on a partnership in general. Let me just frame this in two specific examples.
1. Students asked for taking a phone call during class and leaving early from class. The first thing I consider was that their courage to communicate that request, not the actual request. I don’t see their participation become less meaningful because of the amount of time they are engaged in class. But I see them as an adult who is trying to make a good decision by considering a few aspects going on. It is their honesty to make that request that I value high. Me trusting them to make any decisions means us together build a partnership to the next level.
2. I sent an email today to encourage a board of directors where I am currently serving to consider my resignation. As much as I am passionate about working with a grassroots organizatin, I have to be honest that I do not feel right when my important values are not being embraced. I have to be clear what my values are, so that I can ask them, other board members, for the same honesty about whether my values are something they value. Partnership is not about sitting together in a room and chatting about stuff. Partnership is about acting on something that mutually valued.
Now I am having my lunch ;).
Thanks for reading.
From the “Bowling Alone”
Reading Robert Putnam’s Bowling Alone (2000), my lessons are what he refers to a physical capital, a human capital, and a social capital. You can find a summary page of this influential book too.
The way I see it, a development plan would theoretically cover these three areas.
Physical capital is a development that produces a physical product. This can be a bridge, a road, a building, a computer, or anything that takes a physical form of a product. A society produces a physical capital so that they can use for their benefits.
South Madison Farmers’ Market Looking for Local Supports
by Jasmine Badreddine and Wally Graeber
The South Madison Farmers’ Market (SMFM) has been in the area for more than a decade. Despite the strong intention to provide safe, affordable, healthy food to the South Madison community, why does the market struggle to attract both vendors and customers?
That is the question that Robert Pierce and Shellie Pierce asked a team of undergraduate students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison to answer. Robert and Shellie, a motivated father-daughter pair, are two key organizers of the market. They collaborated with eight students from the UW-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies to conduct a research project this past fall semester to address the question.
Continue reading South Madison Farmers’ Market Looking for Local Supports
Nelson news on the recent capstone partnership
Thank you Elise and the Nelson Institute for writing an article about our partnership with the South Madison Farmers’ Market. It crucially recognizes the hard work of our students and our community partner. The article is available at the Nelson Institute website.