SUSTAIN SLO - San Luis Obispo

SUSTAIN-SLO is a learning initiative formed by the collaboration between faculty, community partners and students. Our intent is to learn together by designing and implementing projects that contribute to a thriving community.

Our shared principles of collaboration are:

Honor the whole;
The quality of what we can do together depends on the quality of our relationships with one another.

Project examples

Aids Support Network: A student group worked at the ASN Memorial Graden. They moved a sign and helped coordinate the design of a succulent garden. Here is a link to the student project site
SLO Creek Farms: Students worked with the Gable family to make the farm organic, sustainable, and attractive. Here is a link to the decription of the project.
United Way Born Learning Trail: Students worked with representatives from United Way to move toward the establishment of a Born Learnig Trail on Cal Poly's Campus. The students also designed a new Born Learning sign that incorporated Physics into the trail. Here is a link to the project site.
Cal Poly Food to the Food Bank: Students worked with the Food Bank Coalition of San Luis Obispo County and Cal Poly to develop a robust system to take excess student food plan dollars and use this to buy food for the food bank. Here is a link to the project site.
Oak Creek Commons: This group of students work with member of the co-housing community to design and execute a rain catchment system. The students formed lasting relationship with residents sharing meals and working side by side. Here is a link to their project site.
Western Wildlife Nature walks: The group worked with a local school to design and execute weekly nature walks for students at the school. The goal of the nature walks was to introduce students to the educational opportunities and joy of the natural world. Here is a link to the project website.
Sprout Up SLO: Students trained for and delivered a symposium on the pressing need for sustainable living. Here is a link to their project website.
Master Gardens (elementary school gardens): This student group with help from other SUSTAIN co-learners completely redid 6 garden plots at Laureate School in San Luis Obispo.
Foodbank Tree scouts (Gleaning): Students in this group brought the concept of gleaning, harvesting excess food, to the communities by developing a system to gather backyard fruit and vegetables.
Independent Living Resource Center: Students work with this organization to initiate a more robust connection between adaptive technology needs in the community and project within Cal Poly.

After the 2012 SUSTAIN pilot, we performed an Retrospective with the community partners.

Contact info

If you are a SLO county community member and would like more information or would like to discuss your possible involvement as a community partner please contact Liz Schlemer at Cal Poly, [email protected] or (805) 756-2183

If you are a freshman student at Cal Poly and would like to apply or request more information, email [email protected].

2013 Community Partner Meeting.