Kroc School's Environmental Peace and Justice Class Partners with Local Middle School to Improve San Diego Community

The Impact Linda Vista Initiative (ILVI) is a course-based program designed in 2014 by the Changemaker Hub in partnership with the Mulvaney Center for Community, Awareness, and Social Action (CASA), and funded in part by a grant from US Bank. The overall purpose of ILVI is to bring USD faculty and students together with community partners to co-create and develop innovative and sustainable coursebased collaborations in Linda Vista. This community engagement extends across a wide range of disciplines and academic units on campus and across multiple sectors in the community. They collectively aim to create for positive and meaningful social change.

During the fall semester, graduate professor Topher McDougal and his Environmental Peace and Justice class worked with local Montgomery STEAM Middle School to continue incorporating sustainability in their garden. USD’s graduate students partnered alongside teachers, students, and Montgomery Principal Sarah Trueblood, to understand some of their long-term vision goals for the community garden. Montgomery Middle School’s garden was built recognizing the need for environmental awareness, health, and nutrition. USD’s graduate students took on a project of mutual interest and wrote grants for the school. The grants can help cover costs for a gray-water drip system, Aquaponics system, an ADA-accessible ramp leading to the garden, and a variety of environmental sustainability-related projects.

The opportunities this partnership created for students from USD and Montgomery Middle school are invaluable. USD students were able to take coursework outside of the classroom and apply it to today’s environmental justice issues. Together, Montgomery Middle School and USD students explored a range of social issues pertinent to the Linda Vista community all while working together to co-create sustainable solutions for generations to come.