Three Colby-Sawyer College faculty members with Andover connections are participating in an innovative new undergraduate program that focuses on revitalizing the City of Franklin. In November, the program opened a field office in Andover’s neighboring city with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that brought college and city leaders together in celebration.
The Andover-based faculty trio are all members of Colby-Sawyer’s Environmental Studies Department: Professor Leon C. Malan, Associate Professor Harvey Pine, and Assistant Professor Jennifer White. Pine and White are fulltime Andover residents and Malan is a property-owner.
Their program is called the Sustainable Learning Initiative (SLI). According to White, the program leader, SLI is an experiential learning opportunity for Colby-Sawyer students, dedicated to using the principles of permaculture and sustainability to revitalize Franklin’s downtown community. Through Colby-Sawyer’s relationship with a nonprofit called PermaCityLife and its community partners, students work with local stakeholders to explore, design and develop sustainable solutions to real and evolving community needs.
As a complement to the SLI, Colby-Sawyer has launched an innovative three-year degree in community-based sustainability which allows students to save approximately 20 percent on the cost of their college education and gain professional hands-on experience while still in school.
A remodeled storefront at 357 Central Street is serving as the hub for partnerships and projects within the downtown area, functioning as the main office for PermaCityLife and home base for Colby-Sawyer classes and interns who travel there to work with project partners.
Colby-Sawyer’s new degree program was announced in February. Since then, according to White, students and faculty have been involved in a number of Franklin-based efforts, including the design of quality affordable housing and a new community garden; a comprehensive business plan for the Twin Rivers Interfaith Food Pantry; a branding strategy and business plan for the emerging Franklin Falls whitewater park; a communications plan for PermaCityLife and SLI; a riparian invasive species inventory for a local park; and a social sustainability study for a 45-apartment development effort.
In the last two years, White says, more than ten new businesses have come to town, including Take Root Coworking, Outdoor New England, and Franklin Studio, a volunteer-run coffee shop featuring New Hampshire-made products. “Colby-Sawyer’s SLI creates real-life skill-building opportunities by pairing the to-do lists of these pioneering project partners with the learning outcomes in majors across disciplines. This semester, more than 90 Colby-Sawyer students are breathing new life into the downtown.”
Todd Workman, executive director of PermaCityLife and the primary catalyst for Franklin’s sustainable revitalization efforts, said at the ribbon-cutting: “Colby-Sawyer’s involvement lends credibility to the project and validates to residents and visitors alike that Franklin Falls is on the rise. Activating an empty storefront is always valuable, but having the college as a long-term collaborator shows that CSC is an innovator, brings youthful energy and creativity to our community, and gives others the confidence to come to town and start their own business.”