Campus Name
Ripon College
Ripon, WI (see Serve 2.0 Mini-Grant Map)
Campus Contacts
Deano Pape / PapeD@ripon.edu / 920-748-8152
300 Seward Street • Ripon, WI 54971
www.ripon.edu/oce
riponoce.pbwiki.com
UPDATES:
YouTube Channel for RIPEN (the Ripon Initiative for local Produce Education and Nutrition)
Add RIPEN on Facebook!
Issue Focus Area(s)
Agriculture: The issue of local agriculture is appealing for several reasons. It has been identified as a key part of the long-term strategic plan for the Ripon community that is supported by city government. The issue also plays a role in several major civic education efforts already underway, including promoting healthier eating, supporting local economic development, reducing citizens’ environmental impact, and showcasing high quality food choices available in the region. On campus, local agriculture is likely to interest students who love to cook, those concerned about healthy eating, those interested in local politics and economics, those passionate about environmental issues, as well as those simply looking for an alternative to their college-mandated meal plan.
Brief Overview
The Office of Community Engagement at Ripon College (OCE) proposes to utilize Web 2.0 approaches and technologies in a controlled effort to (1)demonstrate that such tools can be effective platforms of civic education about an issue, (2)increase participation in service and civic leadership projects related to the issue, and (3)catalyze further systemic involvement with the issue.
In order to clearly evaluate our success in demonstrating these three goals, we have selected an issue area in which no projects are being conducted by our office or other groups on campus. Our effort will be to utilize Web 2.0 technologies to create a student-led movement surrounding local agriculture. The movement will work with the nonprofit Ripon Main Street, which has identified local agriculture as a key issue in its long-range plan for Ripon’s development and growth, as well as local government and nonprofits such as the Ripon Chamber of Commerce. The goal is to model successful use of Web 2.0 tools to build interest, awareness and participation in the issue among students, who are early adopters of such technologies, before expanding the program to be a citywide and regional initiative sponsored by Ripon Main Street.
Key Community Partners
- Ripon Main Street (project of the Chamber of Commerce): Ripon, WI is one of the cities selected for a national effort to revitalize main streets through the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Wisconsin Main Street Program advocates restoration of the historic character of downtown while pursuing traditional development strategies such as marking, business recruitment and retention, real estate development, market analysis and public improvements. As a partner, Ripon College can apply its knowledge to assist with this economic and community development in ways that also improve people's quality of life.
(see Serve 2.0 Mini-Grant Map)
Social Media Tools to Be Used
YouTube Channel for RIPEN (the Ripon Initiative for local Produce Education and Nutrition)
Add RIPEN on Facebook!
Link to Campus Organizing Strategies
Ripon's strategy builds on the existing organization of the Office of Community Engagement and its strategic efforts to link the work of the Bonner Leader Program with other campus-wide efforts for service, service-learning, and community-based research. As a project that attempts to become a student-led movement, much of the work for this grant will come from a student intern. This intern will report to OCE staff for assistance in developing the movement, technical training in social media tools, and feedback from ongoing evaluation efforts.
Goals of Initiative
1. Ripon College students will be aware of the movement to support the use of local agriculture
a. Polling will indicate that 25% of students are aware of such a movement
b. Polling will indicate that 10% of students can name two or more reasons to be supportive of local agriculture, such as environmental, health, or economic benefits
2. Ripon College students will increase their participation in service and civic leadership projects related to local agriculture
a. A Facebook page, Twitter account, YouTube channel, and other technological tools mentioned above will be created by September 1, 2009
b. A minimum of 10% of students who join the online movement will participate in one “real world” service or community engagement project related to the issue of local agriculture
c. At least 10 brief videos will be created that provide training to those who wish to assist in organizing the movement
3. The Serve 2.0 effort will catalyze further systemic involvement with issues surrounding local agriculture.
a. At least two projects that further support local agriculture will be organized during Spring 2010 by those unaffiliated with the OCE
b. Polling indicates awareness of the initiative and possibilities for connecting with the initiative among:
· Ripon College staff in the area of Residence Life programming,
· faculty in disciplines of ecology, economics, business, and sociology,
· student leaders of sanctioned student organizations, and
· student leaders of living groups
c. Ripon Main Street and/or other nonprofit organizations will be able to draw upon this model to launch a citywide initiative to promote local agriculture
Key Activities and Timelines
Spring 2009
o Select student intern
o Launch project wiki
o Meet with likely early supporters of the effort, including local farmers, local officials involved in our city’s strategic planning, Ripon’s Policy Options project, and leaders of student groups focused on the environment, cooking, economics and ecology
o Identify topics for initial civic education campaign, and conduct interviews
o Write text for Facebook page and accompanying advertisements
o Complete first progress report
Summer 2009
o Present at Summer Leadership Institute
o Edit educational interviews and post to YouTube
o Prepare fall events, including service and educational activities
o Make final preparations for campaign’s release
Fall 2009
o Complete second progress report
o Unveil campaign on Facebook as soon as students return to campus, with initial support from members of student groups contacted in the spring and Bonner students
o Purchase advertisements on Facebook and YouTube targeted to Ripon College students in order to gather additional interest
o Engage the efforts of Facebook fans immediately through projects outside the technological world, including community service days, educational presentations, and other opportunities for civic engagement
o Conduct initial assessment to identify ways to improve approach
o Aggressively solicit YouTube video posts, posts of articles and other co-creation from Facebook fans
o Deano Pape and Charles Oberweiser attend Fall Director’s Meeting, with possible presentation
Spring 2010
o Utilize winter months as opportunities to refocus on civic education campaigns
o Create videos to help train others to take action in the movement next summer and fall
o Incorporate policy research from Policy Options project
o Transition to a community-wide focus through connections with the public access television station and its cooking program, a second round of Facebook advertisements, and meetings with staff of nonprofit partners
Summer 2010
o Present at Summer Leadership Institute
o Complete final progress report and transition from grant funding
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