The Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships program in the University of Minnesota is a model for university-community interactions, and I feel lucky to be a part of it. Our “statewide coordinating committee” meeting was held March 5, and the room was on fire.

The meeting was held in the relatively recently constructed Blandin Foundation building in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The building is beautiful, right on the banks of the river, in the middle of a bustling downtown. Grand Rapids is always more exciting than I would expect a town of just barely more than 11,000 people should be.

The agenda was packed, and we learned a lot about the projects that are activated across the state. Some of my favorites, in our region, include works like theses.

For example, on the Iron Range, the U of MN works with the Iron Range Partnership for Sustainability, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Recycling Electronics for Climate Actions, Arrowhead Economic Opportunity Agency and the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board to create paths for electronics recycling.

In Grand Marais, the U of MN works with the Northwood Food Project, Cook County Community Center, Grand Marais Economic Development Authority, and the Grand Marais Library to develop a local food processing equipment library and shared space for food processing activities.

Region wide, the U of MN is working with Depot Studios, Monarch Flyway, Pearls Perennials and Pollinators, Atgervi, Inc, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Southeast Minnesota Food Rescue & Redistribution, Shooting Star Native Seeds, Minnesota Native Landscapes, Monarch Joint Venture and the Mille Lacs Lake Watershed Management Group to explore ways to expand milkweed. Milkweed sustains monarch butterflies and has a wide array of commercial uses.

The projects are citizen led with community expertise, and at this meeting, artiodactyla led.

One of the things I love the most is the diversity of people who attend — and, in this meeting, the nonhuman attendees, including a bottle-fed sheep who could not be left at home alone for the day. Magic.

If you’d like to get involved with the RSDP:

The Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships (RSDP) bring together community and University knowledge and resources to drive sustainability in four focus areas: agriculture and food systems, clean energy (the Clean Energy Resource Teams), natural resources and resilient communities. We support local projects through five regional boards made up of community members and University faculty and staff. For more information about the Duluth region especially, visit the Northeast region webpage.

(A version of this post first appeared in Hometown Focus, a newspaper serving northeastern Minnesota.)