Yes, Penn State University collaborates with the local community to maintain shared land ecosystems.
These include:
- Collaborative management of Millbrook Marsh by Penn State, the Centre County Recreation and Parks, and Clearwater Conservancy
- Musser Gap to Valleylands project which relies on collaborative work by the university, the Department of Transportation, regional parks, and state parks.
- The Rights-of-Way, or Transmission Line Ecology, project is done with Pennsylvania Game Commission and utility partners to demonstrate that plant communities can be selectively managed to support reliable electric service and a diverse plant community for wildlife habitat.
- The development of a comprehensive Centre Region MS4 Partners Pollutant Reduction Plan (PRP) that addresses the Chesapeake Bay and impaired waters for nutrient and/or sediment requirements in the Spring Creek and Spruce Creek watersheds jointly with the local MS4 partners. The Spring Creek MS4 Partners that developed the PRP consist of the University, the State College Borough, and College, Harris, Ferguson, and Patton Townships. The MS4 Partners also maintain a stormwater website. The University’s MS4 permit establishes effluent limitations to reduce the discharge of pollutants to the maximum extent practicable.
- The Sustainable Communities Collaborative projects, some of which focus on community partnerships to maintain shared land resources, are celebrated each semester with an Expo.
Learn more about Penn State’s progress on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals HERE and on SDG15 HERE.