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Inland Empire Resource Conservation District in Redlands was recognized in September by the California State University, San Bernardino with their Outstanding Community Partner Award.

The IERCD was chosen as a 2022 recipient due to ongoing collaboration in many areas, including support of project-based learning, faculty-student research, and field experience for student interns. This work is part of IERCD’s ongoing facilitation of conservation-based education and outreach in the community, including bilingual K-12 classroom programs, community workshops, field trips, and education events within their nearly 1,300 square mile service area.

“This award celebrates the exceptional work of community partners and recognizes their importance in developing opportunities for students and faculty to engage in and learn from the community,” said  Diane Podolske, director of Service Learning and Community Engagement in CSUSB’s Office of Community Engagement. “The recipients showcase exceptional leadership in teaching all partners about their organization, culture, and systems; showcase an excellence in the supervision and mentoring of students in meaningful service-learning opportunities that address community issues; and showcase leadership that promotes and embraces CSUSB students’ service-learning and civic action within their organization.”

In its October 12 press release, CSUSB noted "The IERCD has played a crucial role in redesigning the CSUSB Department of Geography and Environmental Studies courses. Furthermore, the organization’s staff have served as guest lecturers and are represented on multiple campus-based committees."