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Community Corner

Woodbridge Conservation Commission Appeals to Yale for Help with Project

Commission looks for student help with map project

The Woodbridge Conservation Commission last night decided to apply to Yale University's Dwight Hall Community Based Learning Initiative for assistance with a natural resource inventory.

"We are launching on this big resource inventory project and the work is humongous," says commission chairperson Maria Kayne.

The project involves creating one map of Woodbridge by conducting an inventory and then combining it with existing town, state and federal maps. The town maps include such details as lakes, streams and slopes, according to Kayne, and the federal maps include endangered species.

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The commisison plans to apply for a $1,500 grant to assist with the project, but Kayne admits that "Woodbridge may not be seen as the most needy town to receive that grant."

So she proposes turning to the Dwight Hall Community-Based Learning (CBL) program, which allows students and community organizations to work together on projects such as a natural resource inventory. A community nonprofit or government organization will identify a project of research, analysis, or evaluation that would be helpful to them. These projects are then matched to courses at Yale's School of Urban Studies. Students complete research for the community organizations which compliments coursework and they receive academic credit for their participation. In the past, the research has culminated in a paper that serves as the final project for the class and serves as a resource for the organization such as the town of Woodbridge. The goal of the CBL project is to assist rather than merely study the organizations.

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If the commission's application is accepted a Yale student would work under the supervision of town officials.

The commission is working on developing a template for what the natural resource inventory should include. 

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