Nursing – ��ý-N

Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana Partners with Community to Restore Los Laureles Canyon

Ada Inman — Tue, 07 Jul 2026 20:35:32 +0000

The Problem

Stretching across the U.S.-Mexico border, Los Laureles Canyon, part of the Tijuana River watershed, is a rich ecosystem that supports biodiversity. But increasing pollution, climate change, and biodiversity loss have created binational challenges for the watershed.

The Opportunity

In August 2025, the Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana project launched through a collaboration among Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana, Costa Salvaje A.C and the Rancho Las Flores community. The project aimed to strengthen local resilience, reduce environmental vulnerability, and restore lost biodiversity in Los Laureles Canyon.

Since Fall 2025, seven academic programs at the university, including Architecture, Mechatronics Engineering, Psychology, Nursing, Law, Communication, and Bionanotechnology Engineering, have joined the effort as part of an interdisciplinary approach to environmental restoration and the implementation of the ��ý-Model.

Together, the seven departments focused on five primary goals: monitoring water quality and mitigating wastewater pollution through phytoremediation; controlling soil erosion; revegetating green spaces; promoting environmental education and community stewardship; and exploring legal pathways to secure the Right to a Healthy Environment. For the past two semesters, Fall 2025 and Spring 2026, 127 students were involved in 15 courses supervised by 15 professors.

Through continued collaboration, the project incorporated key initiatives such as urban and risk mapping led by the psychology department, as well as environmental monitoring efforts.

Our Partnership

In April 2025, leaders within the Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana project began collaborating with ��ý-N to assist with project funding and the implementation of the ��ý Model, combining university- and community-led initiatives with municipal collaboration.

Teachers and students of the Bionanotechnology Engineering undergrad program collected samples of dirt and water along the Los Laureles Canyon for testing. Students, along with local laboratories, proposed a type of bioremediation, an environmental process that uses living organisms to remove hazardous pollutants from water. Other undergraduate students in Tadeo Franco’s architecture class, a professor at Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana, and the ��ý-N/EbA project lead designed a community board to facilitate communication between project leaders and the local community. The innovative communication tool included feedback from neighbors in its final design.

Tadeo Franco said community members are heavily involved within the project, and continued collaboration has led to new innovations as the project progresses.

“They’re very much involved in deciding which design they like the most,” he said. “Students with professors had to change the objective of the design because of the petitions with the neighbors.”

Other project partners and collaborators include Costa Salvaje Conservation, a nonprofit that helped build infrastructure near the community board for collecting and processing trash.

Looking forward, project leaders say they hope members of the Rancho Las Flores community can continue to maintain community interventions created through the Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana project. In the architecture program at the Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana, project leaders hope to officially integrate transdisciplinary courses within the department and across the university.

The Result

Through the Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana project and its ongoing work, organizers and collaborators have strengthened relationships among university departments, community members, and partners working in Los Laureles Canyon. The project has also strengthened socio-environmental resilience through several key interventions. By August 2026, organizers hope to secure acknowledgment from local authorities of the problems caused by biodiversity destruction and the vulnerability it generates in the community.

Georgina Muñoz Reyes, architecture professor at Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana and ��ý-N/EbA project organizer, said that although the project has overcome some challenges, it has achieved its goal of showcasing the possibilities of transdisciplinary approaches and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA).

“It’s been a learning process,” she said. “But overall, the goals of introducing this transdisciplinary approach of learning about nature-based solutions and how to implement them have been really wonderful, seeing how everything has been developing and growing.”

Juan Pablo Ramírez Flores, a student from Universidad Iberoamericana, campus León (central Mexico), as part of the collaboration within the network of Jesuit universities, recently earned 2nd place in the Scientific Poster Design Competition at the 3rd Engineering Congress of the Jesuit University System for his work on this project. This recognition reflects the impact of applied research and science-driven solutions for sustainable development.

This project is funded by the Global EbA Fund, supported by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) of Germany, and co-managed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and its partners.

The project is also part of five projects under the program “Catalyzing Unconventional Collaborations in the Global South for Urban Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (EbA).”

La Universidad Iberoamericana de Tijuana se asocia con la comunidad para restaurar el Cañón de Los Laureles

El problema

El Cañón de Los Laureles, que se extiende a ambos lados de la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México y forma parte de la cuenca del río Tijuana, es un ecosistema rico en biodiversidad. Sin embargo, la creciente contaminación, el cambio climático y la pérdida de biodiversidad han generado desafíos binacionales para la cuenca.

La oportunidad

En agosto de 2025, se puso en marcha el proyecto de la Universidad Iberoamericana de Tijuana mediante una colaboración entre la Universidad Iberoamericana de Tijuana, Costa Salvaje A.C. y la comunidad de Rancho Las Flores. El proyecto busca fortalecer la resiliencia local, reducir la vulnerabilidad ambiental y restaurar la biodiversidad perdida en el Cañón de Los Laureles.

Desde el otoño de 2025, siete programas académicos de la universidad, entre ellos Arquitectura, Ingeniería Mecatrónica, Psicología, Enfermería, Derecho, Comunicación e Ingeniería en Bionanotecnología, se han sumado al esfuerzo como parte de un enfoque interdisciplinario para la restauración ambiental y la implementación del Modelo ��ý.

En conjunto, los siete departamentos se centraron en cinco objetivos principales: monitorear la calidad del agua y mitigar la contaminación por aguas residuales mediante fitorremediación; controlar la erosión del suelo; revegetar espacios verdes; promover la educación ambiental y la participación comunitaria; y explorar vías legales para garantizar el derecho a un medio ambiente saludable. Durante los dos últimos semestres, otoño de 2025 y primavera de 2026, 127 estudiantes participaron en 15 cursos supervisados por 15 profesores.

Mediante la colaboración continua, el proyecto incorporó iniciativas clave como el mapeo urbano y de riesgos, liderado por el departamento de psicología, así como esfuerzos de monitoreo ambiental.

Nuestra Alianza

En abril de 2025, los líderes del proyecto de la Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana comenzaron a colaborar con ��ý-N para apoyar la financiación del proyecto y la implementación del Modelo ��ý, combinando iniciativas universitarias y comunitarias con la colaboración municipal.

Docentes y estudiantes del programa de pregrado de Ingeniería en Bionanotecnología recolectaron muestras de tierra y agua a lo largo del Cañón de Los Laureles para su análisis. Estudiantes, junto con laboratorios locales, propusieron un tipo de biorremediación, un proceso ambiental que utiliza organismos vivos para eliminar contaminantes peligrosos del agua. Otros estudiantes de la clase de arquitectura de Tadeo Franco, un profesor de la Universidad Iberoamericana de Tijuana y el líder del proyecto ��ý-N/AbE diseñaron una pizarra comunitaria para facilitar la comunicación entre los líderes del proyecto y la comunidad local. Esta innovadora herramienta de comunicación incluyó la retroalimentación de los vecinos en su diseño final.

Tadeo Franco afirmó que los miembros de la comunidad participan activamente en el proyecto, y la colaboración continua ha dado lugar a nuevas innovaciones a medida que avanza el proyecto.

“Participan mucho en la decisión sobre qué diseño les gusta más”, dijo. “Los estudiantes, junto con los profesores, tuvieron que modificar el objetivo del diseño debido a las peticiones de los vecinos.”

Otros socios y colaboradores del proyecto incluyen a Costa Salvaje Conservation, una organización sin fines de lucro que ayudó a construir infraestructura cerca de la pizarra comunitaria para la recolección y el procesamiento de basura.

De cara al futuro, los líderes del proyecto esperan que los miembros de la comunidad de Rancho Las Flores puedan seguir manteniendo las intervenciones comunitarias creadas a través del proyecto de la Universidad Iberoamericana de Tijuana. En el programa de arquitectura de la Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana, los líderes del proyecto esperan integrar oficialmente cursos transdisciplinarios tanto dentro del departamento como en toda la universidad.

Resultados

A través del proyecto de la Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana y de su trabajo continuo, los organizadores y colaboradores han fortalecido las relaciones entre los departamentos universitarios, los miembros de la comunidad y los socios que trabajan en el Cañón de Los Laureles. El proyecto también ha fortalecido la resiliencia socioambiental mediante diversas intervenciones clave. Para agosto de 2026, los organizadores esperan obtener el reconocimiento de las autoridades locales respecto de los problemas causados por la destrucción de la biodiversidad y la vulnerabilidad que esta genera en la comunidad.

Georgina Muñoz Reyes, profesora de arquitectura en la Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana y organizadora del proyecto ��ý-N/AbE, afirmó que, si bien el proyecto ha superado algunos desafíos, ha logrado su objetivo de mostrar las posibilidades de los enfoques transdisciplinarios y de la adaptación basada en ecosistemas (AbE).

“Ha sido un proceso de aprendizaje”, concluyó. “En general, los objetivos de introducir este enfoque transdisciplinario para aprender sobre soluciones basadas en la naturaleza y cómo implementarlas han sido realmente maravillosos, al ver cómo todo se ha ido desarrollando y creciendo”.

Juan Pablo Ramírez Flores, estudiante de la Universidad Iberoamericana, campus León (centro de México), obtuvo recientemente, como parte de la colaboración dentro de la red de universidades jesuitas, el segundo lugar en el Concurso de Diseño de Pósteres Científicos del III Congreso de Ingeniería del Sistema Universitario Jesuita por su trabajo.

Este proyecto está financiado por el Global EbA Fund, cuenta con el apoyo de la Iniciativa Climática Internacional (IKI) del Ministerio Federal de Medio Ambiente, Conservación de la Naturaleza, Seguridad Nuclear y Protección al Consumidor (BMUV) de Alemania, y es cogestionado por la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (UICN) y sus socios.

Asimismo, el proyecto forma parte de un conjunto de cinco iniciativas en el marco del programa «Catalizar colaboraciones no convencionales en el Sur Global para la adaptación basada en ecosistemas (AbE) urbana».

The Opioid Problem: An awareness and prevention campaign in Highland, Illinois

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:37:42 +0000

The mission of the collaboration is to improve the health of Madison County due to the increasing rate of opioid usage. As of 2014, 60% of deaths were caused by drug overdose. The project identifies risk factors and possible solutions to eradicate the opioid epidemic

Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner.

SIUE Successful Communities Collaborative Contact Info

University Faculty Contact
Charlotte Chance
Nursing
Clinical Assistant Professor
cchance@siue.edu
(618) 650-5375

Local Government / Community Contact
Brian Wilson

Chief of the Highland EMS

Applying the Community Nursing Practice Model to the Bellevue Fire Department’s Public Health Outreach

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:37:12 +0000

Orange County is a rural southern Indiana county comprising four incorporated towns and a number of unincorporated communities. Residents are intent on celebrating the county’s industrial roots, natural beauty, and historic architecture while embracing and preparing for the future. Local progress is driven in large part by “grassroots cooperative leadership” (), while legal and medical non-profits provide essential communal services. This community-oriented mentality lends itself to innovative partnerships between various actors working towards common goals in areas like infrastructure, culture, tourism, and healthcare.

Community clinic introduces new chronic care measures

Like many rural US communities, the residents of Paoli, Indiana face healthcare barriers such as poverty, chronic disease, and a high patient-to-physician ratio (). Southern Indiana Community Health Care (SICHC) is a Federally Qualified Health Center located in Paoli which provides the underserved region with accessible care and support. The clinic recently implemented new management and staffing procedures in order to provide improved care for patients with chronic illnesses. Seeking to familiarize chronic care patients with home visits and improve its chronic illness management, SICHC reached out to the School of Nursing at Indiana University.

Students join the clinic on home visits to inform patients, provide care

Through the Sustaining Hoosier Communities (SHC) program, Southern Indiana Community Health Care partnered with Dr. Greg Carter’s transitional health care course. Working with community partner Donna Charles of SICHC, student participants arranged to conduct home visits for patients with chronic illnesses and home safety concerns. Their objectives were to complete routine care procedures, identify any potential patient risk factors, and educate chronic care patients about the benefits of home visits on mental and physical health.

Improving chronic care through accountability and efficiency

Under SICHC’s guidance, Carter’s students completed multiple chronic care home visits throughout Orange County. Their efforts led to the discovery of risk factors which may have been impacting patient health, such as “poor diet, low housing quality, and isolation” (). This project constituted an important step in rolling out SICHC’s new chronic care procedures to the community. Participants provided an essential service to local patients while gaining real world healthcare and nursing experience.

Patients suffering from chronic illnesses are a unique demographic at the clinic, as they require routine support and care. Together, students and healthcare providers intervened to better patients’ lives. Their collaborative efforts promise to improve community trust and patient health outcomes.

Sustaining Hoosier Communities Contact Info
Jane Rogan
Sustaining Hoosier Communities Director
jrogan@indiana.edu
(812) 855-0568
https://shc.indiana.edu

Indiana University Faculty Contact Info
Greg Carter
gracarte@indiana.edu
812-855-6026

Read the full story of the partnership.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Ada Inman — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 00:33:53 +0000

Successful Communities Collaborative

Website |

SIUE Successful Communities Collaborative (SCC) is a cross-disciplinary program that supports one-year partnerships between the University and communities in Illinois to advance local resiliency and sustainability based on community-identified environmental, social, and economic issues and needs. Our mission is to connect communities with the students and faculty of SIUE.

SCC selects a single partner community (generally a city or county) through a competitive application process. Working with administrative staff and stakeholders in the selected community, the collaborative helps identify 10–15 projects that will advance local resiliency and sustainability based on community-identified needs. Each project is connected with one or more key courses at SIUE that can provide research or technical support to move the project forward.

SCC provides innovative strategies to move community-identified, high-priority sustainability goals forward. Communities often face limited resources to explore sustainability and quality of life questions. SCC seeks to reduce those obstacles by linking existing graduate and undergraduate courses at SIUE to explore innovative solutions to community-identified projects.

Fun Facts about SCC

SCC is one of the ��ý-N programs active on and . Visit their social media pages to stay up to date regarding their program.

Year Program Established | 2017
Country | U.S.
Federal Region of Program | 5

Public or Private Institution | Public
Number of students at institution | 14,000

Highlight Articles/Videos

City Partners

Contact Info

Connie Frey Spurlock
Faculty Director
(618) 650-2945
cfrey@siue.edu

Indiana University

Ada Inman — Thu, 28 Mar 2019 00:13:58 +0000

Sustaining Hoosier Communities

Website |

Indiana University’s Sustaining Hoosier Communities (SHC), an initiative of the forges partnerships between local communities and leaders and Indiana University’s faculty, staff, and students to enrich the health, prosperity, and vitality of our region.

Through undergraduate and graduate courses—in disciplines including public health, information systems, public policy, arts administration, folklore, public relations, biology, art and design, social work, and law—IU students and faculty work closely with community partners to generate real, innovative outcomes to the community’s projects.

During the 2017-18 year, 16 faculty members taught over 600 students in 20 courses at Indiana University through which they collaborated with local leaders in Lawrence County to understand and address social, economic, and environmental sustainability challenges and opportunities the community identified. During the 2018-19 year, SHC will collaborate with Orange County, Indiana.

Fun Facts about SHC

Indiana University junior, Sarah Murphy, was particularly excited about her outdoor recreation class last fall, as the class included developing a plan to turn the decommissioned Avoca Fish Hatchery into a sustainable recreation site. The outdoor recreation class was one of 20 courses at Indiana University Bloomington participating in the SHC initiative last year. For Sarah Murphy, the project hit close to home. As a native of Lawrence County, Sarah was excited to use her Indiana University coursework to help her home community. “It’s awesome to be able to work with this project because I’m from here,” she said. “You can see the potential of the site.” Murphy and her fellow students developed a plan that will draw community members to the site for programs that can be sustained economically over time.

Year Program Established | 2016
Country | US
Federal Region of Program | 5

Public or Private Institution | Public
Number of students at institution | 48,500

Highlight Articles/Videos

by Alex Eady
by Carol Johnson

Past City Partners

2020-2021 | Washington County • Population: 28,036 (2019)
2019-2020 | Greene County • Population: 32,006 (2018)
2018-2019 | Orange County • Population: 19,489 (2018)
2017-2018 | Lawrence County • Population: 45,495

Contact Info

Colleen Rose
Director of Student Engagement, IU Center for Rural Engagement
812-856-3379
rosec@indiana.edu

Nursing – ����ý-N

Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana Partners with Community to Restore Los Laureles Canyon

La Universidad Iberoamericana de Tijuana se asocia con la comunidad para restaurar el Cañón de Los Laureles

The Opioid Problem: An awareness and prevention campaign in Highland, Illinois

Applying the Community Nursing Practice Model to the Bellevue Fire Department’s Public Health Outreach

Read the full story of the partnership.

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Successful Communities Collaborative

Fun Facts about SCC

Highlight Articles/Videos

City Partners

Contact Info

Indiana University

Sustaining Hoosier Communities

Fun Facts about SHC

Highlight Articles/Videos

Past City Partners

Contact Info

Nursing – ��ý-N