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Augustana partnership will bring revitalization to Clinton

Augustana College is partnering with the City of Clinton with a revitalization project that will give students real-world experience in their fields. It’s...

Augustana College is partnering with the City of Clinton with a revitalization project that will give students real-world experience in their fields.

It's called the Sustainable Working Landscapes Initiative (SWLI) and is an expansion of the pilot internship program from last year.

Originally, the pilot program was made up of two projects set in Moline and Rock Island, focusing on watershed and tree inventory.

Now, for the 2015-2016 school year, Augustana is expanding that program into a dozen different projects around the City of Clinton. Students will be paired with one project that aligns with their major.

"Students take what they've really learned in their major or even in a particular class and actually apply it to a real world problem," said Michael Reisner, an assistant professor at Augustana College.

Students will be involved with projects like developing a recreational trail system, creating an urban forest management plan, helping with a senior citizen fire prevention campaign, and working on downtown revitalization.

"The internship guided me through my senior research and gave me opportunities I wouldn't have had otherwise," said Tara Cullison, who participated in the pilot SWLI program last year, and is now graduated with a job in her field. "I feel I really have that step up, not only just sitting in the classroom and learning the research process but applying it within the community."

Clinton will pay Augustana College $15,000 to cover administrative fees in the program. Around 250 to 300 students will participate in the projects.

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