Work in progress-service learning opportunity: a university and community partnership in creek restoration

A service learning opportunity has been incorporated as part of a required upper-division course in civil engineering. A collaborative relationship was established between homeowners along Five-Mile Creek, an urban creek in Stockton, CA, and the University of the Pacific Civil Engineering Department. Like most surface waters in California, the creek serves multiple beneficial, and sometimes conflicting, uses. Consequently, it is affected heavily by human activities and experiences water quality problems. Creek analysis and restoration projects have been conducted as part of a water resources engineering course and have provided students with opportunities to develop and apply field, analytical, and technical skills. Students examine and develop solutions for this 'real world' problem; communicate with homeowners; and research political, social, environmental, and regulatory issues. This pilot project serves to demonstrate that community involvement (or "service learning") projects can serve an important role in support of learning while providing mutually beneficial opportunities for students and for the community.