Pathfinders Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) has been selected as a partner by the University of Iowa’s Initiative for Sustainable Communities (IISC) program. During the 2024-25 academic year, IISC will bring more than 100 faculty and students to collaborate with Pathfinders RC&D and the communities they serve in southeastern Iowa, particularly in Davis, Van Buren, Jefferson, Wapello, Mahaska, and Keokuk counties.
Pathfinders RC&D has been serving communities since 1978 with a mission to “create vibrant communities by strengthening local economies and encouraging natural resource conservation.”
The nonprofit applied to the competitive program with an emphasis on engaging local youth in areas of job growth. “Working in conjunction with the South Central Iowa Workforce Development Board, Pathfinders is thinking creatively and strategically about how to keep young people in Iowa’s small towns and rural areas,” said Travis Kraus, director of IISC and an Associate Professor in the University of Iowa’s School of Planning and Public Affairs. “They have already made significant progress in this area, and we’re excited to bring UI students’ creativity to bear on an issue that affects our state’s future.”
Pathfinders RC&D and IISC have worked together on several small projects. Now that the organization is partnering with the South Central Iowa Workforce Development Board, there is an opportunity to engage in more regional projects, and Utt notes, “IISC is the ideal partner for this approach. Pathfinders is eager to see how the work done in a few communities can be scaled to a regional level and how collaboration among regional partners can enhance the sustainability and resilience of rural communities.”