Last semester, UW-L students developed business plans designed to assist Clearwater Farm with future sustainability planning. Marjorie Bazluki, Instructional Designer at UW-L and member of Clearwater Farm’s Board of Directors, partnered with Assistant Professor of Economics, Mary Hamman, to identify possible projects that would provide Hamman’s students with meaningful classroom experiences while also benefiting a nonprofit community organization like Clearwater Farm.

Two of Hamman’s students, Samantha McClaire and Nick Federspiel, created an organizational plan designed to assist the Board of Directors in effectively and efficiently carrying out Clearwater Farm’s mission – to demonstrate, teach and advocate the sustainable use of natural, architectural, historical and agricultural resources, and provide youth and families opportunities to experience farm life.

 

Other groups of students researched how to improve the farm’s branding and then developed marketing plans designed to increase membership and donations, improve programming, and attract new volunteers. Recommendations included utilizing a recurring donation method on Clearwater’s website and focusing on promoting more seasonal events for families. According to the students’ research, developing, maintaining, and promoting hiking trails at and around Clearwater Farm would potentially increase family memberships and recurring donations. Their research also suggested that Clearwater actively recruit college students for future volunteer projects.

The UW-L students presented their organizational and sustainability plans to Clearwater’s Board of Directors on May 3 and 6. The Board of Directors would like to thank them for all of their hard work.

To learn more about this project, check out this article featured in the La Crosse Tribune.