Community Engagement Forums
Thoughtful dialogue and
engaged learning.
These Community Engagement Forums are free and open to the public. Their purpose is to build stronger and more interwoven networks of people working on poignant issues of the present.
Please also browse the topics explored in past Community Forums below, and feel free to send us suggestions for future Forum topics.
Connect & Learn in Downtown Bellingham
Please join this next edition of our Connect & Learn Downtown Series, crafted for those whose lives and stories intersect with downtown Bellingham. All who care about making downtown more thriving, vibrant, and interesting are welcome. We hope to gather people of many ages and perspectives, including those connected to business, tribal and non-tribal governments, community groups, non-profits, faith communities, etc. Be ready to share your ideas, questions, and challenges you face in living and working downtown. Together we can generate new ideas and build partnerships that will make this place we share even better.
No RSVP necessary, though we encourage you to sign up to receive calendar invitations and reminders about events in this series!
Event Details for the 2023 series:
Theme: Great Spaces for Children Downtown
Monday, April 17, 2023
5:30pm-8:00pm
First Baptist Church (Social Hall)
110 Flora St
Bellingham, WA 98226
A light meal will be served at 5:30pm;
the program will begin around 6:00pm.
Theme: TBD
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
5:30pm-8:00pm
First Baptist Church (Social Hall)
110 Flora St
Bellingham, WA 98226
A light meal will be served at 5:30pm;
the program will begin around 6:00pm.
Connect & Learn in Downtown Bellingham events are being jointly hosted by First Baptist Church, Spring Church, Reconciliation Anglican Church, and Center for Community Learning.
Learning Together Through Climate Upheaval
Please join upcoming events in the Learning Together Through Climate Upheaval Series, crafted to enhance the learning capacity of the planet so that we can make the most of the opportunities and challenges of climate change. Series topics are inspired by the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, which help us approach climate change responses in an inter-sectional, holistic way.
No RSVP necessary, though we encourage you to sign up to receive calendar invitations and reminders about events in this important series!
"A Planet Where All Genders Thrive"
Learning Together Through Climate Upheaval: Gender Equality
Date: Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Time: 5:30PM- 7:30PM
Explorations Academy
1701 Ellis St #215
Bellingham, WA 98225
A light dinner will be provided
Learning Together Through Climate Upheaval: Clean Water and Sanitation
Date: Monday, May 1, 2023
Time: 5:30PM- 7:30PM
Explorations Academy
1701 Ellis St #215
Bellingham, WA 98225
A light dinner will be provided
Learning Together Through Climate Upheaval events are being jointly hosted by WWU's Sustainability Engagement Institute and Center for Community Learning, and Explorations Academy.
Past Forums:
October 27th, 2022
Enough for Everyone's Needs: Toward a World Without Poverty (in downtown Xwotqwem/Bellingham)
Co-Sponsored by WWU's Sustainability Engagement Institute, the Center for Community Learning, and Explorations Academy.
October 26th, 2022
Enough for Everyone's Needs: Toward a World Without Poverty (on the WWU Main Campus)
Co-Sponsored by WWU's Sustainability Engagement Institute and the Center for Community Learning.
October 4th, 2022
"Connect and Learning Downtown: Gathering Spaces"
Cosponsored with Spring Church, First Baptist Church, WWU Center for Community Learning, Whatcom Love INC and Reconciliation Anglican Church
July 19, 2022
"Connect and Learning Downtown: What makes a vibrant downtown"
Cosponsored with Spring Church, First Baptist Church, WWU Center for Community Learning, Whatcom Love INC and Reconciliation Anglican Church
February 20, 2020
"Learning Together: Putting Values into Action"
cosponsored with Whatcom County Libraries, Whiteswan Environmental, University of Puget Sound, Eastern Washington University, and Community Engagement Fellows.
February 5, 2020
"Learning Together on a Climate Disrupted Planet"
cosponsored with WWU’s Office of Sustainability, Whiteswan Environmental, Sustainability Fellows, Community Engagement Fellows, Curriculum for the Bioregion, and Sustainable Communities Partnership
December 10, 2019
"Learning Together about Place through Food"
cosponsored with Common Threads, East Whatcom Regional Resource Center-Opportunity Council, PeaceHealth, Whatcom County Library System, WWU Community Health Program, WWU Salish Sea Institute, WWU Sustainable Communities Partnership, and York Community Farm.
October 17, 2019
"Learning Together about Community Health: Local & Global Connections"
cosponsored with Community Engagement Fellows, East Whatcom Regional Resource Center-Opportunity Council, Healthy Whatcom, PeaceHealth, Whatcom County Library System, Whatcom Family & Community Network, WWU Community Health Program, and WWU Sustainable Communities Partnership.
April 26th, 2019
"Working Futures in the Salish Sea"
cosponsored with Northwest Indian College
May 16th, 2019
"Neurodivergence Forum"
March 7, 2019
“Digging In: Vulnerability in Social Learning Spaces”
cosponsored with Jenna Bean Veach.
February 28, 2019
“Broadening Employment Opportunities for Neurodivergent, Intellectually Challenged and Non-College Bound Youth”
cosponsored with Whatcom Community College
January 17, 2019
“What is going on? The Challenge of Getting the Word Out. ”
December 7, 2018
"Making Space for Indigenous Truth and Reconciliation"
cosponsored with Northwest Indian College, Whiteswan Environmental, WCC Equity Project, Generations Forward
October 18, 2018
“What would Truth and Reconciliation mean for Washington State?”
Screening of Dawnland
cosponsored with Northwest Indian College, Whiteswan Environmental, WCC Equity Project, Generations Forward
May 31, 2018
"Cultivating a Sense of Place"
cosponsored with Whatcom Community College and Western Washington University
April 18, 2018
"Indigenous People in a Global Context" Lee Maracle
cosponsored with Northwest Indian College
February 27, 2018
"Building an Inclusive Environmentalism for the Next Seven Generations"
cosponsored with Whatcom Community College
January 23, 2018
"Confronting the Opioid Crisis"
July 20, 2017
“A Place to Be: Creating Welcoming Spaces for People Experiencing Homelessness”
cosponsored with Whatcom County Coalition to End Homelessness
June 8, 2017
“Making a House a Home: Creating Sustainable Housing Solutions”
cosponsored with Whatcom County Coalition to End Homelessness
April 26, 2017
“Building Resilience through Skill-Sharing and Volunteering”
cosponsored with Volunteer Center of Whatcom County
February 23, 2017
“Farms, Fields, and Forests: Connecting Campuses and the Countryside”
February 1, 2017
"Linking Campuses and Community Through Public Art"
November 10, 2016
“Funding Campus-Community Collaboration”
October 27, 2017
"Cities and Campuses: Opportunities for Collaborations”
April 29, 2016
"Gaining Institutional Support for Campus-Community Collaboration”
April 8, 2016
“Teaching Empathy through Community Engagement”
February 26, 2016
“Documenting Our Community Engaged Work”
February 5, 2016
“Integrating Your Work”
January 22, 2016
“Forming Lasting Partnerships”
November 13, 2015
“Preparing Students for Community Engagement”
October 23, 2015
"Preparing the Self”