Profiles of Environmental Education Grants Awarded to Organizations in Michigan
- Indicates a Headquarters grant
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2015 Grants
Michigan State University $91,000
Kay Gross, Hannah Administration Bldg, 426 Auditorium Road, Room 2, East Lansing, MI 48824
http://www.kbs.msu.edu/Exit
Teaching Science Outdoors: A Pathway to Enhancing K-5 Teacher and Student Environmental Education
Teaching Science Outdoors develops a program in EE for elementary (urban and rural) school teachers from southwest Michigan that increases their ability to integrate EE into their classroom teaching and showcase how the outdoors—whether in their schoolyard, neighborhood, or community—can be used as part of the classroom. The project aims to increase the ability of teachers to use the outdoor environment to teach about the water cycle and about protecting water resources. The project develops curriculum and learning experiences that improve knowledge of aquatic habitats through place-based, hands-on experiences in the outdoors. These programs align classroom teaching with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and effectively integrate technology into teaching and learning about the water cycle and environment. Ultimately, Teaching Science Outdoors aims to translate classroom experiences into action to protect local water resources.
2013 Grants
Great Lakes Fishery Trust $150,000
Julie Bennett, 230 N. Washington St., Suite 300, Lansing, MI 48933
Glft.org
Place-based Models for Stewardship Education in K-12
The Great Lakes Fishery Trust, on behalf of the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (GLSI), conducts a model program for creating behavioral change that benefits the environment by demonstrating, documenting, and disseminating a variety of methods for establishing and sustaining quality place-based environmental education in diverse kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) settings. The purpose of the GLSI is to create the next generation of Great Lakes stewards. This project targets 9 to 12 teams of educators in diverse communities, distributed across elementary, middle, and high schools. They anticipate reaching approximately 30 teacher and 750 student participants.
2011 Grants
Wayne State University $81,392
Lyke Thompson, 5057 Woodward Ave, Suite 13201, Detroit, MI 48202
Stewardship and the Family Home Environment (SAFE)
Wayne State University's Center for Urban Studies (Center) partners with CLEARCorps Detroit and the Detroit/Wayne County Green and Healthy Homes Initiative (HHD) to implement the SAFE (Stewardship And the Family home Environment) project. The program provides training for Detroit parents and caregivers to reduce children's exposure to asthma triggers and lead hazards in the home environment. According to the Michigan Department of Community Health, the City of Detroit reports a significantly higher rate of child hospitalizations for asthma and lead poisoning cases than elsewhere in the state of Michigan. The determination is that with improved knowledge, behavior changes and referrals to agencies, families can reduce environmental hazards associated with asthma triggers and lead poisoning. The targeted demographic is the city's largely African-American community. Parents, grandparents, or caregivers of children under the age of six in the City of Detroit are the primary recipients of information and training. Directed by the Center, the program goal includes recruiting 750 participants for two community awareness day activities that provide information on lead and asthma risks and their severe consequences for children and home environments. Workshops are available to 200 residents, covering asthma and lead testing, hazards, and action steps to reduce exposure. Training and testing kits are provided by area partners. At least 10 asthma or lead presentations are introduced at block club meetings in the target areas. Attendees are provided with resources for SAFE activities, including upcoming workshops, social media network, and upcoming healthy homes workgroups. Technology such as social media formats and email newsletters inform the public on current SAFE topics and research findings. The SAFE project goal is to educate, train, and directly communicate with residents, providing a unique opportunity to produce behavioral change. Participants acquire techniques to identify and reduce two leading home and health hazards -lead and asthma.
2010 Grants
Michigan State University $34,217
Ashley Speer, 301 Administration Building, East Lansing, MI 48824
Deliberating Toward Stewardship
The Deliberating Toward Stewardship project helps Michigan State University Extension educators working on field crop issues develop programming to increase the environmental stewardship of field crop farmers regarding climate change. This goal is accomplished through a three-pronged approach. First, focus groups are used to gather information from stakeholders and identify the values and issues central to field crop agriculture and climate change. Second, during a 2-day training workshop, extension educators learn about field crop agriculture's role in climate change and related policies. Third, a deliberative forum is held with extension educators where the benefits and tradeoffs of various approaches for extension climate change programming are weighed to ascertain the best approach to programming. Enacting the best approach to programming is meant to increase stewardship among field crop farmers.
2009 Grants
Kent County Conservation District $16,860
Robert Holst, 3260 Eagle Park Drive NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49525
Connecting Families with Nature Passport Program
The Connecting Families with Nature Passport Program links seven local providers of environmental education throughout Kent County to increase family-level participation in children's environmental education and outdoor experiences. Participating families attend environmental education programs at partnering facilities and take part in stewardship as a family to earn a stamp on their "nature passport." Through completion of the program, families develop a habit of regular participation in outdoor activities throughout the year and meet criteria that teach them an understanding of their natural world while encouraging environmental stewardship and civic responsibility. Outcomes include development of a sustainable partnership among seven environmental education providers, increased access to environmental education programs, an understanding of environmental issues, and increased stewardship. The program's Web site provides a schedule of eligible programs, additional community resources, and ideas for families to further connect children to nature.
2008 Grants
Dickinson Conservation District $23,508
Ann Hruska, 102 N. Hooper Street, Kingsford, MI 49802
Energized for the Future
Energized for the Future takes curriculum lessons on energy, fossil fuels, and sustainable resources, its uses, and its impact on the environment and makes them come alive for students. Students in eighth grade learn how to audit their own energy use in school and at home. Teachers are reached through a kickoff workshop and direct classroom contact. Students benefit from the classroom interactive programs and the inquiry-based energy saving tools supplied to use at home with their family. Community members participate by viewing energy conservation messages through cable television, interviews on local television, newspaper articles, and a Web site. The purpose of this project is to help students and teachers connect energy resource issues to their everyday lives, both as individuals and collectively as part of a school or home, and that they can be a part of the solution by employing real word energy quantification and conservation methods to make wise energy decisions. With the knowledge gained both in the classroom and from community field trips, they make real world recommendations and help encourage decisions in the classroom, school and home that promote sustainable use of earth's resources relating to energy.
Inland Seas Education Association $29,770
Tom Kelly, 101 Dame Street, P.O. Box 218, Suttons Bay, MI 49682
Invasive Species Education Initiative
The Invasive Species Education Initiative contains the following components: Invasive Species Field Course for Teachers, Advanced Invasive Species Field Course for Teachers, High School Invasive Species Field Course, and enhanced invasive species exhibits at the education center. The objective of the initiative is to increase awareness and knowledge of invasive species and provide educational materials to integrate invasive species research into classroom and local communities and form networks to increase access to resources on invasive species.
2007 Grants
Michigan State University $40,878
Yu Man Lee, 301 Administration Building, East Lansing, MI 48824
Living with the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake
A network of resource personnel are established to respond to massasauga rattlesnake reports or to conduct public education. Workshops, educational materials, and personal consultations provide the public with comprehensive and accurate information, resources, and skills to make informed decisions about co-existing with the massasauga rattlesnake. In addition, landowners are provided specific recommendations about stewardship actions that they can implement to benefit the massasauga and its habitat. These efforts help to address misconceptions and cultivate greater awareness on this species and assists with implementation of needed stewardship. The project continues efforts to build a sustainable massasauga education and outreach program in Michigan. The public and landowners are reached through educational workshops, educational materials such as brochures, posters, and informational handouts and a Web page; interpretive exhibits; a locally based resource network and the local media through a press packet, and press releases and articles. The local resource network targets volunteers, natural resource and other professionals, and educators who conduct public education and outreach.
2006 Grants
Big Bay de Noc School District $9,375
Lois Thibault, 8928 0.025 Road, Cooks, MI 49817
Hands-On, Minds-On Science Learning for Life
The Big Bay de Noc School District and Garden Township own a combined 18 acres of wooded wetland with 1,500 feet of shoreline on Big Bay de Noc, Lake Michigan. The entire acreage is designed and developed into an outdoor environment-based learning laboratory featuring the Hands-On, Minds-On Science-Learning for Life program. A landscape architect and environmental planner evaluated the site and designed a handicap-accessible development plan. The plan includes observation stations, raised boardwalks over environmentally sensitive areas, an outdoor classroom, parking, public picnic areas, and more. The district has reformed its curriculum by adopting an environment-based curriculum that is aligned with Michigan Science Standards. Pre-kindergarten through grade 12 outdoor investigations, guided tour materials, and information packets are developed. The target audience is pre-kindergarten through grade 12 students from Big Bay de Noc School District and its staff. Additional target audiences include citizens and community groups from the Big Bay de Noc School District and from surrounding school districts.
Calvin College $14,996
Kenneth Bergwerff, 3201 Burton Street SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546
An Inquiry-Based Approach to Education with the Plaster Creek Watershed
High school teachers are introduced to existing curricula, activity books, and tools in a workshop that carries graduate credit to learn about watershed issues. The workshop is followed by a year of in-class implementation and a 1-day session to assess and modify materials. High school teachers then develop teaching units about the Plaster Creek watershed that meet state benchmarks. Within the educational units, students use scientific inquiry to formulate, design, gather, analyze, and present information on the physical, biological, and chemical water quality of the creek. Teacher pedagogy and student learning emphasize open-ended and inquiry-based investigation. Grade 9 students are involved in regular monitoring of the flow and stream profile characteristics, including macroinvertebrate inventories of Plaster Creek. The surveys provide a context for successful projects to be developed for upper-level environmental science courses.
Eastern Michigan University $125,903
Rebecca Martusewicz, Starkweather Hall, 2nd Floor, Ypsilanti, MI 48197
Building Leadership Capacity for Sustainability Education
This project targets kindergarten through grade 12 teachers, administrators, and community partners to strengthen the capacity of four public school districts in New Hampshire, New York, Michigan, and Minnesota to re-orient themselves around sustainability and become models for other schools. The goals of this project are to develop a network of effective school leaders who can demonstrate and advance education in sustainability as a critical reform approach and to disseminate a model process for building this leadership capacity. To achieve these goals, four leadership teams are completing status reports to outline the strengths, weaknesses, and needs in student achievement, opportunities for involving students in environmental stewardship, existing reform efforts in sustainability education, and internal capacity. Based on these data, a 2-day retreat is designed where the teams are provided with training in strategic planning, planning assistance, and existing resources in sustainability education. After the retreat, the teams develop a strategic plan that outlines 1-, 3-, and 5-year goals and budgets for: (1) implementing programming to meet the needs identified, (2) involving students in stewardship, (3) evaluating the impacts of their efforts on student achievement and environmental stewardship, (4) sustaining their work through funding, and (5) promoting the reform work to other educators. Teams are provided with a rigorous framework in strategic planning, technical assistance, evaluation methods, and networking to achieve the objectives. Creative Change Educational Solutions and four public school districts in New Hampshire, New York, Michigan, and Minnesota are the partners on this project.
Oakland University $85,473
Dyanne Tracy, 2000 N. Squirrel Road, Rochester, MI 48309
Michigan Teachers' and Students' Honey Bee Apiary Project for Ecology
The Michigan Teachers’ and Students’ Honey Bee Apiary Project for Ecology (MITSHAPE) increases public awareness and knowledge about the needs of the common honey bee (Apis mellifera). MITSHAPE, designed for kindergarten through grade 12 and college undergraduate students, instructs teachers about the skills necessary to become beekeepers. Using these skills, they can build one or more beehives at the local school district’s environmental center or school property, thus engaging students in the study of entomology, beehive management, honey and beeswax production, and the impact of honey bees on the local ecology and agriculture. Through participation in this project, teachers and students engage in environmental stewardship within their communities and implement actions necessary to address the decline of honey bees that began in 1986. Selected teachers participate in a three credit-hour course and build an apiary after they complete the coursework. Partners on this project include the Michigan Beekeepers Association and the National Honey Board.
2005 Grants
Creative Change Educational Solutions $15,274
Susan Santone, 229 Miles Street, Ypsilanti, MI 48198
Land Use Education for Youth
Under this grant, high school teachers from across southeast Michigan attend a 2-day workshop to learn about local land issues. The teachers then integrate lessons learned into the classrooms. The culmination of the project is a youth leadership forum where students share what they have learned, identify priorities, and create action plans that address land-use issues, specifically urban sprawl. One important feature of “Lessons in Leadership” is the content flexibility of its model (teacher education plus classroom instruction plus youth leadership). The flexibility offers the potential for other regions to adapt the model to pertinent environmental issues.
Inland Seas Education Association $11,640
Tom Kelly, 100 Dame Street, PO Box 218, Suttons Bay, MI 49682
Critical Great Lakes Issues Workshops
Under this grant, Michigan high school teachers participate in a 2-day workshop aboard the Inland Seas Education Association’s 77-foot schooner. The teachers attend seminars and discussions with Great Lakes experts and participate in hands-on classroom activities and research projects. The workshop gives teachers an understanding of critical issues in the Great Lakes and provides them with the resources they need to relay this information to their students.
Michigan Family Resources $9,990
Mary Hockwalt, 2626 Walker Avenue NW, Walker, MI 49544
UNited LEAD EDucation (UNLEADED)
As the primary provider for Head Start services in Kent County, Michigan Family Resources serves more than 1,600 children and their families. The UNLEADED program educates service providers, community leaders, and decision makers about childhood lead poisoning and its causes, and suggests intervention and prevention strategies. Outreach materials for parents, caregivers, and members of the public are produced and distributed throughout Kent County.
River Raisin Institute $8,790
Michael Neumann, 610 West Elm Avenue, Monroe, MI 48162
River Raisin Watershed High School Monitoring Project
The River Raisin Institute works with high school teachers and high school students to conduct field sampling and analysis of River Raisin. The results are shared at a student watershed congress, and a videotape that documents the project is broadcast on local public access cable television to promote stewardship of the river. Benefits to the students include increased understanding about the hydrologic processes and environmental health issues related to the watershed.
The Greening of Detroit $10,000
Rebecca Salminen Witt, 1418 Michigan Avenue, Detroit, MI 48216
Green Heroes Program
The Green Heroes program increases environmental awareness among Detroit’s youth by providing elementary school students and adult partners with out-of-school training, guidance, and materials to create cleaner and greener spaces in their own neighborhoods. The program partners with two groups to promote a better understanding of the environment to children and adults. It provides resources to participants for areas selected for revitalization. Additionally, community groups and youth investigate their neighborhoods by creating maps of areas that need to be cleaned up and planted with vegetation to create a healthier ecosystem. All participants are recognized for their efforts in protecting their environment and creating a cleaner and healthier Detroit.
2004 Grants
Calhoun Soil Conservation District $5,000
Tracy Bronson, 13464 Preston Drive, Marshall, MI 49068
Stream Ecology in Calhoun County Schools
In this project, a Stream Ecology Workshop provides teachers in the Albion and Battle Creek School Districts with the knowledge, experience, and tools needed to instruct their students about stream ecology concepts, land-uses, water quality issues, and watershed science. As a result, students develop the critical-thinking skills required to investigate water quality issues in the local watershed. The students also develop a community service project to improve water quality and raise community awareness of the issues.
Copper County Intermediate School District $24,756
Shawn Oppliger, 809 Hecla Street, Hancock, MI 49930
Developing Environmentally Informed Scientists, Educators, and Stewards for the Future
In this project, Michigan Tech University students are recruited and trained to support two programs for elementary and middle school students: an after-school environmental science class and a forest and pond ecology field trip. Approximately 600 students in kindergarten through grade 8 participate in the environmental science class, and about 2,500 students complete the field trip. Pre-serve education and environmental engineering students conduct and facilitate the after-school program and field trips. University students gain valuable training and presentation skills while introducing young students to environmental careers. While on the field trips, educators are involved in modeling environmental education methods.
Hiawatha Interpretive Association $2,500
Autumn Jauck, 400 East Munising Avenue, Munising, MI 49862
Raptor Education Project
The Raptor Education Project increases the knowledge of 200 fifth-, sixth-, and seventh-grade students in Munising, Michigan about the effects of pollution, hunting, development, and deforestation on raptors. The students learn to make informed decisions about their own behavior when interacting with wildlife species and their habitats. Students display their knowledge at a Birding by the Bay Festival. The Montana Raptor Center is a key partner in the program.
2003 Grants
Capuchin Soup Kitchen $2,500
Rick Samyn, 1820 Mount Elliot Street, Detroit, MI 48207
Kids for the Bees
Building on an existing honeybee apiary program, this project promotes entomology and apiculture science among students in selected Detroit public grade schools. Students learn about honeybee anatomy, beehive management, and honey production. Through hands-on activities in the classroom and in the field, students learn about bee habitat, natural pest management, and the importance of honeybees to the human food system and natural environment.
Community Action Agency $5,000
Christie Cook, 3251 Beck Road, Hillsdale, MI 49242
Writing on the Bean
As part of this project, approximately 300 middle and high school students visit public parks along Bean Creek near their schools. Younger students write about an aquatic insect of their choice, and older students search the water for macro-invertebrates. In addition, students conduct an inventory of native plant and aquatic species at all the public parks along Bean Creek. Using the inventory information, a watershed planning committee develops a web site containing a virtual tour of the watershed and prepares a pocket map identifying the parks and other public access sites. The back of the map details the native plants and aquatic life found at the sites.
Michigan State University $45,884
Yu Man Lee, 301 Adminstration Building, East Lansing, MI 48824-1046
Public Education Project to Protect Endangered Species in Michigan
This project is initiating a program in southeast Michigan to educate the public about the destruction of habitat for and needless killing of the eastern Massasauga rattlesnake, an endangered species found only in that region of the United States. The project is intended to educate teachers and students, landowners who have reported seeing the snakes on their properties, and road maintenance personnel and other workers who may encounter the snakes. Workshops, personal consultations, and educational materials developed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are used to provide the public with the necessary skills to make informed decisions about coexisting with the eastern Massasauga rattlesnake. The training includes providing information about the positive aspects of the snakes, such as their usefulness in controlling rodent populations. Volunteers from a local resource network of naturalists assist with the project. The public is also informed through public service announcements, and students are reached through the Internet and workshops held in schools.
Michigan Technological University $4,892
Joan Chadde, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931
Kids Make a Difference
The Kids Make a Difference program provides incentives for kindergarten through 12th-grade students, teachers, and youth groups to develop projects that promote environmental education, community service, and environmental enhancement. School classes and youth groups select environmental topics to study and to teach others about, or they design and implement projects that address environmental issues in their communities. Students share their projects through presentations to other students or by publishing articles in the newspaper. All program participants receive Earth Day award certificates and tokens of recognition. In addition, their names are entered in a drawing in which they could win an educational tool kit or an environmental education field trip.
Wildlife Unlimited of Allegan and Ottawa Counties $13,634
Travis Williams, A5678 143rd Avenue, Holland, MI 49423
Wetlands and Water Quality of the Macatawa Watershed
This project uses three-dimensional models of the environment called “enviroscapes” to teach students about watershed concepts and to demonstrate how people pollute water and how water pollution can be prevented. By using the models, students learn how everyone affects water quality and how they can help to prevent or clean up pollution. The classroom activities prepare students to study topography, plants, fish, buffers, and water quality when they visit ponds and wetlands. The project also builds responsibility by educating students about their role in watershed protection.
2002 Grants
Huron River Watershed Council $5,000
Joan Martin, 1100 N. Main Street, Suite 210, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Using Discovery to Engage Citizens in River Monitoring and Protection
Residents are educated about the impact of their activities on the quality of the Huron River. Through experiential learning and personal involvement, watershed residents develop ownership of and a desire to protect the river. They learn basic tenets of stream ecology and interpretation of river evaluation measurements.
Lake Superior State University $5,000
Dr. Barb Keller, 650 West Easterday Avenue, Sault St. Marie, MI 49783
Biological Contamination Investigation
High school students and their teachers work with environmental health students and faculty of Lake Superior State University and staff of district health departments to test for biological contamination and make recommendations to regulators about how the findings may affect human health.
Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi $5,000
David Jones, 2221 1 1/2 Mile Road, Fulton, MI 49052
Radon Action Bowling Tournament
By participating in a 1-day bowling tournament, tribal members are educated about radon and its health effects. Eighty percent of the tribe lives in counties designated as having a moderate to high potential for having radon that exceeds allowable levels.
2001 Grants
Liberty Children's Art Project $5,000
Paul Olson, 42 Iron Street, Nagaunee, MI 49866
Partridge Creek Nature Park Environmental Education
Students from the Negaunee Middle School work with artists and environmental educators at Partridge Creek Nature Park to design and create glazed ceramic plaques that explain significant environmental features of the park. The park then is decorated with the tiles.
Michigan State University (MSU) $5,000
Kendra Gunter, 836 Fuller, NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Land-Use Learning Series
MSU and its partners compile existing educational materials related to land use into a land-use learning series for upper elementary students (in grades 4 and 5) and train teachers in using the materials in their classrooms. The series are an interactive educational experience through which teachers and students learn about land-use planning and decision-making in their communities. It conforms to the Michigan curriculum framework standards. Topics include: the role of local government in land-use planning and the effects of land-use decisions on the environment. Participants develop basic map-making skills as they survey local neighborhoods.
Wildlife Unlimited $17,050
Travis Williams, P. O. Box 1975, Holland, MI 49422
Outdoor Discovery Center - Dune Ecosystems
The Dune Ecosystem project provides 50 high school students with the opportunity to work as a team and participate in environmental investigation and in the restoration and preservation of habitats. Under the project, a functioning natural outdoor classroom is established on the property of the 100-acre Outdoor Discovery Center Preserve. Both students and teachers develop designs for interpretive trails and interpretive panels at the outdoor classroom, which are available for use by students, adults, and families.
Ypsilanti Public Schools $74,000
Tulani Smith, Office of Academic Services, Ypsilanti, MI 48197
Sustainability Education for Sustainable Communities
The project addresses a critical need in Washtenaw County to bring together teachers and students to use education reform as a means of addressing the links among student achievement, urban sprawl, and sustainability of communities. The target audiences of the project, middle and high school teachers and students, are developing a model for education reform that is based on sustainability education. The goals of the project are to: (1) train science and social studies teachers to lead students through investigations of contemporary environmental, social, and economic issues; (2) support and mentor teachers as they implement classroom investigations; (3) use presentations, newsletters, and reports developed by the students to educate the community about positive responses to contemporary challenges; (4) evaluate the effect of the project on the practices of the teachers and the students’ achievements; and (5) disseminate the components of the project – workshop designs, lesson plans, assessment tools, and case studies – to promote its replication. The outcomes of the project are evaluated against state educational standards, and the principal components of the project are distributed at the local, state, and national levels. Partners in the project include Washtenaw Intermediate School District, Washtenaw County Government, Sustainable Washtenaw, the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education, the Northeast Initiative, the New Jersey Sustainable Schools Network, the BESS Project, and consultants from the University of Michigan and Eastern Michigan University.
2000 Grants
Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) $5,000
Kathryn Savoie, 2651 Saulino Court, Dearborn, MI 48120
Bilingual Storm Drain Stenciling Project
The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) teaches Arab American youth about the importance of water resources, watershed protection, storm drain runoff, and pollution. Fifth-grade students at Salina Elementary School, located in a low-income, predominately Arab immigrant neighborhood in Dearborn, Michigan, learn about the Rouge River, develop and distribute bilingual (Arabic and English) educational materials about storm-drain stenciling, and stencil storm drains in Arabic and English.
City of Westland, Fire Department $5,000
Mark Neal, 37201 Marquette, Westland, MI 48185
Rouge River Education Reform Initiative
Fire department personnel and high school science teachers unite in an effort to provide an environmental education curriculum for juniors and seniors at Westland High School and other residents of the community. Participants learn about the proper use, storage, and disposal of household hazardous waste and lawn pesticides. The program teaches participants about the relationship between individual actions and equilibrium in the Rouge River watershed. In addition to in-school instruction, students offer workshops to the community and brainstorm local solutions.
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians $6,480
Patti O'Donnell, 2605 North West Bayshore Drive, Suttons Bay, MI 49682
Tribal Land Use Environmental Education Project
The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians educates members of its community to develop a plan to protect and preserve the natural areas of the tribe's land base. The natural areas of the land base are in jeopardy of loss because of accelerated residential and commercial development. Workshops, newsletters, meetings, and a youth summit are among the vehicles used to educate youth, elders, and other residents of the community. The resulting plan, with footpaths and trails, complements commercial and residential development and is presented for review to the Grand Traverse Band Planning and Development Department.
Lake Superior State University, Chemistry and Environmental Science Department $5,000
Barb Keller, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783
An Evaluation of the Munuscong River Watershed
Along with students at Lake Superior State University, junior and senior high school students work with the Munuscong community watershed association and public health officials to assess the effect that flowing wells have on the Munuscong River watershed. Community members and students study local surface water runoff into the Munuscong River that carries with it nutrients, pollutants, and sediments from barnyards and farmlands. After sampling the river and wells, students work with members of the watershed association, public health officials, and homeowners as they prepare a presentation to communicate the results of their study to the community.
Michigan Technological University $37,311
Anita Quinn, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931-1295
Education for Watershed Planning and Management
Through the project, citizens of primarily rural, low-income communities in Houghton County, Michigan are learning about local environmental issues and how to participate in local environmental decision making related to watershed processes, human effects on those processes, and the economic trade-offs associated with mitigation of such effects. Stakeholders are enhancing their knowledge and understanding of economic, hydrologic, and ecological effects of various watershed development and management scenarios by becoming actively involved in the development of goals and participating in information sessions, watershed field trips, and model-building workshops. The target audience, residents of the selected watershed, watershed interest groups, and university students, is being reached through town meetings, workshops, field trips, and dissemination of information by newsletters and through the Internet. Partner agencies include the Sturgeon/Otter River Watershed Council and the Groundwater Education in Michigan (GEM) Center for Science and Environmental Outreach at Michigan Technological University.
Michigan Technological University $4,800
Joan Chadde, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931-1295
Lake Superior Youth Symposium 2001
Along with several local partners, Michigan Technological University's Center for Science and Environmental Outreach conducts the Fourth Biennial Lake Superior Youth Symposium for 300 to 400 middle and high school students, teachers, non-formal educators, and watershed professionals from throughout the Lake Superior and Great Lakes watersheds. The goal of the symposium is to enhance the ability and motivation of middle and high school students, teachers, and parent chaperones to understand and act on the environmental issues that affect Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes. The symposium is planned for May 2001 and is expected to draw participants from Wisconsin; Minnesota; Michigan; and Ontario, Canada.
Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision $11,800
Kathy Milberg, 1450 McKinstry Street, P. O. Box 09400, Detroit, MI 48209
Higgins Environmental Empowerment Club
Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision, a collaborative effort of residents, corporations, service agencies, and community organizations, establishes the Higgins Environmental Empowerment Club at Higgins Elementary School in Detroit. Using a proven series of exercises and activities, the organization and a teacher at the school lead 40 students in identifying environmental problems in their neighborhood, brainstorming plans for addressing those problems, and working to implement the plans. Students then present their work to schoolmates, as well as to adult audiences. Approximately 300 students are educated about their local environment through the project.
The Creation Station $9,933
Lori Thomas, P. O. Box 26113, Lansing, MI 48909-6113
Environmental Literacy Through Creative Educational Projects
The Creation Station provides teachers and child-care providers in the greater Lansing area with creative and educational resources related to waste management and pollution prevention. Material Guidelines provided by the North American Association for Environmental Education are used to develop classroom kits for preschoolers and third graders that meet the Michigan curriculum frameworks. Along with its collaborators, The Creation Station also develops workshops to show teachers how the materials integrate environmental education and science with art and creativity. More than 15,000 preschool, day-care and third-grade students are reached.
1999 Grants
Ecology Center of Ann Arbor $4,000
Ruth Kraut, 117 North Division Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Kids Can Make a Difference
The Ecology Center of Ann Arbor incorporates environmental education into a community center's programming at a local public housing site. The hands-on educational program educates participants about environmental health and community issues. Using the information they learn through the program, participants then educate the general public about environmental threats to human health.
Fairview Area Schools $23,500
Philip Moerdyk, 1879 East Miller Road, Fairview, MI 48621
Great Lakes Authentic Science Studies (GLASS)
During the 1999-2000 school year, Fairview Area Schools is implementing the pilot program of Great Lakes Authentic Science Studies. GLASS coordinates existing curricula and community resources into an instructional framework of community-based authentic learning activities, based on state and national standards for environmental studies. Students and teachers who participate in the GLASS program are more knowledgeable about environmental concepts and issues and have a better understanding of environmental vocations than those who do not participate in the program.
Intermediate School District of St. Clair County $5,000
Carl Arko, 499 Range Road, P. O. Box 5001, Port Huron, MI 48061-5001
Pine River Environmental Education Trail
Through the creation and development of a nature trail, the Intermediate School District of St. Clair County incorporates environmental education into the core curriculum. Hands-on activities at the nature trail reinforce lessons learned in the classroom. Field trips allow students to develop their critical-thinking skills and enhance their interest in, and exposure to, environmental issues.
Michigan Recycling Coalition $5,000
Kerrin O'Brien, P. O. Box 10240, Lansing, MI 48901-0240
Master Recycler Program
After revising and adapting a recycling curriculum developed by the Oregon State University Extension Service, the Michigan Recycling Coalition conducts two training programs in the community. The first pilot program seeks to educate community members about recycling, and the second pilot program seeks to educate business leaders about that subject. After completing the pilot programs, participants are identified as Master Recyclers. The Michigan Recycling Coalition then conducts a train-the-trainer workshop during which potential facilitators are trained to conduct the community-based program.
Muskegon Area Intermediate School District $3,465
Gregg Zulauf, 1001 East Wesley Avenue, Muskegon, MI 49442
Water: It Needs to Be in Your Curriculum
The Water: It Needs to Be in Your Curriculum! program trains middle and high school teachers to lead student investigations of water quality in local watersheds. Teachers participate in training workshops during which they tour the subwatersheds and learn why local involvement is crucial to healthy watersheds. A self-interpretive guide, Water Quality - Land Use, allows students to make connections between land use and the water quality data collected.
1998 Grants
Ecology Center of Ann Arbor $4,820
Rebecca Kanner, 117 N. Division, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
The Re-Bicycle Project
The Ecology Center of Ann Arbor provides a summer program for young people through which participants learn how to repair used bicycles. In addition to learning the technical skills of repairing a bicycle, students learn the important environmental concepts of reuse and recycling. Participants reduce the amount of solid waste going into the landfill by repairing discarded bicycles. They also obtain an affordable and environmentally friendly form of transportation. The program targets middle school children living in public and subsidized housing developments. Approximately 45 to 60 young people participate in the program.
Goodrich Area Schools $4,930
Tim Wheatley, 8029 S. Gale Road, Goodrich, MI 48438
E-Stream Video Conferences
Goodrich Area Schools is expanding its successful water quality monitoring project through videoconferencing. Currently, five partner schools participate in a water quality monitoring project under which students conduct tests and submit their data for posting on a World Wide Web site. Grant funds have been used to connect five classrooms through a videoconferencing system. Teachers and moderators conduct conferences and hands-on interactive activities that give students the opportunity to increase their knowledge about water quality. Students in classrooms and schools that do not have videoconferencing technology have the opportunity to travel to a nearby school so that they can take part in the sessions. The videoconferences reach 15 teachers and 450 students in the Goodrich area.
Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan $5,000
Sylvia Murray, 405 E. Easterday Ave., Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783
Michigan Youth Water Stewardship Project
Through this project, 40 Native American high school students received intensive, hands-on environmental education at a youth leadership conference offered in the summer of 1998. Students studied the effects the activities of humans have on water quality and local watersheds. Natural resource personnel and environmental health educators helped students identify local environmental problems and design action plans to address those problems. Trained students then chose three sites in their communities at which they applied their environmental knowledge and skills. They used problem-solving and critical-thinking skills to improve the quality of their watersheds. The field experience enhanced the skills the young people acquired during the summer leadership conference.
Michigan Technological University $4,800
Joan Schumaker-Chadde, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931
Campus Volunteers in Copper Country
Michigan Technological University trains 30 university students to make environmental education presentations in classrooms. The pre-service teachers learn hands-on, interactive exercises that engage elementary and high school students. The trained students give more than 30 presentations during the school year. Local teachers also have the opportunity to participate in two teacher education workshops during which they learn to use the existing curricula: Project WET, Project Wild, and Wonders of Wetlands. Three family science fun nights also are provided in an effort to educate both students and their parents. More than 150 people attend each family science fun night, and more than 1,000 students are reached through the classroom presentations.
Northern Michigan University $10,880
Carl Wozniak, Northern Michigan University Seaborg Center, 1401 Presque Isle, Marquette, MI 49855
Lake Superior Watershed Project
The Northern Michigan University (NMU) Seaborg Center provides a comprehensive water quality monitoring program in the local watershed. Students at 10 middle and high schools monitor the quality of their local water supply with equipment provided by the center. Data collected then are posted on a World Wide Web site, along with other water quality data and information about resources. Teachers in participating schools attend two water education workshops to learn how to incorporate interactive exercises into their classroom curricula. Participating schools also conduct public education sessions for their local communities to teach residents about issues related to water quality.
Southeast Coalition on Occupational Safety and Health $9,596
Marta Hoetger, 1550 Howard, Detroit, MI 48216
Keep the Lead Out
The Southeast Coalition on Occupational Safety and Health (SEMCOSH) implemented a lead-exposure prevention program designed to reduce the levels of lead found in young children in the Detroit area. In the summer of 1998, some 40 to 50 homes in which young, at-risk children live were identified. The project coordinator and teen volunteers then invited members of those households to attend one of two workshops to learn techniques for preventing exposure to lead hazards. Those unable to attend the workshops received home visits during which volunteers demonstrated cleaning techniques and provided residents with cleaning kits. Follow-up visits will be conducted in the spring of 1999 to determine whether residents have taken the steps necessary to reduce lead hazards in their homes. SEMCOSH also will conduct outreach to community leaders, church groups, and pre-school teachers in an effort to increase awareness of the risks of exposure to lead.
The University of Michigan $5,000
Peggy Britt, Michigan Sea Grant, 3003 S. State Street, Room 1066, Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Environmental Journalism
The Michigan Sea Grant Program provides a handbook and fact sheet for high school writing teachers. The handbook and fact sheet provide teachers with the information they need to incorporate environmental journalism into their curricula. The materials provide teachers with an understanding of key environmental concepts and address the elements of science-based environmental writing. Students are introduced to environmental journalism and related careers in environmental communication. The handbook and accompanying fact sheet address critical-thinking skills, such as investigating and analyzing environmental issues and assessing the threats that pollution poses to human health. Although a needs assessment indicated that educators were not interested in workshops, staff at Michigan Sea Grant are committed to assisting teachers in fully integrating the lessons from the handbook into their classroom criteria.
Wayne County Regional Educational Service Agency $4,970
Nancy Nagle, 33500 Van Born Road, P. O. Box 807, Wayne, MI 48184
Program for Outdoor Environmental Education
The Regional Educational Service Agency provides underserved teachers and students in the Detroit area with the opportunity to increase their environmental knowledge. A group of 14 teachers from Wayne County participate in two days of intensive, hands-on training in environmental education. Educators learn to use Project Wild and other established environmental curricula to incorporate environmental issues into their classroom activities. More than 420 students then visit an environmental learning center to participate in outdoor, interactive exercises. Activities conducted at the learning center give students the opportunity to apply the knowledge they learn in the classroom to actual outdoor investigations.
1997 Grants
Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services $20,060
Kathyrn Savoie, 2651 Saulino Court, Dearborn, MI 48120
Youth Empowerment Project
The Youth Empowerment Project seeks to create environmental awareness in an Arab American community located in southeast Michigan and to encourage community action on local issues that involve environmental justice. The program targets youth ages 12 to 19 who are members of an Arab American community of 250,000. Experts give monthly presentations on issues related to environmental justice at middle schools and high schools, and at meetings of youth groups, as well. Under the project, approximately 15 youth participate in the Rouge River Flood Plain Ecology Program at the University of Michigan, while 10 others participate in the Young Naturalist Program at the university. The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services also organizes and coordinates a two-month summer program of environmental education activities. Students conduct an in-depth study of the Rouge River ecosystem, access environmental data on line to share with members of the community, produce an environmental newsletter, and distribute the newsletter to 800 households in the immediate area.
City of Ann Arbor $4,888
Cheryl Saam, 1831 Traver Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48105
Taking Action in Recycling
Taking Action in Recycling provides 19 full-day field trips for students in area schools. Through the field trips, approximately 1,140 students become familiar with the recycling process and learn how to implement recycling programs at their schools. Each field trip begins at the Leslie Science Center, where staff members introduce the concepts of natural cycles, ecosystems, and interdependency. Students participate in hands-on activities, nature hikes, simulation games, and group discussions. They then have the opportunity to see recycling in action at the Solid Waste Department's material recovery facility. After the field trip, students and teachers receive recycling boxes and are encouraged to establish recycling programs in their schools. The Leslie Science Center and the City of Ann Arbor Solid Waste Department work in partnership to sponsor the project.
Cranbrook Educational Community $4,962
Michelle Goyette, 1221 N. Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303
Understanding Honey Bees
Under this project, the Cranbrook Institute of Science seeks to significantly improve its honey-bee education program. The institute uses the program to educate student groups and the general public about the value of the honey bee population and the risks that population currently faces in the environment. Through the program's outreach effort, educators travel to schools in the Detroit area to teach more than 400 students about insects and honey bees. Cranbrook also trains 20 junior-high and high-school students as volunteers at its nature center and assists in educating the public about the honey bee population. Volunteers research the honey bees at the Cranbrook Educational Community and then use the Internet to share the information they have gathered with other institutions. More than 2,000 students and 100 teachers participate in educational activities at the nature center.
Global Rivers Environmental Education Network $65,673
Keith Wheeler, 206 South Fifth Avenue, Suite 150, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
The GREEN Leadership Initiative: Creating Learning Communities for Watershed Education and Health
The GREEN Leadership Initiative addresses the high-priority environmental issue of water quality and its effect on human health. The project provides training and evaluation sessions for facilitators, as well as 10 watershed workshops. A training retreat enhances understanding of capacity-building and health-related issues. In addition, the project has improved existing watershed programs and established new programs in targeted areas by providing two workshops in each of five EPA regions.
Inland Seas Education Association $4,975
Thomas Kelly, 101 Dame Street, Suttons Bay, MI 49682
Virtual Schoolship
The World Wide Web site developed by the Inland Seas Education Association (ISEA) under this project expands and enhances ISEA's education program entitled Schoolship. Through the virtual schoolship, students who are unable to participate in the education programs offered on board ISEA's research vessel can take part on line. Students can download and manipulate data, request specific information, and ask questions of Schoolship professionals and other Schoolship participants. They are challenged to navigate through the Web site, perform virtual testing and sampling, view pictures, and record observations. The Web site also facilitates students' participation in the Schoolship program's pre- and post-activity evaluations and helps them apply their knowledge to their own communities.
Lake Superior State University $5,000
Bill Bowerman, 650 Easterday Avenue, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783
Cooperative Radon Survey
Through this program, the Environmental Institute at Lake Superior State University is educating students and homeowners about radon, an environmental health hazard. More than 1,200 students in grades 5 through 12, many of whom are Native Americans, receive age-appropriate environmental health presentations in their science classes. Through hands-on participation in desktop environmental chemistry laboratory exercises, students are encouraged to think critically and use problem-solving techniques when learning about radon. Students and their families also participate in a home radon survey. Those homes in which high levels of radon are detected receive information about how to reduce those levels. Science teachers and the university's Internet Web site provide updates on the radon study.
Michigan State University $20,460
Michael Klepinger, Room 334, Natural Resources Building, East Lansing, MI 48824
Experiential Learning Using Biological Control of Purple Loosestrife
This project focuses on control of a pest plant through the introduction into the environment of an insect predator that feeds on the plant. Personnel of Michigan State University (MSU) work with educators and students to develop a set of lesson plans for primary and secondary students on the practice of biological control, the effect of exotic species on local flora and fauna, the biology of purple loosestrife, and wetland ecology. Lesson plans, which are accompanied by a set of learning activities, describe methods of releasing and monitoring the plant-feeding beetle used as the biological control agent. Students are introduced to laboratory and field methods and share and compare results through an Internet site called the purple pages. Educators receive hands-on training to support their use of the activities in their classrooms, as well as beetle-rearing kits provided by the university.
Southeast Michigan Council of Governments $5,000
Kathleen Lomako, 660 Plaza Drive, Suite 1900, Detroit, MI 48226
Educational Curriculum Package on Ozone
Under this program, two workshops train teachers throughout southeastern Michigan in the use of the Spatially Plotted Ozone Tracking System (SPOTS) software, a computer-animated program that tracks ozone formation in 16 states. The curriculum educates users about the formation and transport of ground-level ozone and provides teachers with activities they can incorporate into their lesson plans. The information booklet for teachers that accompanies the software helps improve current teaching methods and provides new approaches to education about ground-level ozone.
1996 Grants
Allegan Intermediate School District (ISD) $5,000
Linda Gan, Supervisor, Special Programs and Projects, 310 Thomas Street, Allegan, MI 49010
Applied Environmental Education and Community Involvement in Allegan County
The Applied Environmental Education and Community Involvement project in Allegan County involves a partnership with the local village and community and Allegan County Intermediate School District to teach students about the local watershed and municipal and wastewater treatment systems by engaging them in water quality testing. Students are gathering and analyzing the data with the local village and Department of Natural Resources, and students will present the information to the community through local forums.
Delta-Schoolcraft Intermediate School District $5,000
Robert W. Ling, Jr., Director, Clear Lake Education Center, 2525 Third Avenue South, Escanaba, MI 49829
Multicultural Forestry Camp
The Delta-Schoolcraft Intermediate School District is conducting a Multicultural Forestry Camp for African American, Native American, and Pacific Islanders to teach math and science and encourage the pursuit of environmental careers. Hands-on problem solving exercises are being led by natural resource professionals at the Hiawatha National Forest, Clear Lake Education Center, and the Michigan Technological University campus.
Glencairn Elementary School $5,000
Kari L. Naghtin, Associate Principal, 939 N. Harrison, East Lansing, MI 48823
Wetland-Watershed Environmental Education Project
In partnership with Michigan United Conservation Clubs, Michigan State University, and the Lansing Area Groundwater Management Board, the Wetland-Watershed Environmental Education Project is educating its teachers about groundwater, wetlands, and watersheds. Along with their 225 elementary students, the teachers monitor and protect the school's wetland and use it as a training ground for hands-on education.
Michigan Technological University $5,000
Joan Schumaker-Chadde, Education Outreach Specialist, Regional GEM Center, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931-1295
Watershed Education Program
The Watershed Education Program consists of various professional development opportunities for formal and nonformal educators in the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Included are one-day awareness workshops focused on cross-curriculum integration of existing water education resources; a one-week in-depth, hands-on workshop in water sampling, including chemical and biological water assessment and computer technology work; and a mini-grant program so workshop participants can purchase supplies for the classroom.
The Greening of Detroit $5,000
Denise Wecker-Seipke, Executive Director, Whittier Towers, 415 Burns Drive, Detroit, MI 48214
Treekeepers
Tree-Keepers Training Workshops assist community residents and volunteers in reforesting and revitalizing the empowerment zone in Detroit. Once trained, the treekeeper teams work closely with neighborhood groups to select, plant, and maintain tree stock on public lands.
U-SNAP-BAC, Inc. $6,450
Linda Smith, Executive Director, 11101 Morang, Detroit, MI 48224
Environmental Negotiations Skills Seminars
Environmental Negotiations Skills Seminars are two-day seminars offered by U-SNAP-BAC and several partners to residents in the east side of Detroit. The seminars teach participants how to negotiate with financial institutions, developers, and state and local governmental agencies on residential, commercial, and industrial redevelopment of Brownfields and other urban sites. Brownfields are abandoned or under-used industrial sites. These model seminars employ an innovative role-play technique and include a feedback tool that enables groups to monitor their negotiation behaviors and evaluate progress. U-SNAP-BAC will develop a final product that describes the process of planning and offering these seminars to enable other communities to offer similar programs.
1995 Grants
Central Michigan University $5,000
Claudia Douglas, Central Michigan University EE Collaborative, Biology Department, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48848
Neithercut Nature Center
The organizers of this project hope to expand the use of Central Michigan University's (CMU) 160-acre property called Neithercut Nature Center. CMU will offer four, one-day workshops to 100 teachers of kindergarten through 8th grade to expose them to this educational resource. Workshops will build upon environmental education materials which already exist in Michigan.
Ecology Center of Ann Arbor $5,000
Michael Garfield, 417 Detroit St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Education for Environmental Justice
Organizers of this project will develop and disseminate a handbook describing the field methods and techniques used in a model youth education program about environmental justice. The handbook will be available nationwide and initially distributed to 1,000 people directly. Funds will also support the application of environmental justice field techniques in three southeast Michigan communities.
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians $25,000
Robert Kewaygoshkum, 2605 N. West Bay Shore, Suttons Bay, MI 49682
Tribal Environmental Education Initiative on Water Quality
Funds from this grant will launch the first component of a tribal education program by using the Global Rivers Environmental Education Network's (GREEN) water quality monitoring program. The project organizers seek to train five adult coordinators and 16 Native American youth to serve as peer educators for the Ottawa and Chippewa community.
Grand Traverse Bay Watershed Initiative $24,965
Jeanna Paluzza, 3197 Logan Valley Road, Traverse City, MI 49684
School-Based Watershed Education Program
This project will provide training and support to 15 5th through 12th grade teachers on water quality monitoring based on Stapp's Field Manual for Water Quality Monitoring. The Grand Traverse Bay Watershed initiative will provide a two-week summer institute for teachers, provide follow-up support for fall and spring monitoring activities, and culminate the year's efforts with a student congress.
Leslie Public School District $5,000
Net Curtis, 432 N. Main St., Leslie, MI 49251
Wild 100 Nature Center
Funds from this grant will be used to involve 400 high school students in the design and development of an outdoor 100-acre natural learning center called, "Wild 100 Nature Center." The nature center will become part of the high school curriculum and available for community use.
Macomb County-Michigan State University Extension, $5,000
Patrick Livingston, 21885 Dunham Rd., Clinton Township, MI 48036
Great Lakes Environmental Education Teacher Training
The purpose of this project is to build the environmental teaching skills of 4th grade teachers by expanding the Great Lakes and Clinton River Education Program, an experiential environmental education program that teaches about the importance of the Great Lakes Watershed.
Michigan Water Environment Association $4,930
Paul Freedman, P. O. Box 82410, Rochester, MI 48308-2410
The Water Sourcebook
The purpose of this project is to introduce the Water Sourcebook education program, produced by the Tennessee Valley Authority with funding from the EPA, to 300 middle school teachers in Washtenaw County, Michigan. The Michigan Water Environment Association will host workshops and provide follow-up support to teachers once they have returned to the classroom.
1994 Grants
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians $5,000
Robert Kewaygoshkum, 2605 NW Bay Shore Dr., Suttons Bay, MI 49682
Environmental Education for the Ottawa and Chippewa Indian Communities
The goal of this project is to build tribal capacity to develop and deliver an environmental education program to the Ottawa and Chippewa Indian communities. EPA funds will enable the Grand Traverse Band to develop a first-ever tribal plan for environmental education by convening a task force and identifying existing resources and gaps. In addition to earmarking goals and objectives for a holistic environmental education program, the Tribal Plan will describe demonstration projects that combine Native American cultural practices with local natural resources.
Ingham Soil Conservation District $4,747
Ann Nebe, 521 N. Okemos Rd., P. O. Box 236, Mason, MI 48854
Sycamore Creek Watershed
This grant funds a project to educate students, adults, community members, and businesses in the Sycamore Creek Watershed about their local watershed and about the environmental importance of small streams. Further education will focus on how individual actions can eventually impact the Great Lakes. Funds will be used to support forums to reach residents and businesses and to involve students in actual water quality sampling.
Michigan State University Division of Science Education $5,000
Clarence Suelter, 302 Admin. Bldg., East Lansing, MI 48824
Workshop in Physical Environmental Science
Participants in this project will offer a three-week, interdisciplinary workshop in physical environmental science for 30 high school chemistry, physics, and earth science teachers. The workshop will incorporate the use of science, technology, and society to demonstrate the complexity of environmental issues involved with water usage and reclamation. The workshop will stress the need for multidisciplinary approaches to solving problems by challenging teachers to work through different environmental scenarios. Teachers who participate in the workshop will be required to either share their experience with their peers or give a presentation on the program at the Michigan Science Teachers Association conference.
Muskegon Area Intermediate School District $23,239
Tom Green, 630 Harvey St., Muskegon, MI 49442
River and Groundwater Project
The purpose of this project is to expand the school district's river and groundwater project, which involves students in cooperative study of the history, geography, hydrology, biology, chemistry and politics of the Muskegon River and White River watersheds. EPA funds will enable the Muskegon Area Intermediate School District to reach 1,000 additional middle and high school students in four additional districts. Muskegon School District ultimately aims to establish the program in 10 to 20 regional sites in Michigan. Students will share data they gain from the watersheds through the Global Rivers Environmental Education computer network.
Urban Options, Inc. $5,000
Marisa McGlue, 405 Grove St., East Lansing, MI 48823
Workshops on Energy Efficiency and Conservation
The purpose of this project is to deliver a series of workshops to elementary teachers on energy efficiency and conservation. EPA funds will be used to support the first year of a four-year plan for an in-service program aiming to reach 200 teachers. Urban Options will survey existing energy curricula in order to use hands-on energy activities with the teachers that complement Michigan's educational science objectives.
Washtenaw County $23,241
Rebecca Head, 220 N. Main St., P. O. Box 8645, Ann Arbor, MI 48107-8645
Environmental Equity Community Outreach
This grant funds the development of a new program entitled "Environmental Equity Community Outreach," which aims to form partnerships between Washtenaw County government agencies and low income, diverse communities in the county. The goal of the program is to increase citizen awareness of the county's environmental programs and services and to gain input from citizens to ensure that county programs meet the expressed needs of under represented communities of color. Citizens will participate in community workshops, presentations, and environmental projects. The project builds on a 1992 EPA environmental education grant awarded to Washtenaw County to run an Environmental Career Internship Program for students of color. The former interns will assist in cultivating community contacts for this program.
1993 Grants
Ecology Center of Ann Arbor $4,800
Ruth Kraut, 417 Detroit Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Solid and Household Hazardous Waste Issues
The purpose of this grant is to educate teenagers in low-income housing and low-income residents of public and subsidized housing about solid and household hazardous waste issues. Students will develop and carry out several educational initiatives on waste in their communities.
Fair Winds Girl Scout Council $4,585
Mary Lorah-Hammond, 2029-C South Elms Road, Swartz Creek, MI 48473
Girl Scout Environmental Service Projects
This project promotes learning about the environment by involving Girl Scouts in the design and implementation of environmental service projects in their communities.
Hannahville Indian Community $5,000
Kenneth Meshigaud, N14911 Hannahville B-1 Road, Wilson, MI 49896
Native American Teachings and Groundwater Education
The purpose of this project is to incorporate Native American cultural beliefs and teachings into already-existing groundwater education materials. Hannahville will educate Tribal council members, school children, and the Native American community about the current state of their local environment and ways they can protect their water source.
Ingham County Health Department $5,000
Jim Wilson, 5303 S. Cedar Street, P. O. Box 30161, Lansing, MI 48909
Chemical House of Horrors
The "Chemical House of Horrors" project will produce a portable household hazardous waste learning center to educate civic groups, school children, senior citizens, and environmental groups about household hazardous waste. The Chemical House of Horrors will consist of a series of rooms including a kitchen, bathroom, garage, and basement that contain hazardous products on one side, and their less toxic alternatives on the other.
1992 Grants
Holy Family Middle School, Diocese of Saginaw, Vicariate VIII Catholic Schools $5,000
Bay City, MI 48708
Ecosystems of the Great Lakes
This grants funds a project for middle school students to investigate, analyze, and evaluate five ecosystems in the Great Lakes watershed for their biological, physical, and chemical properties. Limnological and other testing kits and microscopes will be provided for the school's 5th through 8th grade science classes.
Onaway Area Community Schools $977
Onaway, MI 48765
Water Quality of the Black River
This project will allow for several area high schools to purchase sophisticated water quality testing equipment to complete tests on the Black River. The information collected as part of this project will be used to develop an educational curriculum for biology classes.
Washtenaw County $20,000
Ann Arbor, MI 48107
Washtenaw County Environmental Internship Program
The "Washtenaw County Environmental Internship Program" project will involve developing and implementing an environmental internship program for junior and senior high school students of color. The program will provide six-week-long paid internships for eligible students.