Eastern Michigan University has been awarded a $174,690
continuation grant from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust to
expand the Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition (SEMIS).
"It has never before been more important for communities
and schools to work together to involve young people in
meaningful studies of the environmental and social issues
we face," said Rebecca Martusewicz, who directs the SEMIS
Coalition and is a professor in EMU's Department of Teacher
Education. "This funding will help develop students
as citizen stewards able to understand and promote healthy
ecological and social systems affecting the Great Lakes
basin and their communities."
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CLEAN-UP EFFORTS: Jesenia Gonzalez and
other
students from Hope of Detroit Academy, a K-8
charter
school in southwest Detroit, clean
up illegally
dumped tires. Teachers and students
from the school
worked with the Southeast Michigan
Stewardship
Coalition (SEMIS). Eastern Michigan
University was
recently awarded a $174,690 continuation
grant
from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust to expand
SEMIS.
Photo by Rebecca Martusewicz |
"We are honored that our funders recognize that Southeast
Michigan educators and community partners are dedicated
to helping our young people reconnect with the places they
live as they learn important content from across the disciplines,"
she
added.
The SEMIS Coalition was established in 2007 by a grant
from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust, among others. Since
then, local teachers and community organizations have helped
more than 500 Southeast Michigan students examine brown
fields and illegal dumping, design healthy habitats in
urban schoolyards, study food security, and explore watersheds
linking them to the Great Lakes.
Community-based learning projects motivate students to
become more aware of their impact on the environment, make
responsible decisions and develop strategies to improve
their communities.
The continuation grant will support
the involvement of additional students from public, charter
and parochial schools in Wayne and Washtenaw counties during
the 2009-2010 academic year. Schools include Hope of Detroit
Academy (a K-8 charter school in southwest Detroit), Barbara
Jordan Elementary School in Detroit, Divine Child High
School in Dearborn, Ann Arbor Learning Community (a K-8
charter school), Cristo Rey High School in Detroit, Nsoroma
Institute (an African-centered K-8 charter school in Southfield)
and Saline High School.
The project is part of a larger effort, the Great Lakes
Stewardship Initiative, which was launched by the Great
Lakes Fishery Trust (GLFT) in 2006 with major support
from the Wege Foundation. The initiative's goal is to increase
awareness and understanding of the ecology of the Great
Lakes so that Michigan's students become active stewards
of the lakes and advocates for strategies that support
the long-term sustainability of the Great Lakes fisheries.
With the support of regional hubs like the SEMIS coalition,
students work with local community groups to identify and
study a local environmental issue and propose or enact
solutions.
Through the work of the SEMIS Coalition in
southeast Michigan and three other regional hubs across
the state, nearly 4,200 students, 90 teachers, 30 schools
and 60 community organizations have participated in the
GLSI to date. Officials at the Great Lakes Fishery Trust
hope to establish more regional hubs and expand the program
to more school districts.
"By changing the ways teachers teach and students learn,
and engaging local communities in that change, the Great
Lakes Stewardship Initiative is creating a new, sustainable
culture of stewardship," said GLSI Program Director Mary
Whitmore.
The GLFT is a private foundation established in 1996 to
mitigate for fish damages caused by the Ludington Pumped
Storage Hydroelectric Facility located on Lake Michigan.
Since 1998, the GLFT has awarded more than $34 million
in grants to 154 projects to enhance the Great Lakes fishery.
For more information about the GLFT, please visit their
Web site at www.glft.org.
For more information about the Great Lakes Stewardship
Initiative, please visit the GLSI's Web site at www.glstewardship.org.
