The Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative is a regional network of education and community partners working together to promote place-based education or hands-on, feet-wet projects in Northeast Michigan. Placed based education projects benefit youth, communities and the environment by allowing students to be active stewards in their local community. This initiative operates and supports programming through three primary means: school and educator support, professional development and strong community-school partnerships.
To further support schools and educators in their quest to create meaningful relationships with community partners, the Initiative partners with Huron Pines to host an AmeriCorps member. This year Helen-Ann Prince is serving as the Education Coordinator. During her year of service, Helen-Ann will be coordinating with participating schools and community partners to develop projects. Helen-Ann graduated from Lake Superior State University and spent several summers working for the U.S. Forest Service and Michigan DNR Parks and Recreation.
She noted, “I wanted to join the AmeriCorps so I could make a difference in Northeast Michigan by educating area youth and community members on the importance of our natural resources and the role they play in our environment. My year of service will give me the necessary skills, experience and training needed to broaden my horizon.”
Helen-Ann is tremendously excited about serving with the Initiative and looks forward to collaborating with educators, students and community partners to help develop place-based education programming. Her major projects include:
- Engage 1,000 students in place-based education projects
- Educate 200 community members regarding the Initiative, Huron Pines AmeriCorps and national service
- Engage 300 students in projects that restore and enhance Thompson’s Harbor State Park, Rockport State Recreation Area and Negwegon State Park
- Launch a project to get students involved with creating interpretive signs and displays at Rockport State Recreation Area
- Create an Industrial Arts Collaboration of wood shop, metal shop and welding instructors in Northeast Michigan to support place-based education projects
Timeline
November 2012 – October 2013
Contact
Helen-Ann Prince
Education Coordinator
hprinceGLSI@gmail.com