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Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative
Rogers City Elementary and High School
Beach Clean Up Raises Marine Debris Awareness
Rogers City Elementary students were shocked to discover how much trash was really on their city beach. As part of their B-WET supported place-based stewardship education, students learned about the impact marine debris has on the environment. Their original estimate of how much trash they would find was must lower than the more than 1,000 pieces they collected! Students were able to connect with city government to share their plan to clean up the city beach and why they wanted to do it. Local officials were impressed and grateful! The impact of this day is still showing up as many students pick up trash wherever they see it, like their playground and yards. Here is a link to a post we shared on Instagram at the time of the clean up: click here! Seniors ventured into Thompson Harbor State Park, exploring a fen (which is fed by groundwater, versus a bog that is fed by rainwater) in search of plants and wildlife unique to the area. Some of the plants they saw are carnivorous. The fen has limited nutrients so some of the plants rely on insects and spiders to survive. This field visit also included a trip to the shoreline to learn about the limestone/cobble beach ecology as well as the dune/swale ecology. They ended the day with some marine debris clean-up which not only helps all of the earth but reinforces the power of not littering and reducing the use of single-use plastics and other waste. This is a social media post we did about the trip to Thompson Harbor State Park: click here Stephanie took her 7th & 8th grade students on a trip to the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary after spending time on Great Lakes curriculum. Students took in the museum, picked up trash along the shoreline and went for a cruise on the Lady Michigan to see a couple of shipwrecks in Thunder Bay. This is a link to a post we did about the middle school trip: click here
Rogers City Woodworking Students Support Lake Huron Biodiversity
Rogers City students are working to enhance the habitat of Michigan’s areal migrants at Thompson’s Harbor State Park. Woodworking students partnered with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources through the Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative network. Students designed and built blue bird houses to place at Thompson’s Harbor State Park. These bird houses will provide future habitat for areal migrants along Lake Huron. Munger said she is excited to get her students involved in a real life project through placed based education. The goal is to have the blue bird houses installed throughout the park by the end of the year. Blake Gingrich, with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, is excited to get students involved in a project focusing on enhancing Thompson’s Harbor State Park’s habitat for wildlife and said without the support from students this project would not have been possible. Woodworking students are excited to continue learning though placed based education and are looking forward to completing more projects starting this fall. Some other ideas students are looking into include designing and building a vermiculture composting bin that can be used to recycle the school’s cafeteria waste and building raised garden boxes for the area. If you would like to learn more about what Rogers City industrial arts students are working on Click Here. This project was funded through the Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative. Woodworking students built Blue Bird Houses to place at Thompson's Harbor State Park. Courtesy of North American Blue Bird Society. Thompson's Harbor State Park is situated along seven and a half miles of Lake Huron shoreline, this undeveloped park is a prime rustic retreat for hikers and birders interested in exploring the park's six miles of trails. Blake Gingrich, with the MI DNR Parks and Recreation talked with woodworking students on their trip to Thompson’s Harbor State Park and explained the importance of protecting the biodiversity of the park - Which is exactly what the students are doing!
Thompson's Harbor State Park Threatened and Endangered Species
Rogers City students are becoming experts on threatened and endangered species at Thompson’s Harbor State Park! Middle school students are researching and writing reports on threatened and endangered species that can be found at Thompson's Harbor State Park. Upon becoming experts on threatened and endangered species, middle school students partnered with elementary grade level students to teach them about what they learned. Partnering with elementary students has allowed this project to span across all school levels. High School woodworking students are involved in the project by building blue bird houses to be placed at Thompson’s Harbor State Park; which will enhance the habitat for aerial migrants at the park. Upon researching and becoming experts on their chosen species, middle school students presented their species profile to their fellow classmates and the public. The species profile consists of the organisms description, habitat, life cycle, diet, and more. Student’s reports are currently in the process of being published for display in each cabin at Thompson’s Harbor State Park. In order to help educate the local community on threatened and endangered species students presented at the Friends of Thompson’s Harbor State Park’s Silver Anniversary Celebration in May of 2013. This gave students the opportunity to share their project with the public and help create public awareness regarding threatened and endangered species in the area. As a final wrap up to this exciting project 70 elementary, middle school and high school students took a field trip to Thompson’s Harbor State Park this spring to learn more about the DNR, wetlands and coastal fens, dunes and swales, soils in the area, forestry, endangered species, and more! Stations were set up throughout the park from the Michigan DNR, Presque Isle Conservation District, Huron Pines AmeriCorps, Michigan Sea Grant and Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative. Without the support from the local community and Friends of Thompson’s Harbor State Park this annual project would not be possible.
Great Lakes Fisheries in the Classroom Efforts
Across northeast Michigan, students are raising different fish species in the classroom. Through these projects, they connect with area scientists to help with restoration and stocking projects, and they learn about the needs and characteristics of the fish. They also increase community awareness about our fisheries by developing promotional materials about the fish and/or connecting their project with younger grades at their school. This hands-on learning activity allows students to connect to their area watersheds while benefiting their local community and environment. CHINOOK SALMON IN THE CLASSROOM From the fall to spring semesters, students raise, care, and maintain Chinook Salmon* in the classroom. They receive the salmon as eggs from MI DNR, and throughout the school year, they see the fish grow from egg, to hatchling, to smolt. Through this project, they learn about life cycles and habitat needs, and in the spring semester, the fish are released into local watersheds allowing these students to improve fish populations. *While the Chinook Salmon is not native to this area, they were introduced and subsequently naturalized to reduce invasive Alewife fish populations. They are also included in the Joint Strategic Plan for Management of Great Lakes Fisheries. Additionally, this fish serves as a biological indicator for the health of our rivers serving as spawning sites. Salmon in the Classroom Involved Schools: Alcona Elementary School, Besser Elementary School, Onaway High School, Oscoda High School, Rogers City Middle School, All Saints Catholic School Involved Community Partners: MI Department of Natural Resources