Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative (LSSI)

Connecting Schools and Communities in the stewardship of Lake Superior and its watershed.

http://lakesuperiorstewardship.org

The Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative is spearheaded by the

Western UP Center for Science, Math & Environmental Education(a partnership of Michigan Tech University, Copper Country ISD and Gogebic-Ontonagon ISD encompassing 19 school districts)

http://wupcenter.mtu.edu

The Center provides:• Teacher Professional Development• Student Programs• Community Programs• K-12 Curriculum Development

Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (GLSI)

• GLSI involves 80 teachers and 4100 students in 29 schools

http://www.glstewardship.org/

LSSI is one of 8 regional hubs established by the GLSI, and the only hub in the Upper Peninsula.

GLSI Vision• Develop stewards of the

Great Lakes…

• Using three strategies…– Place-based education– Professional

development– School-community

partnerships

• Supported by an infrastructure…– Regional hubs– Statewide initiative– Collaboration with others

Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative

Regional Hubs1. Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative (Western Upper Peninsula Center for

Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education)2. Discovering PLACE (University of Michigan–Flint)3. GRAND Learning Network (Michigan State University)4. Grand Traverse Stewardship Initiative (Grand Traverse Conservation District)5. Groundswell (Grand Valley State University)6. Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (Community

Foundation for Northeast Michigan)7. Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition (Eastern Michigan University)8. West Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (Muskegon Area

Intermediate School District)

Hubs provide leadership, expertise, support and professional development for K–12 teachers, and material and financial resources for the collaborative work of students and community organizations in their local areas.

GLSI Regional Hubs

Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative (LSSI)Connecting Schools and Communitieshttp://lakesuperiorstewardship.org

Mission

LSSI seeks to prepare K-12 students to become knowledgeable citizens engaged in activities that enhance their school, community, and the Lake Superior watershed.

Desired Outcomes1. Students will demonstrate the ability to make informed

decisions and be actively involved in their community.2. Teachers will integrate local Great Lakes topics into their

curriculum.3. School-community partnerships will engage students in

stewardship projects that are responsive to the needs of the local community

Desired Outcomes4. Community based education will become an integral and

permanent part of the work of the partner schools.5. Communities in the Lake Superior watershed will be

improved through collaborative effort of schools and their community partners.

6. Students and teachers will be recognized as valued, contributing citizens and will act in that capacity.

Community as the ClassroomThe teachers and students work with local community partners to design a stewardship project to address a community need.

Who Is Involved with LSSI ?14 Schools in Houghton & Baraga counties

75 Teachers in grades K-12

2250 StudentsElementaryMiddle SchoolHigh School

40 Community organizations, businesses, and units of government in Houghton, Baraga and Keweenaw Counties have partnered with local schools!

2012-2013 Participating Schools1. Barkell Elementary School2. Chassell High School3. CJ Sullivan Elementary (L’Anse)4. CLK Elementary (Calumet)5. Dollar Bay High School6. E.B. Holman School (Stanton Twp)7. Hancock Middle School8. Hancock High School9. Houghton High School10. Jeffers Middle/High School (Adams Twp. Schools)11. Lake Linden-Hubbell Elementary12. Lake Linden-Hubbell Middle School13. Pelkie School & Baraga High School14. Washington Middle School (Calumet)

• Adams Township• Alliance for the Great Lakes• BHK Great Explorations • Calumet Lions• Calumet Township• City of Hancock• Copper Country Audubon Club• Copper Country Mental Health• Copper Country Trout Unlimited• Green Timber Forestry Consulting• Halonen Landscaping• Horner Flooring• Isle Royale Institute• Isle Royale National Park• Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Fish Hatchery• Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College• Keweenaw Land Trust • Keweenaw National Historical Park• Lake Linden Downtown Development Authority• MI Dept of Natural Resources

2012-2013 Community Partners• Michigan Nature Association• MTU Center for Water & Society • Michigan Tech Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering• Michigan Tech Forestry & Environmental Resource

Management (FERM)• Michigan Tech Global Watershed Program • Michigan Tech High School Enterprise • Michigan Tech School of Forest Resources &

Environmental Sciences• Onigaming Yacht Club• Peter Wolf Chapter of the North Country Trail Association• Pilgrim River Watershed• Plum Creek Timber Company • Stanton Township Board• Sarah Sargeant Paine Historical Society• Strom Farm• Thimbleberry Press• USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service• USDA Ottawa National Forest• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency• Village of Lake Linden• Western UP Health Dept.  

Pelkie (K-2) & Baraga High School

Students will use the school forest as an outdoor classroom, familiarizing the school community with its value.

Barkell ElementaryRemove invasive species from the schoolyard

and replace with native species; design and construct a rain garden to capture storm-water runoff from the parking lot.

C.J. Sullivan ElementaryDesign and construct a 3 mile nature trail, with

interpretive signs, at the L’Anse School Forest.

C-L-K ElementaryDevelop all-season outdoor learning opportunities for teachers

an students utilizing CLK Heritage Garden, natural playscape, and the Calumet Township Lions Club Park.

Create a disc golf course on the Lake Linden sands (former Torch Lake Superfund site) to promote healthy lifestyles, family-friendly outdoor recreation, and interpretation of local environmental history.  

Lake Linden-Hubbell Elementary

EB Holman SchoolConduct plot studies to compare the Marsin

Preserve (owned by the Keweenaw Land Trust) and the Stanton Township Forest.

Stewardship of Calumet Township Park on Lake Superior, including Adopt-a-Beach, invasive species control, and school forest programs.

Washington Middle School

Hancock Middle SchoolIntegrate place-based education into the curriculum and conduct hands-on service-learning projects via new “Service Learning “ course involving students in monitoring, creating interpretive signs, and other stewardship projects at Paavola Wetlands to assist Keweenaw Land Trust.

Lake Linden-Hubbell Middle School• To enhance the Trap Rock River watershed, students will monitor the river

and conduct trash pick-ups. Students will also monitor remediation at the former Torch Lake Superfund site, and create natural trails on the Lake Linden sands, adjacent to the disc golf course.

Hancock High SchoolA new course, “Partnering Environment and Academics in the Keweenaw” (PEAK), involves students in stewardship projects at their school, Swedetown Creek, Sturgeon River Gorge, and Boston Pond to assist Keweenaw Land Trust, Ottawa National Forest, and Hancock High School.

Develop an interpretative nature trail with signs at Lake Perrault and at the Robert Brown Nature Sanctuary for the Michigan Nature Association, and monitor Salmon Trout River.

Jeffers High School

Chassell High SchoolRaising environmental awareness and appreciation for nature through a

school recycling program and stewardship of the Pilgrim River Watershed---buckthorn removal, Leave No Trace principles and trail maintenance.

Dollar Bay High SchoolStudents use ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles)

to investigate local lake and stream environments.

Today’s Students… … active citizens in our communities,

….stewards of Lake Superior,….tomorrow’s decision-makers.