Great Lakes Watershed

Detroit River Water Festival

May 24, 2012 from 9am-2pm at the Detroit Riverfront!

The Detroit River Water Festival is a day-long educational event designed to help sixth-grade students learn about our most precious natural resource – clean, fresh water. Students from Detroit and Windsor area will come togther to learn about the Detroit River in this bi-national event.

This FREE program helps students appreciate the importance of water and how it impacts their daily lives. It also provides students with hands-on activities to help them understand water resource-related topics including ecosystems, social studies, the geosphere and the hydrologic cycle. Students will learn the central role water and the Detroit River play in the region’s economy and quality of life.

Classes will rotate through four different outdoor and indoor learning stations along the Detroit Riverfront. Indoor presentations will take place in the GM Learning Center inside the Renaissance Center. Lunch will be provided to students at Rivard Plaza along with educational entertainment from the live music of Joe Reilly.

Many partners have come together to make this event happen. We thank the following organizations for their contributions to the planning commitee as volunteers to support the design and execution of the festival.

Sponsors: DTE Energy Foundation, International Joint Commission, Cranbrook Institute of Science, GM, and the Detroit Wayne County Port Authority

Partners: Wayne State University, Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, Michigan Sea Grant, Alliance for the Great Lakes, Sierra Club Great Lakes Program, Friends of the Detroit River, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Detroit Public Schools, Friends of the Rouge, Wayne County Department of Public Services, University of Michigan Dearborn, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Wayne County Community College.

Educator Institute - Great Lakes Earth Partnership for Schools

Some are hyperactive. Some are distracted. Some are obese. Schools can improve both health and learning by reintroducing students to the natural world.  ~ Richard Louv

What:     SE MI Great Lakes Earth Partnership for Schools Educator Institute
Where:   Cranbrook Institute of Science and schools in Livonia and Northville
When:     June 25-29, 2012; 9am-3:30pm

Are you interested in engaging your students in outdoor activities that teach them science, math, and social studies skills? Attend the Southeast Michigan Great Lakes EPS Educator Institute to learn how to build a Rain Garden or Restore a Habitat at your school with proven curriculum offered by the University of Wisconsin- Madison.

The 5-day Educator Institute will train teachers on how to implement the Earth Partnership for Schools curriculum at their school. Local resources and programs will showcase how to connect school projects to regional conservation efforts. Guest speakers and field trips will demonstrate how schoolyard projects can contribute to the improved health and water quality of the Great Lakes.

Participants can earn three credits through the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Department of Curriculum and Instruction with tuition waived.

Teacher Applications are now being accepted; teams of at least two teachers per participating school are preferred. For more information and details about the course, please review the Application materials that can be downloaded at:
http://www.greatlakeswatershed.org/events.html

Completed Applications are due by June 8, 2012.