Great Lakes Watershed

Enter the Explore the Blue Water Challenge for Grades 6 - 8

Encourage your students in grades 6-8 to protect and conserve their local waterways and you could win big in the Explore the Blue Water Challenge!  The Challenge asks student teams to develop an action plan to create positive change in a local water-related issue. Prizes include an exciting US water adventure trip, a $5,000 school grant, scholarships and teacher prizes!

Find a variety of tools and resources to help you and your students successfully complete the Challenge, including step-by-step guides, checklists and more on http://ExploretheBlue.com a partnership between Take Me Fishing™ and Discovery Education.  The deadline to submit your project is March 14, 2013.

Lecture Series Features Scientists from The Nature Conservancy

The Freshwater Forum at Cranbrook Institute of Science and The Nature Conservancy partner to host the “What’s So Great about the Great Lakes” lecture series at Cranbrook Institute of Science.  Six Thursday night lectures starting October 25 feature Nature Conservancy scientists who will cast new light on topics that affect everyone who lives in the Great Lakes’ unique ecosystem. Topics include rising temperatures,  land protection, and challenges for migratory birds. Each lecture begins with an opportunity to meet the scientist and a Cash Bar at 6:30, followed by a 7:30pm lecture.

 
Lectures include: 

Can You Take the Heat?-Dr. Patrick Doran         Oct. 25

Director of Conservation Dr. Patrick Doran discusses how scientists are thinking about and planning for a changing climate and how it affects organizational choices.

Seeing the Forest for the Trees-Jon Fosgitt            Nov. 15

Forest Management Specialist Jon Fosgitt of Compass Land Consultants will share his views on how restoring forest diversity can improve forests, forestry practices, and local economies.

Centers of Commerce, Culture and Conservation- Dr. Scott Sowa     Jan. 24

Director of Science Dr. Scott Sowa discusses how the bays of the Great Lakes region have influenced our past and hold keys to our future.

Thanks for Stopping By-Dr. Dave Ewert           Feb. 21

Senior Scientist Dr. Dave Ewert will talk about the importance of stopover sites in the globally significant migratory bird flyway here in the Great Lakes basin.

Yanking Our Chain- Lindsay Chadderton            Mar. 21

Great Lakes Director of Aquatic Invasive Species Lindsay Chadderton will talk about the changes in the Great Lakes food chain and native fisheries.

The Changing Scale of Conservation-Helen Taylor          Apr. 18

State Director Helen Taylor talks about how land protection has become a conservation strategy at the landscape scale of the Great Lakes.

Registration:

Tickets for each lecture are $10 for Nature Conservancy and Cranbrook Institute of Science Members and $12 for non-members.  To register, visit the Admission Desk at the Institute of Science or online: click here to register for an individual lecture or click here to register for the whole series.  Seating is limited, early registration is encouraged. This series is sponsored by Northern Trust.

2012 Rouge River Water Festival

Many thanks to everyone that participated in the Rouge River Water Festival Sept. 11-14, 2012!

Nearly 2,000 students participated from Oakland County schools in the Rouge River watershed, including 74 teachers and hundreds of chaperones. Schools attended from 10 communities: Bloomfield Hills, Bingham Farms, Southfield, Commerce Twp., Birmingham, Troy, Farmington Hills, Farmington, Beverly Hills and Walled Lake.

Thank you to Oakland University and Rochester College teaching students who assisted as volunteer guides.

31 organizations presented: Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner’s Office, Plymouth Technology, Organization for Bat Conservation, General Motors, U.S. EPA, Clinton River Watershed Council, Friends of the Detroit River, Hubbell, Roth & Clark, Inc., MSU Extension Oakland County, Huron-Clinton Metroparks Mobile Learning Center, Waste Management, Southeastern Oakland County Water Authority, OHM Inc., Friends of the Rouge, UM-Dearborn Environmental Interpretive Center, Macomb County Public Works, DTE Energy, Marine Pollution Control, Oakland County Parks, Voyage in Time.net, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Detroit Water & Sewerage Dept., Western Michigan University, Wayne State University, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Oakland Wildflower Farm, International Joint Commission, Osprey Watch of Southeast Michigan, City of Southfield and City of Auburn Hills.

Thank you to Great Lakes Guardians, DTE Energy Foundation and the Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner's Office as our lead sponsors in 2012!

  

 

 

Thank you also to Harris Family Philanthropic Fund, Critter Catchers and Alliance of Rouge Communities for their support.

USGS celebrates success of artificial habitat for lake sturgeon

Click here for the video and article.

Volunteers needed for the Rouge River Water Festival Sept. 11-14, 2012

Oakland County fourth and fifth-grade students within the Rouge River Watershed are invited to attend four, 25-minute presentations throughout the Cranbrook Institute of Science campus. Students will learn how water affects their daily lives and the important role they play in protecting this valuable natural resource.

The primary role of volunteers will be to guide a class to their presentations. There will be a volunteer orientation before each session of the Water Festival.

Each volunteer will receive a continental breakfast, a boxed lunch and a Water Festival T-shirt. Volunteers can participate on all four days or a single half-day, every contribution is appreciated. With your support and participation, we are able to offer the water festival learning experience without charge to schools. To register as a volunteer click here.

Rachel Carson Water in Art Contest - Vote Today!

Wade in and cast your vote for the 2012 winners of the Rachel Carson "Sense of Water" Contest. Send your ballot or email with your favorites to aging.info@epa.gov no later than September 24, 2012.

World Water Week is August 26-31, 2012

Learn how the world community is addressing water and food security issues at the 2012 Conference in Stockholm, Sweden.

Detroit River Water Festival Makes a Splash along the Riverfront!

 

On May 24, 2012 nearly 600 Detroit Public Schools 6th grade students attended the Detroit River Water Festival along the riverfront. Each class attended four different indoor and outdoor presentations.

43 Presenters from 18 partner organizations provided educational programs about all aspects of water, including invasive species, meauring water quality, food webs, Great Lakes fish, zooplankton, importance of wetlands and native plants, pollution prevention, soil erosion, French history of the Detroit River, Boat safety and more!

Many different partners came together as a committee to plan and host the event:

• DTE Energy Foundation
• Cranbrook Institute of Science
• International Joint Commission
• Detroit Riverfront Conservancy
• Detroit Water and Sewerage Department
• Detroit Public Schools
• Friends of the Detroit River
• Alliance for the Great Lakes
• Michigan Sea Grant
• Wayne State University
• Sierra Club - Great Lakes Program
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Friends of the Rouge
• University of Michigan - Dearborn
• Wayne County Community College
• Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority
• Michigan Department of Natural Resources
• Wayne County Department of Environment

Special thanks to our presenting sponsor!

Thank you to our supporting sponsors!

         

The U.S. Coast Guard did a helicopter search and rescue demonstration as a part of the Detroit River Water Festival.

Presenter Registration - 2012 Rouge River Water Festival

Attention Natural Resource Professionals and Educators,

Please join us as a Presenter for the Rouge River Water Festival at the Cranbrook Institute of Science in Bloomfield Hills, MI from September 11 through September 14, 2012.

For the past nine years, the Cranbrook Institute of Science has sponsored the Water Festival for nearly 2,000 fourth and fifth-grade students. Oakland County students within the Rouge River Watershed are invited to attend four, 25-minute presentations throughout the campus in classrooms, exhibit space and outdoors. Students will learn how water affects their daily lives and the important role they play in protecting this valuable natural resource.

Each presenter will receive a continental breakfast, a boxed lunch and a Water Festival T-shirt. Presenters can participate on all four days or just a single half-day – every contribution is appreciated. 

 Click here for online Presenter Registration.

The Presenter Registration deadline is August 17, 2012.

Please visit our website for more information about the event.

Great Lakes Place-based Education Webinars

Educational opportunities presented by the Alliance for the Great Lakes:

Making Connections: School/Community Partnerships

Since 2007, the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (GLSI)
has been encouraging collaborative partnerships between schools and their
communities. Through these partnerships, they’ve developed knowledgeable and
active stewards of the Great Lakes. The GLSI is expanding classrooms and
strengthening communities, and they’re presenting at our next webinar.

Jane Eberhardt, Shawn Oppliger, Michael Posthumus, Brandon Schroeder, and Mary
Whitmore, Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative

Date: Monday, July 23, 2012

Time: 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm CST

Register here: https://greatlakesevents.webex.com/greatlakesevents/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=669491566

Connecting Place-Based Education with On-the-Ground Stewardship

Illinois-Indiana SeaGrant, the Alliance for the Great Lakes
and Earth Partnership for Schools integrate place-based education to enhance
on-the-ground stewardship, and all three of these great organizations are
presenting at this webinar! Learn how students have made improvements to the
Great Lakes region and how you can help connect your students to their “place”.

• Robin Goettel and Terri Hallesy, Illinois-Indiana SeaGrant
• Hyle Lowry, Alliance for the Great Lakes
• Melissa Maxson, Earth Partnership for Schools

Date: Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Time: 11:00 am – 12:00 pm CST

Register here: https://greatlakesevents.webex.com/greatlakesevents/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=665665905

Place-Based Education: Climate Change Education Resources

Join us for an informative webinar focused on climate change
in the Great Lakes region, the impacts of climate change on our region and a
few fantastic resources for teaching your students about climate change. 
The Field Museum, Ohio SeaGrant, and University of Wisconsin- Steven’s Point
will be presenting. 

• Abigail Derby, The Field Museum
• Christina Dierkes, Ohio SeaGrant
• Sara Windjue, University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point

Date: Monday, August 13, 2012

Time: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm CST

Register here: https://greatlakesevents.webex.com/greatlakesevents/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=667369855