Project Description:
Our project engaged students in studying the benefits of native plants to our watershed and within suburban/urban locations. Students designed, planted, and maintained a bat garden that will attract insects to help sustain bat populations. Students built bat houses to hang and monitor bat populations. Students planted native plants to attract butterflies. Each year students release monarch butterflies, so we expanded the area for milkweed plantings as well. Students also participated in the removal of invasive species around our outdoor classroom, the Outback.

Fostering Lifelong Stewardship:
Students learned more about the importance of native plants, how to help our watershed, the benefits of bats to seed dispersal and insect control, and the need to help restore ecosystems. The students will be better prepared to educate others about how to protect our watershed.

Partners:
River City Wild Ones

Teachers:
4

Students:
115

Funder:
Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative, GVSU College of Education

Showcase Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pERzCdCjFnk

Project Description:
Students researched components of the Grand River Rapids Restoration project, designed and created shadow puppets and puppet show scripts, and educated younger students about the Grand River’s impacts on our community. They also designed and created rain garden landscape plans for a local business; these designs were transformed into felt art pieces.

Fostering Lifelong Stewardship:
Students have a better understanding of their human impacts on place, and as a result, they will be able to make more informed decisions about their actions and hopefully recognize the long-term consequences of short-term decisions.

Partners:
Kent Conservation District

Teachers:
3

Students:
80

Funder:
Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative

Showcase Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P5Eu2m7Em0

Project Description:
Our classes worked together to learn more about recycling and our impact on the world. We took two field trips, one to the Recycling Center and the other to John Ball Zoo. We used additional funds to purchase products to help with our school’s recycling program.

Fostering Lifelong Stewardship:
Students learned more about how to reduce their waste in an effort to help our planet, and its animals, be healthy. They learned what goes into exhibit design to help animals at the zoo have a good living environment. Place-based learning helped our students see that they have an impact, either negative or positive, and through our experiences, they were able to choose the more positive impact by being better informed and having more resources to help them persuade others to have a positive impact.

Partners:
Kent County Recycling and Education Center, John Ball Zoo

Teachers:
2

Students:
51

Funder:
GVSU College of Education