Resources
MWEE TOOLKIT
Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences
The MWEE Toolkit provides web pages for the four essential elements, with supporting practices integrated throughout. Visit the MWEE Toolkit Homepage to navigate to an overview of each section or go directly to the individual web pages for each essential MWEE element: Issue Definition, Outdoor Field Experiences, Synthesis and Conclusions, and Environmental Action Projects. The MWEE Toolkit has resources to guide you from the planning stages of your MWEE through to an environmental action project.
Community-based Issue Identification
This tool is a resource for developing high-quality, student-driven projects that address a real environmental need. It can help you identify the specific needs in your community. Use the tool to:
- Explore the environmental needs in your community
- Identify potential solutions
- Put those solutions into action
Watershed Exploration Resources
Our teachers and partners create amazing resources to help you and your students explore the local watershed. This page houses resources presented during professional learning sessions - and more
Place Based Stewardship
Groundswell is part of the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative, a state-wide network of organizations engaged in advancing place-based education in K-12 schools. Educators who used place-based education consistently report that their students have become increasingly engaged and enthusiastic about learning. Below are materials developed by the GLSI to guide educators engaged in place-based stewardship education (PBSE).
Teacher Created Resources
Resources by Groundswell Educators
Discover lessons, activities, and resources created by Groundswell teachers to inspire meaningful environmental and place-based learning. These materials reflect the expertise and creativity of educators connecting students to the places where they live. As a Groundswell educator, do you have a resource you have created and want to share? Contact Groundswell!
Explore Resources Created By Groundswell Teachers
Resources From Groundswell Professional Learning Opportunities (PLOs) and Projects
Learn More About Stormwater Pollution
Discover how local students worked to protect local lakes and rivers through public service announcements created for WGVU. This resource explains how stormwater runoff carries pollutants from roads, sidewalks, and lawns into nearby waterways, contributing to nonpoint source pollution, and highlights simple actions everyone can take to help keep our water clean.
Environmental Justice Resources
Many thanks to our community partners who fostered an engaging discussion around environmental justice at the Groundswell Summer Institute 2016. Below are some of the resources shared during that session.
- Principles of Environmental Justice - 17 principles adopted by the delegates to the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in 1991
- "Greening the Ghetto" TED talk by Majora Carter - an inspiring talk by an activist fighting for environmental justice in the South Bronx
- Teaching Tolerance - classroom materials and other resources on diversity, equity, and justice
- Center for Ecoliteracy - classroom materials around ecological education, food and sustainability, and systems change
- EcoJustice Education - book on engaging students in environmental justice and sustainability
- A City within a City: The Black Freedom Struggle in Grand Rapids, Michigan - book focusing on civil rights struggles in Grand Rapids
Cultural Competency Resources
We were fortunate to have representatives from The Hispanic Center of Western Michigan present at the Groundswell Summer Institute 2016. They shared strategies for teaching language learners and engaged us in discussion around cultural competency and issues specific to the Hispanic community in Grand Rapids. Below are some of the resources they provided.
Community Advocacy Resources
We were grateful for the opportunity to have a representative from LINC UP present at the Groundswell Summer Institute 2016. He shared strategies for advocacy and community engagement. Among the information he shared was the Midwest Academy's strategy chart.
The Midwest Academy is an organization based out of Chicago dedicated to advancing social justice.
Oakhill Cemetery
Step into the history of Grand Rapids through Oakhill Cemetery, one of the city's oldest historic cemeteries. This collection of activities invites students to explore the lives and legacies of former mayors, founders, Civil War veterans, business leaders, and other influential residents while making connections between the past and present. Through research and reflection, students will compare their own experiences to those of earlier generations, summarize the contributions of historic Grand Rapidians, engage in conversations about local history with their families, and discover the important role cemeteries play in preserving community heritage.
