GVSU to host environmental education conference

Educators from across the Midwest will learn about hands-on environmental education opportunities at the fifth annual Great Lakes Place-based Education Conference November 5-7 at Grand Valley State University.

The conference, coordinated by Grand Valley's College of Education, will feature speakers who will share how they have contributed to positive changes in their communities. 

The keynote speaker is Chad Pregracke, founder of Living Lands & Waters, an organization providing river cleanup services to help with watershed conservation. A network of thousands of volunteers average nine states per year, cleaning up areas along the Mississippi, Illinois and Ohio rivers, as well as many of their tributaries. 

Pregracke, the author of “From the Bottom Up: One Man’s Crusade to Clean America’s Rivers,” was named CNN Hero of the Year in 2013. He is a member of the National Geographic Speakers Bureau and has delivered more than 300 presentations to corporate, public and student audiences worldwide.

Great Lakes Place-based Education Conference 

November 5-7

Eberhard Center

GVSU Pew Grand Rapids Campus 

The conference includes workshops, field trips and presentations focusing on how to move place-based environmental education forward in schools and communities. Sponsors include the Great Lakes Fishery Trust (through its Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative), Grand Valley State University, Public Sector Consultants, Open Systems Technology, Trout Unlimited, John Ball Zoo, Grand Rapids Public Museum, Earth Force and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

For more information contact Grand Valley's College of Education at (616) 331-6650.