From the lake to the classroom: AWRI deepens environmental learning

This story is part of a series recognizing the work being done through Grand Valley’s Division of K-12 Education Innovation and Scholar Success Impact 30 grant .

For more than 40 years, the Annis Water Resources Institute has welcomed K-12 students and educators aboard its research vessels to learn more about West Michigan’s waterways and ecosystems. 

But Christina Catanese, the AWRI’s education specialist, said the institute wants to build a more engaging experience, along with a curriculum that can sustain, encourage and inspire educators and their students throughout the school year.

Enter the Impact 30 grant funded and distributed by the Division of K-12 Education Innovation and Scholar Success . 

Throughout the summer, the grant has supported several initiatives involving GVSU-authorized charter schools or university partners, such as the Hauenstein Center’s Future Presidents of America Youth Leadership camp .  

Through the Impact 30, the AWRI is working with two GVSU-authorized charter schools this school year, introducing students to the real-world application of environmental science. 

Last week, students from Crossroads Charter Academy in Big Rapids spent the day in Muskegon learning more about the Muskegon River and Muskegon Lake watersheds with Catanese. 

“The students were so excited,” said Jessica Allen, Crossroads environmental science teacher. “As soon as they found out about the field trip, and that we were going and being able to do these things, they couldn’t wait to go.”  

Aboard the W.G. Jackson research vessel, the students collected and measured water-quality data from Muskegon Lake. Back at AWRI, they applied the data they collected to classroom lessons. 

“They are the scientists for the cruise,” said Catanese. “They're not learning about science. They're actually doing the science and using real scientific tools to collect data.

“They asked, ‘Oh, is this the same Muskegon River that we have up in Big Rapids?’” Catanese said. “Yes, it flows all the way down this way, becomes Muskegon Lake and flows into Lake Michigan.”

Catanese said the Impact 30 grant allows AWRI to expand the day’s experience, assisting teachers throughout the school year with resources and activities that can connect the field experience to lessons in their schools.

“We want to provide more of a bigger learning arc, building around the cruise experience, but then also giving them more tools and resources so that they can build on it once they're back at school,” Catanese said. 

For Allen, the day at AWRI provided a foundation for helping her students understand the interconnectedness of their local waterways and the science behind them. Back at Crossroads, she’s guiding her freshmen and sophomores in studying the water quality of Mitchell Creek, a tributary of the Muskegon River that runs through property across the street from the school.

“It means for me that I get to not only just teach my students what these concepts are, but they actually get to see them firsthand, how they're done, how you take those results and you interpret them and what it means in the real world,” Allen said.

“Our students are our future,” she added. “If we can get them to be aware of what pollution does to our environment now, then they'll make sure that as they grow older and become adults that our future is safe.”

By taking what they learned at AWRI back to Mitchell Creek, students can see how environmental science applies to a familiar place — and how that local waterway is connected to a much larger watershed. Catanese said making those connections is a key part of the experience.

“It gives them a deeper connection with the water resources and how even though they live an hour or so away up in Big Rapids, what they do up there has an impact all the way downstream here,” Catanese said.