Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants
Environmental Education and Stewardship Through Direct Action, Civic Engagement and Community-Based Research in the Great Lakes Region
Department
Environmental Studies
College
Brooks College of Interdisciplinary Studies
Date Range
2011-2012
Abstract
GLISTEN (the Great Lakes Innovative Stewardship through Education Network), is a three-year project that will harness the expertise and innovation of academic institutions to promote stewardship of the Great Lakes, an ecosystem containing 20% of the world s fresh water. The goal of West Michigan GLISTEN cluster is to establish a robust environmental stewardship and education network that brings together faculty, undergraduate students, non-profit organizations and other community partners. The project is building the capacity of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) faculty to significantly increase understanding of environmental science and geospatial technologies by engaging undergraduate students in direct action, civic engagement and community-based research. Curriculum development efforts have been carefully coordinated among the partner institutions and aligned with the needs community-based organizations. Internships and field-based courses (e.g. Environmental Problem Solving, Sustainable Food Systems) are preparing students for green professional opportunities emerging from the Great Lakes restoration projects, and will provide them with scientific knowledge necessary to become enlightened stakeholders. All cluster projects and courses are focused on the impacts of anthropogenic land-cover and land-use changes (LCLUC) on West Michigan ecosystems and involve students in a number of ecosystem restoration projects in Muskegon, Ottawa, and Kent counties. Students from Grand Valley State University, Calvin College and Muskegon Community College have been involved in environmental stewardship projects addressing forestry, water protection, agriculture, wildlife habitat preservation, land use planning and recreational resource protection.
Conference Name
Planet under Pressure 2012
Conference Location
London, UK
ScholarWorks Citation
Lioubimtseva, Elena; Vail, J.; and Koetje, D., "Environmental Education and Stewardship Through Direct Action, Civic Engagement and Community-Based Research in the Great Lakes Region" (2011). Faculty Scholarly Dissemination Grants. 366.
https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/fsdg/366
