Students and Youth Groups Invited to
Participate in the "We Can Make A Difference" Program
Schools and community youth groups in Houghton, Baraga, Gogebic and
Ontonagon Counties are invited to participate in the 1st Annual "We Can
Make A Difference" Program in celebration of Earth Day 2001. The goal
of the program is for students to develop a project that will increase
their environmental awareness and help to improve their school or local
community.
"We hope this program will help students gain a sense of environmental
stewardship and enhance their awareness of our local environment," explains
program coordinator, Andrea Hinsenkamp. "The 30th anniversary of Earth
Day is April 22. We thought this would be a good way to get kids involved
with the environment in recognition of Earth Day."
Projects should be started before the program's registration deadline
of Monday, April 2, 2001. Some possible project ideas include planting
a butterfly garden, building bird-nesting boxes or bat boxes, organizing
a tree-planting project, conducting a waste free lunch for their school,
starting an After-School Ecology Club, setting up an in-school recycling
program, and conduct a forest, schoolyard, or stream clean-up. The possibilities
are endless! All projects will receive an Earth Day Recognition Certificate
and have their names entered into a special drawing.
Winners in the K-5 group will receive a special Earth Day Toolbox that
will contain a variety of exciting items, such as: books, bug boxes, magnifers,
and animal track molds! Winners in the 6-12 group will receive a unique
paddling experience on the Portage Waterway in the Spirit of the Voyageur
canoe. This is a 36-foot canoe made of birch bark, spruce roots and white
cedar. The canoe holds up to 25 paddlers! These magnificent canoes carried
goods and furs from Montreal to Lake Superior during the Fur Trade Era,
which students will learn more about with their host--professional canoeist
and storyteller, Ron Hobart.
For more information or to receive an Earth Day 2001 "We Can Make A Difference"
registration form, contact Andrea Hinsenkamp at 487-3341 or alhinsen@mtu.edu
or visit our website at http://emmap.mtu.edu/gem/.
This program is sponsored by the Center for Science and Environmental
Outreach at Michigan Technological University, the Copper Country AmeriCorps
Program, and the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics
and Environmental Outreach.
