News - Mission Earth

2023 Michigan Water Festival

This daylong festival, held annually for 5th and 6th-grade students living in Monroe County, Michigan, provides hands-on activities for students to learn about the local environment and GME-UT attended to the water festival. About 275 schoolchildren attended presentations held by environmental experts hosted by the River Raisin Institute. This free program helped students learn about the importance of water and environmental issues impacting the Laker Erie region.

Hands-on presentations are designed to educate children about clean, fresh water, pollution prevention and sustainability concepts, all while utilizing the award-winning IHM Sisters green campus as a living laboratory. The Lake Erie Water Festival is supported by the Monroe County Environmental Fund. This event is part of a larger initiative to promote youth water education across the state.

Organizations attending and hosting stations were: Monroe Conservation District, Huron-Clinton Metroparks, University of Toledo, University of Michigan-Dearborn Environmental Interpretive Center, Wild Birds Unlimited of Woodhaven, St. Mary Organic Farm, Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge, Bird Center of Michigan, Michigan Nature Association/Michigan Vernal Pools Partnership, River Raisin Watershed Council, Fluid Equipment Development Co., Monroe County Museum System and Ohio State University Stone Laboratory/Ohio Sea Grant. University of Toledo presenters included Dr.Kevin Czajkowski, PI of GLOBE Mission EARTH and GME-UT staff members Sara Mierzwiak, Yitong Jiang and Farrokh Namjooyan. At our GLOBE tent, students learned to collect atmosphere and hydrosphere data.

 

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