Daughter and dad team up for Great Lakes literacy - Michigan (.gov)

First-year Alcona Community Schools middle schoolhouse teacher Liz Thomson is getting noticed for empowering her 120 seventh- and eighth-graders with hands-on survey of h2o and coastal wetlands, boosted by a State of Michigan grant. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) featured Thomson and her father, chap teacher Bob Thomson, successful a profile connected its website.

Alcona is 1 of 16 Michigan schools oregon districts to stock $205,028 successful assistance funds to make Great Lakes-based STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs. Liz Thomson’s task received $6,892 to expand so-called 3-P learning (problem-, place- and project-based) by studying coastal and wetland habitats.

Liz Thomson (standing astatine close with her father) participated successful the Thunder Bay Watershed Project taught by her dad, Bob Thomson. (Credit: Brandon Schroeder, Michigan Sea Grant)

Liz’s begetter is her mentor teacher and a longtime teacher person with the Center for Great Lakes Literacy (CGLL) network, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Sea Grant-led web engaging successful corporate learning to beforehand Great Lakes literacy among educators and students. In 2017, helium was the Michigan Science Teachers Association’s Science Educator of the Year. When Liz was an Alpena Public Schools student, she participated successful Bob’s Thunder Bay Watershed Project, monitoring h2o quality, tracking invasive species, studying marine debris, helping to reconstruct autochthonal food populations, and more.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the authorities backing successful June 2022 to enactment freshwater literacy efforts and hole students for STEM careers.

“These grants volition enactment freshwater literacy programs and connection students entree to existent satellite STEM experiences,” the politician said successful a statement. “Our Great Lakes are our top asset, and we indispensable empower young Michiganders to larn much astir them and proceed advancing conservation efforts. Michigan’s economical competitiveness depends connected a workforce proficient successful STEM and committed to solving our biggest challenges. Investments similar these volition assistance hole our kids to pb our authorities into the future.”

Gov. Whitmer’s bureau created the assistance backing successful collaboration with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), continuing the 2020 From Students to Stewards Initiative and 2021 MiSTEM Transformative Playbook grants.

“This continued concern betwixt EGLE and LEO supports students and educators done caller and innovative approaches to STEM acquisition to assistance adjacent our state’s endowment spread and hole our students for high-demand vocation paths successful STEM fields and beyond,” LEO Director Susan Corbin said successful a statement.

EGLE Director Liesl Clark called the backing an concern successful Michigan’s aboriginal leadership.

“These innovative acquisition programs and experiences volition signifier tomorrow’s advocates, policymakers and champions who volition worth and safeguard Michigan’s waterways and watersheds,” Clark said successful a statement.

The Alcona task is besides supported by Michigan Sea Grant done the CGLL teacher mentorship programme and the NOAA, with backing enactment from the GLRI, the section Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative, and the state’s MiSTEM Network.