GREEN stands for Global River Environmental Education Network. GREEN is a citizen science project for middle and high school students. Teachers take their students to the stream to do chemical water quality testing.
Students test pH, phosphates, nitrates, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and fecal coliform. The data is shared with local municipalities including the Genesee County Drain Commission. Students do real-world science the engages Next Generation Science Standards and government officials use the data.
In the 2023-24 school year, 19 teachers took over 1900 students to the stream.
The Flint River Environmental Leaders were at Genesee County Day on Saturday, June 1 at Crossroads Village. They were providing information about how to deal with household hazardous waste. FREL interacted with 485 people at the event.
FREL would like everyone in Genesee County to know that there is a flyer listing all of the places that take different kinds of household waste. Here is a link to that flyer.
On Wednesday, May 22, nine of the 19 teachers who did water quality testing with their students attended the GREEN Student Summit. There were 300 students in attendance at Kettering University.
Students presented their water quality test results. Eight different presentations from professional people in the science and environmental world were going on throughout the day as well.
Students got to experience a science conference. They were exposed to topics including benthic monitoring, the difference between storm drains and sewer systems, PFAS, recycling, ways to reduce your carbon footprint, and how an art teacher did the Salmon in the Classroom program with his students.
GREEN program training logistics will now be communicated via a series of videos. This is REQUIRED for new GREEN teachers. All 6th – 12th grade teachers working within the Flint River watershed are welcome to participate in this approximately 5 hour virtual series in order to participate in the Flint River GREEN program.
The organizations above in partnership with Discovering PLACE, Michigan State University Extension, and the MiSTEM Network have been in collaboration since 2019 to construct a framework for professional development that cross-trains staff and engages students in Meaningful Watershed Education Experiences in the OST environment. This mutually beneficial staff training has expanded capacity, increased the sustainability of multiple community partnerships, and serves as a resource for others seeking to utilize freshwater place-based enrichment to strengthen OST programming.
The partnerships developed through this project will lead to sustainable OST programming options for schools, scouts, churches, neighborhood groups, and more!
Come back soon for updates or reach out to the Education Programs Manager for questions: email Autumn Mitchell or dial (810)-767-9491.
