A new program through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) is looking to help students gain freshwater literacy while learning STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skills.
The grants are a part of the state's From Students to Stewards Initiative, a program offering funding for freshwater field experiences. Within these projects, students take place, problem, and project based approaches (3P) to help address and solve water issues at a local level in partnership with a community organization or group.
EGLE's Katie Mika says the stewardship program is an opportunity for students to get out of the classroom and think about the ways in what they're learning can be applied to real-life scenarios.
"It's a way to make connections with community groups that they may not have had before," Mika said. "And an opportunity to be creative and think about how people connect to freshwater in a different way than a classroom environment can provide."
To qualify for a grant interested parties must have a project idea in mind and be able to describe how it will implement the 3P approaches in a detailed application packet. Other factors included in grant selection include the amount of students participating, how it engages with the community, and the potential to actively address a local water challenge.
"There's a lot of value for students, teachers, and communities when students are able to get out and start to solve water issues and problems in their own communities," Mika said. "It's an opportunity for students to get out of the classroom and start thinking about the local context."
Michigan-based schools, districts, education agencies, academies, and tribal education agencies not administered by the Bureau of Indian Education are eligible for the grants, which are open until April 13 at 5 p.m.
Another grant program through the initiative is Wheels to Water, which helps reimburse the cost of freshwater ecosystem-based field trips for Michigan schools.
"This was something that came out of earlier opportunities that funding for field trips is often a gap," Mika said. "Sometimes you have students who live or go to school near a freshwater resource, but there just isn't an ability to get out to those places."
Unlike the freshwater literacy grants, these are non-competitive and will be available until December 2026 or when funds run out.
