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Happenings in the Keweenaw Peninsula April 22, 2003 Press release, logo and photo © 2003 Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education

Earth Day youth projects invited to "make a difference" 

HOUGHTON -- Students and youth groups are invited to participate in the second annual “Kids Can Make a Difference” Earth Day Program. This program encourages youth to become involved in a project that will benefit their school or local community. The program is sponsored by the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education and the Wege Foundation. 

For Earth Day 2002, Jonelle France's 1st grade students at Bessemer Elementary collected brown paper bags from a local grocery store, decorated them with Earth Day messages and gave them back to the store to distribute. The class also cleaned up the City Park by picking up trash and raking. (File photo courtesy Western UP Center for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education)

“Classes and youth groups can choose their own project,” explains program coordinator, Pamela Schmidt. “Some project ideas include planting trees in their community; building bird nesting or bat boxes for an outdoor learning site; conducting a forest, park or stream clean-up; making a compost bin for a classroom or school cafeteria; establishing an in-school recycling program; planting a butterfly flower garden; or designing Earth-friendly cloth shopping bags for the local grocery store. Project possibilities are endless!” 

All classes and youth groups who conduct projects will receive an ice cream party in their classroom to celebrate their accomplishment. The Western U.P. Center staff will visit each project site to interview students and to award participating students an Earth Day Recognition Certificate for their efforts. Each project will also be entered into a special Earth Day Grand Prize drawing. Two grand prize winners in the grade K-5 age group, one from Houghton-Baraga-Keweenaw counties and one from Gogebic-Ontonagon counties, will receive a special Earth Day Toolbox full of exciting items to help them continue to learn about the Earth -- activity guides, children’s books, bug boxes, magnifiers and more! Likewise, two grand prize drawing winners in the grade 6-12 age group will each receive a $300 educational field trip! 

April 22 is Earth Day -- a day to recognize that human health and quality of life depend upon the Earth’s resources of clean air, soil, forests, minerals, rivers, lakes, oceans, scenic beauty, wildlife habitats and bio-diversity.

Classes and groups should have registered their projects with the Western U.P. Center by Friday, April 25, 2003. To request a registration form and free Earth Day project idea list, contact Pamela Schmidt of the Western U.P. Center, at (906) 487-3341 or plschmid@mtu.edu  or visit the Center’s Web site.

Editor's Note: Parents, please note that the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education is seriously threatened by Governor Granholm's proposed state budget cuts. The Center depends on this state funding to operate teacher and student programs in Baraga, Houghton, Keweenaw, Gogebic and Ontonagon counties. The following programs conducted by the Western U.P. Center at no charge to all 23 school districts in these five counties will be eliminated starting in the 2003-2004 school year, if the Governor’s proposal is approved: Family Math and Science Nights -- 2,507 students and parents After-School Science Classes -- 864 students Classroom Presentations -- 2,903 students and teachers Forest Field Trip Program -- 2,598 students and teachers Earth Day Program -- 1,106 students and teachers Western UP Science Fair -- 406 students FIRST LEGO League Teams 10 teams; 97 students Coordination of Assembly Programs 6,295 students In addition, the Western U.P. Center provides valuable teacher professional development for K-12 teachers. Visit the Center's Web site to find out how you can email or call your legislators to let them know you believe the programs that the Western UP Center offers to your children, and your children’s teachers, are important.

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