Flint River GREEN

For detailed information on Flint River GREEN including current news and information about how your school or group can get involved in the program, please visit the program website.

What is Flint River GREEN?

A 6th – 12th grade citizen science, place-based education water quality program
Teachers and students test the water chemistry of their local streams and apply their results through community action projects
Participants are paired with expert mentors who fully support tailored classroom integration and connect the program to environmental careers
Students attend and present their findings at the annual Student Summit in May each year
Supports Michigan Science Standards/NGSS
Fall or spring stream testing options with opportunities to connect to other FRWC programs such as benthic macroinvertebrate sampling, paddling trips, Stewardship Day, and storm drain stenciling service learning

“Turning Students into Environmental Stewards”

The Flint River Watershed Coalition, with our Flint River GREEN partners coordinates an applied curriculum for Middle School and High School students that has a positive impact on the environment, now and into the future. We currently have several classrooms in a number of Genesee, Lapeer, and Oakland County school districts involved in Flint River GREEN.

GREEN = Global Rivers Environmental Education Network

Using scientific methods to test local streams and rivers, area students identify an environmental problem, research the causes of the problem, and work toward a solution in practices or policies that allowed the problem to emerge in the first place. The capstone of the program is the GREEN Student Summit, held each year in May.

Student Summit

At the Summit, students from across the watershed meet, present their results to one another, and attend various breakout sessions led by environmental professionals from a wide variety of fields. The summit provides our students with their first professional conference experience, hones their presentation skills, and allows sharing of information from school to school.

Expert Mentors

Teachers participating in the program are provided a classroom mentor to assist in monitoring and data interpretation, professional development opportunities (with CEU credits awarded), and testing materials. In addition, participating schools in Genesee County satisfy a portion of their requirements under their Phase II stormwater regulation requirements.

Citizen Science

The monitoring results gathered by students compliment the on-going benthic monitoring conducted by the Watershed Coalition. It also provides data for use by the Genesee County Drain Commissioner in fulfilling its responsibilities relative to storm water runoff concerns and abatement.

Partners

The program is partly funded by the Genesee County Drain Office and General Motors, both of whom provide classroom mentors and summit presenters. The Genesee and Lapeer Intermediate School Districts coordinate classroom involvement. Earthforce is the national organization that supports the training and other aspects of the program. For additional information, visit the official Flint River GREEN website or contact the Flint River Watershed Coalition at (810) 767-9491.