Freeman Environmental Education Center

The Freeman Environmental Education Center is a 40-acre site owned by Ann Arbor Public Schools and located in Superior Township, northeast of Ann Arbor. Originally Dixboro School, and later renamed Freeman School, the school site was leased to an outside organization for many years before being rededicated as the Freeman EE Center in 2018. That same year, an advisory committee consisting of staff, students, and community members presented a set of recommendations for Freeman development to the Board of Education, and since that time, AAPS Environmental Education, Physical Properties and Capital Programs, and other district staff have been hard at work implementing these recommendations. Today, the site houses the AAPS EE Program office and is utilized for EE field trips, professional development, and restoration-based education projects.

Want to receive periodic "Friends of the Freeman EE Center" email updates? Sign up here!

“Friends of Freeman” Summer 2025 Newsletter

(You can access recent, past newsletters from Winter/Spring 2025 here and Fall 2024 here.).

Information for Neighbors and Visitors

The Freeman Environmental Education Center has become a busy place over the past few years, with thousands of AAPS students visiting each school year for environmental education field trips, Freeman Environmental Youth Council activities, ‘A2 Nature Guardians’ summer day camp, professional development sessions for teachers, and more. We invite you to take part in the growth and improvement of this amazing site by signing up for our “Friends of Freeman” email updates and participating in community events and volunteering activities.

Ways to support the Freeman EE Center:

Participate in volunteer events to help us restore and enhance the natural habitats.
Visit our grounds outside of school hours to utilize the trail system through the woodland and grassland.
Keep dogs on leash and pick up pet waste.
Avoid dumping yard waste.
Notify AAPS Environmental Education Program staff of any safety or security concerns.

Freeman EE Center Storymap

Learn about the past, present, and future of our unique site with this neat digital tool, which was developed through a collaborative project with the UM School for Environment and Sustainability. Click here to view.

Prescribed Burns at Freeman

In April 2025, a prescribed ecological burn of the northern, wooded section of the property was conducted by PlantWise, LLC.

Plantwise also did a prescribed burn on a ~1/2 acre section of grassland at Freeman (in the area circled in red in the adjacent photo) in April 2024. Prescribed burns have been a historical component of healthy ecosystems in Michigan and continue to serve as an ecological tool for natural habitat and landscape maintenance. This project is part of our habitat restoration efforts as we work to restore Oak Barren and Oak Hickory habitats and enhance educational opportunities on the site.

In this next phase of our prairie restoration study project, we are trialing how 2-3 year cycles of prescribed burning and overseeding can transition the former athletic field from non-native cool season turf grass to native prairie grasses and flowers. This area has been seeded with five species of prairie grasses and some quick-germinating flower species, and we are eager to observe how well these plants establish in the coming growing seasons.

Thank you to the many student and community volunteers who have participated in service events at Freeman! Your impact is significant and our appreciation is sincere! 😀

Over 70 different bird species have been observed at Freeman during surveys over the last five years! Check out recent species checklists on our eBird hot spot webpage here.

https://ebird.org/hotspot/L15503863/bird-list

Projects & Progress

In early October 2023, we hosted a large group of students from Huron High School's International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme for a day of experiential learning at Freeman, to launch their Collaborative Science research project. This year's research topic focused on soil conservation. Check out this AAPS District News story to learn more.

Huron IB Service-Learning; October 19-20, 2023

Students from Huron High School's International Baccalaureate Diploma and Career Programmes planted 30 trees and helped remove invasive woody plants. Learn more in this district news story here.

Prairie Restoration Project Update

We are trialing the use of repurposed billboard vinyl to prepare another section of our prairie study plot project for planting. The material is intended to smother the existing cool-season, non-native turf grass, in preparation for seeding native prairie grass and flower species, traditionally found in local Oak Barren habitats. Our hope is that the heavy-duty vinyl will be durable enough to be reused over many seasons for subsequent planting preparation.

University of Michigan Restoration Ecology Class Visit

In mid October 2023 and 2024, UM School for Environment and Sustainability and Program in the Environment students from Dr. Sara Adlerstein-Gonzalez's course visited Freeman for a special learning opportunity. Students learned about AAPS EE Program curricula, explored Master's student Esha Biswas' impressive work on our prairie restoration project, and participated in some hands-on service by collecting native grass and flower seeds and planting tree saplings. We continue to collaborate with UM faculty and students in various ways and are grateful for this mutually-beneficial community partnership!

We want to express our gratitude to the 50+ Huron High School students and staff who participated in a day of service at Freeman on April 14, 2023! Students from the International Baccalaureate CP and DP programs helped with trail maintenance, and prepared another section of our front courtyard for planting. They removed non-native and undesirable plants and sheet mulched approximately 600 square feet of garden with cardboard and hardwood mulch to prepare the area for a fall planting of native flowers and grasses. We appreciate you, student volunteers!

'A2 Nature Guardians' Summer Day Camp at Freeman

Starting in 2022, EE Program staff have offered two sessions of day camp for young learners to spend a week at the Freeman EE Center exploring ecology, restoration, and art concepts through project-based learning activities.

Renovated Classroom and Lab Spaces

Centrum Refresh with Graphics Representing the 5 Categories of EE

Native Plant Propagation and Gardening Projects

Compost and Vermiculture Infrastructure

Outdoor Seating and "Deeply Rooted" Art Installation

(Led by UM SEAS Master's Student Esha Biswas)

Check out this video we created about the FEEC as part of our "Let's Go to the Park!" series, designed to encourage AAPS families to get their kids out into local green spaces to enjoy and study nature.

"Carbon Farming" Community Science Study

Our Prairie Restoration Project

The former athletic field at the Freeman Environmental Education Center has been in a "no mow" protocol since 2019, which has created additional cover for insects, birds, amphibians, and mammals, and in turn, enriched environmental learning opportunities for students. With the long-term goal of increasing biodiversity in this prairie system, we are in the process of researching and trialing various strategies for replacing the existing turf grass with native flowers and grasses.

Coming soon to a former lawn near you!

Five outdoor study plots at the Freeman EE Center have been planted with native prairie flowers and grasses. This project is a collaboration with UM SEAS Master's student Esha Biswas.

We are studying different site preparation strategies, planting methods, and ratios of grasses to forbs. We also took baseline soil samples to help us study what happens underground as the prairie develops.

September 2021 video update on our prairie restoration study plot project!

December 2021 seeding event

Summer 2022 - Blooms and Bees!

Our demonstrated plot planted with seedlings has done great, with very little plant loss during this first full growing season. In some of our seeded plots, we've seen strong competition from turf grass and annual weeds. We are currently planning next steps for this project during the 2023 growing season.

Brood X cicadas at the Freeman EE Center in June 2021!

Freeman Environmental Education Center Advisory Committee Delivers Recommendations to the AAPS Board of Education

A twenty-five member committee of talented and knowledgeable community members worked diligently throughout the 2018-2019 school year to create a cohesive and inspiring vision for future FEEC programming. During this collaborative process, committee members researched exemplar programs from around the country, studied national NAAEE Guidelines for Excellence, and considered interests and needs from diverse stakeholders to design a set of recommendations that build from our existing EE program to expand offerings to AAPS students and the local community. These recommendations were presented to the Superintendent and the Board of Education in June 2019 to help inform program planning and implementation decisions in the coming years. You can view the presentation here.

Winter Survival at Freeman Environmental Education Center

During the winter season, the EE program brings the long-running “Winter Survival” program to Freeman! Fifth graders from across AAPS spend the day learning how to safely and responsibly build, maintain, and extinguish cooking fires to cook their lunches using nothing but natural materials on site. Students practice managing the cold and working in teams to accomplish a challenging goal, while enjoying time outdoors in this beautiful wooded location.

Development of the Freeman Environmental Education Center is in progress! Be sure to check back here for updates. You can learn more by reviewing these documents:

Freeman EE Center Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Slideshow

MLIVE article, October 18, 2018, "Ann Arbor schools 'recycles' leased building for environmental center"

AAPS article, October 16, 2018, "AAPS students study the biodiversity at the... Freeman Environmental Education Center"

BOE Freeman Advisory Committee SLIDE SHOW

BOE Freeman Advisory Committee update on YOUTUBE

Interested in supporting the Freeman Environmental Education Center?

For decades, the EE program has benefited from a thoughtful and caring network of community supporters and volunteers. We will continue to rely on this generous support to enhance our program as it grows with the development of the Freeman EE Center. It’s exciting for us to imagine the many community partnerships and collaborations that could blossom in the coming years to enrich EE teaching and learning in Ann Arbor!

If you would like to contribute to these efforts, please contact Coert Ambrosino (ambrosinoc@aaps.k12.mi.us, 734-474-5277) to discuss volunteer opportunities. Please also consider supporting the EE program by making a contribution to the Science and Environmental Education Endowment, managed by the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation. Thank you!

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