Stewardship Project Gallery
2022-23
Lake Superior Celebration Welcome Message
The Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative leadership team welcomes school-community teams to the 2023 Lake Superior Celebration.
Watch the welcome message as a class! Here is a transcription of the short welcome message to share as needed.
A big thank you to the students and schools for their positive impact on Lake Superior Watershed and our communities.
How to Navigate the Project Gallery:
Click on the links below as you scroll down to browse the online gallery of stewardship projects.
Elementary School Stewardship Projects
Arvon Township School - Sustaining Gardens & Habitats
Students are learning sustainable gardening as well as habitat restoration for native species.
T.R. Davis Elementary- Food for Animals and People
In 2022-23, the elementary students at Dollar Bay- Tamarack City Elementary School are addressing community & watershed needs by:
learning how to plant native plants and why that's important
growing their own food in the school garden spaces
caring for natural areas
CJ Sullivan Elementary - Native Plant Restoration: Tansy Terminators
This project improves our Lake Superior Watershed ecosystem by decreasing invasive plants & increasing food sources for monarch butterflies, pollinators, and other beneficial insects on school grounds. Tansy has overtaken many areas at our school, including the native plant raised beds that were built as part of a previous LSSI project. Students learned about native and invasive plants, then chose and are helping restore an area that had been overtaken by tansy.
Copper Island Academy - Rain Gardens and Runoff
In 2021- 2022, K-8 students at Copper Island Academy are learning about environmental factors and concerns like road salt and stormwater runoff. They designed a rain garden in order to prevent some of the runoff from our parking lot from entering the wetlands on our school property.
Students collected data on Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and did site analysis including runoff mapping and pervious and impervious surfaces to propose the location and design of a rain garden on our school grounds.
In 2022-2023 students surveyed needs related to TDS and erosion for rain gardens in their school neighborhood to develop partnerships within their local community.
Houghton Elementary School - Cultivating Creativity
Our students met with farmers and then designed and created an interactive cafeteria mural to foster an appreciation of fresh fruits and vegetables among our student body. They also planned and planted a second indoor garden tower for fresh locally sourced salad bar greens all year long.
Barkell Elementary - Pollination Garden
We worked on weeding and planting native species in our pollination garden. We worked on the problems of invasive species in our area and the impacts of them.
Middle School Stewardship Projects
Washington Middle School - Water & Woods
Our students worked to cleanup the Calumet Waterworks beach of all trash and debris. We removed spotted knapweed, and invasive species, and will be planting a native plant, lupine, to help combat it. We did a cross curricular project in the school forest, where students learned through hands-on experience disciplines such as forestry management, habitat suitability, plant species identification, and how to use handheld GPS’s.
Click here to learn more: https://prezi.com/view/91kYo6ajBEqLVFeYYNHV/
E.B. Holman - Knowing Your Place
The 2022-23 LSSI team has been working on expanding and improving our current projects. In 2022 we added pollinator gardens, increased our composting capabilities, and involved more students in our beekeeping program. E.B. Holman has participated in LSSI with a Stewardship Project for the last 15 years. This year's team is made up of 2nd, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th graders. Watch the videos above to see what we have been doing!
Jeffers High School - Community and School Waste Reduction Project
Students investigated reducing waste on the school grounds and in the lunchroom. Their final project was to propose the installation of a trash can in the school parking lot and a school lunchroom plastic recycling program. The students actions could reduce waste entering into the watershed in and out of the the area landfill. This year the students collected 100 pounds of trash, 30 more pounds than last year.
Houghton Middle School - What’s Snow Interesting About Life the Keweenaw?
This project highlights how snow and winter affects many aspects of our lives in this unique community and environment. Topics included snow physics, weather, community and human impacts, and biodiversity. Even with climate change, the large amount of snow we experience each winter here in the Keweenaw is not going away anytime soon. Snow, especially in the extraordinary amounts that we receive it, requires specific knowledge, equipment, infrastructure, and systems to manage it and thrive in it. There are unique skills and knowledge that must be passed on to subsequent generations to make life here possible and enjoyable, and to be able to protect our special lands and ecosystems. Students studied snow fall record data and collected and examined different kinds of snow crystals. They heard from various guest speakers and participated in hands-on activities related to their presentation topics. They also interviewed someone about their epic snow experiences and turned these interviews into short stories highlighting the excitement and hardships that come with big snow. We then collaborated with a 7th grade ELA class to get feedback on the students’ drafts before finalizing their stories to share with our community partners and fellow classmates.
In addition to learning a bit of science behind the formation of snow crystals and various weather patterns that produce the unique snow conditions we experience in our area, students met various professionals and interviewed elders, broadening their ideas about jobs related to snow and the impacts of snow on life in the Keweenaw and developing an appreciation for the unique weather and landscape we experience here.
Access stories here!
Stranded in Snow by Katia Rudak
Immersed in Windy White by Sophia Blake
High School Stewardship Projects
Bessemer School - Powdermill Creek Watershed Assessment and Forestry Day
Students worked at the Powdermill Creek in Bessemer, MI to assess how healthy the watershed is. Based on the fish found and aquatic invertebrates, that determines how healthy the stream is. This particular field experience format has been used for more than 20 years with modifications happening based on what works well and what presenters are available. Students are exposed to four different stations where they learn about forestry practices, fisheries biology, aquatic entomology and forest succession.
Chassell High School - School Forest Biodiversity Project
Chassell LSSI Project 2023 - Beth Squires
Our new project involves documenting the biodiversity in our “backyard”. One of the ways we are doing this is with Critter Cameras (game cameras) to observe wildlife. We will also be documenting weather patterns with our new weather station to collect data on how weather impacts biodiversity and species interactions.
Baraga High School - School Garden Composting Program
Baraga Area Schools currently has a school garden with a greenhouse and 7 raised beds maintained by our environmental science class; this year's LSSI project focuses on improving use of these resources. Our environmental science class added three side by side compost bins to the garden. This system allows students to observe several different stages of the composting process at the same time. This activity also includes vermicomposting, making and using compost tea, pest management with best organic practices and minimizing commercial fertilizer use. Stay tuned for more!
Luther L. Wright High School - Schoolyard Beautification & Pondering Stewardship
High school Biology, AP Environmental science, Chemistry and Earth Science classes (MS 7th and 8th grade sciences) prepped flower beds with 1st and 3rd grade classes. Together we beautified OUR school yard with a mix of annuals and perennials!
Students in AP Environmental Science classroom also visited Miner’s Memorial Park to learn about the history of the area and the issue related to its mining. After our visit students used the Eathforce Project selection tool to consider Miner’s Memorial Park and Aurora Pond to consider the projects that would fit the needs of the place and be of interest. Students selected butterfly garden and Aurora Pond water quality monitoring as key projects that are of importance to them and would benefit the community watershed.