Recently, University Outreach partnered with the Udall Foundation’s Parks in Focus (PIF) Program and the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Flint to launch a pilot program to introduce 10 youth to area parks through digital photography. Over the last few weeks, participants have explored Ligon Outdoor Center, Max Brandon City Park, Bluebell Beach County Park, Stepping Stone Falls and Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge on day-long trips. The program culminated last weekend (August 19-21) with a camping trip to Bay City State Recreation Area. The adventure was full of firsts for the participants: camping in tents, s’more-making over a campfire, fishing, bird watching, and more.

“I’m feeling like a new person discovering new and exciting things.” – Jacara, age 12

The mission of the program was to connect underserved youth to nature through photography. For middle-school youth who rarely venture beyond their neighborhoods, a program like this can open windows of story-telling and self-expression, can spark a new interest in science and nature, and can, ultimately, change lives. Throughout the summer, participants got their hands and shoes dirty as they camped, hiked, fished, explored, and photographed. They learned about the natural history of Saginaw Bay Region, were introduced to people who work within parks, and developed team-working skills.

The Flint program was initiated by and is funded through University Outreach at the University of Michigan-Flint with additional support from Michigan State Parks and REI of Ann Arbor.

Want more? Check out photos of the kids’ adventures on Flickr!

Discovering PLACE, University Outreach’s place-based education initiative, recently held its first community exchange event,  “Students Growing Roots”.

The event, held May 9, 2011 at downtown Flint’s Riverfront Banquet Center, drew more than 100 Flint-area students who got involved with Discovering PLACE this year. The students, their families and school staff members gathered to share their success stories.

“But what also became apparent was the supportive community culture that has been created through these projects,” said Danielle Gartner, Discovering PLACE coordinator.

Students alternated between presenting their own school projects and attending other students’ presentations. McMonagle Elementary second-graders made cookbooks and shared recipes featuring produce varieties being grown in the school’s hydroponic garden, while Tucker Elementary kindergartners from Shelly Roberts’ class acted out “The Carrot Seed” story by Ruth Krauss, dramatizing how the seed was watered and weeded until a carrot grew.  Between acting out the play and their own courtyard garden experience, students have now memorized a sequence of gardening steps.

Some of the children were impressed by Beecher High School students big-screen presentation on the school’s recently opened nature trail, said Roberts, noting the high school students have now become role models to her kindergartners, who aim to use the big screen themselves someday. Educators also used the bus trip to point out local features, including the Flint River.

Along with the opportunity for students and staff to compare notes, the exchange drew members of the Flint community attending a nearby University of Michigan-Flint event. Of the guests attending the Annual Gathering of the Flint River Corridor Alliance , who came out to hear environmental journalist Bill McKibben, approximately 30 stayed to learn more about the school projects and offer support. “We were once in your shoes,” they told students.

“What was really exciting,” said Gartner, “was seeing students connecting with their communities, teachers encouraging each other and parents coming out to support the work.”

High school students also toured the UM-Flint campus and were invited to hear McKibben at a university-sponsored Critical Issues Forum luncheon, while elementary students were treated to a drawing lesson by Michigan illustrator Wendy Halperin (www.drawingchildrenintoreading.com).

See more Discovering PLACE UM-Flint event photos – or upload your own – at flickr.com.  For more information on uploading photos to our page, please send us an e-mail.

Discovering PLACE is a resource to help Flint-area urban schools create hands-on curriculum projects to connect youth with their communities. Discovering PLACE offers mini-grants, teacher resources and a network of support for educators to establish these projects. One of eight hubs in the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative, Discovering PLACE operates through University Outreach at the University of Michigan-Flint.

The purpose of the University of Michigan-Flint’s Alternative Spring Break program is to enable students to learn about issues such as homelessness, poverty, hunger, violence, environmental issues, and complex social and cultural issues. Students will listen to and understand community needs and continue a commitment to community service and social change.

The University of Michigan-Flint’s Alternative Spring Break is a University Outreach sponsored program that offers a community service learning experience on a local level during the traditional Spring Break of the academic calendar. Students spend time learning about complex social, cultural and environmental issues. During spring break, groups carpool to a selected site to engage in meaningful action toward a greater understanding of root causes of relevant issues. Students participate in critical reflection and analysis of social justice issues they experience first-hand.

The program is dedicated to providing break opportunities to as many students as possible, while striving to increase community impact and student learning and address societal problems with understanding and compassion. Critical elements of this process are recognizing community needs and assets while working in partnership with community members. Equally important is translating the experience into an understanding of the complexity and interconnectedness of social problems and making a commitment to being part of the long-term solution.

Some of the sites that ASB have served are, but are not limited to: helping with hurricane Katrina cleanup, urban renewal with the Genesee County Land Bank and the Salvation Army, help with afterschool programming in local middle and elementary schools, serving meals at homeless shelters and also doing small construction projects.

ASB 2011

This year, our students donated their time at Habitat for Humanity, YWCA, Durant Tuuri Mott Elementary School, Kings Karate and Wellness Aids Services, Inc. We had 64 students volunteer throughout the week of spring break, for a total of 192 service days. At 5 hours per day, the students donated approximately 960 hours throughout the week. According to the IRS these hours can be billed at $19.79/hour for a value at $18,998.40. The University of Michigan-Flint students once again made a very significant impact on the Flint community and beyond!

Keep an eye out for details on ASB 2012 on University Outreach’s Alternative Spring Break page.