Partnerships: A Rewarding Journey for Nonprofits and K-12 Students

Limited school budgets and resources offer nonprofits an opportunity to fill a void by bringing in-the-field environmental experiences to students. It is known that these experiences help students retain knowledge and remain interested in going to school. We have leveraged partnerships among non-profits, schools, community and governmental groups for over 10 years to provide hands-on environmental programs to school communities. We will share our experiences offering the following programs: Lake Erie Water Festival for 6th graders, River Raisin Water Festival for 6th graders, fishing club for 5th-6th graders, Environmental Career Days for 7th graders, and Maritime Trades Career Day for 10th-12th grades. Our presentation includes program goals, objectives, curricula and outcomes. We hope to encourage nonprofits and community groups to recognize how they can help fill budgetary and resource gaps in environmental science curricula.