By Neil Moran
Living in an area surrounded by woods and water creates a unique opportunity to learn how to manage our natural resources. It’s even better when your classroom faces the very resource you’re trying to manage and protect.
High school juniors and seniors in the Eastern Upper Peninsula (EUP) interested in a career in natural resource management can gain knowledge in class and the field by enrolling in a Career and Technical Education (CTE) class held at Lake Superior State University’s (LSSU) Richard and Theresa Barch Center for Research and Education (CFRE).
Kirsten Hindy, CFRE’s Outreach and Education Specialist, teaches the work-based learning class out of a second-floor classroom at the new state of the art facility that faces the St. Mary’s River in Sault Ste. Marie. It’s an idyllic setting for a class that focuses on fish and preservation of our lakes, rivers and streams.
Hindy says students enrolled in the class can explore numerous disciplines in natural resources including water quality, wildlife and forestry. High school students who complete the class are eligible for college credits. Representatives from the Department of Natural Resources and other agencies often visit to speak to the students about what to expect from a career in natural resource management.
“The class has a focus on careers and work-based learning so students are able to determine if a career in natural resources is a good fit for them,” says Hindy. “Kids get to do a lot of the things not many college students get to do. I think the kids enjoy it because every day is different.”
Although there is plenty of in-class book learning, CTE students get their hands dirty handling fish at the hatchery and romping through woods and water.
Some of the hands-on activities high school students have participated in include the broodstock collection, egg take and fin clipping of the Atlantic salmon next door at LSSU’s Fish Hatchery located at the east end of Cloverland’s hydroelectric plant. They also plant wild rice (manoomin) with Bay Mills Biological Service and collect water samples from local waterways. Last year they took samples of the water at Ashmun Creek and determined there was a chloride issue in the water. Findings were reported to Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE). Two students presented the results to the Michigan Science Teachers Association Conference held in Lansing.
The natural resource class takes up two high school class periods which the students don’t mind. The CTE class is administered by Brimley Area Schools and funded by a millage.
“Every single kid in the class last year said they feel like it made their day go faster, partly because of the different atmosphere, but also because of the different activities we do.” She said the kids even enjoyed an activity where they removed, by hand, the invasive weed species, buckthorn. Although it wasn’t the most desirable job, Hindy says they had “a clear goal and hit it out of the park.”
Attending the CFRE class can be a springboard to pursuing higher education in natural resources for many students. One such student who was inspired to do so was Sault High graduate, Brynn Jannetta. Jannetta says she enjoyed fishing with her father as a kid and biology courses in high school but never imagined the opportunity that lay ahead.
“I had never seen a class that had so much field work,” says Jannetta, “I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’ve got to do this and signed up immediately.’”
As a result, she was able to get certified in watershed management and complete work on her MIWaterNet, a sophisticated instrument that provides real-time data on water quality and hydrology across wadable streams throughout northern Michigan.
The natural resources class inspired Jannetta to pursue a degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Management at LSSU, where she is currently a sophomore. It has led to what she calls a fun job working in CFRE’s Discovery Center, which is open to the public and educates all ages on the importance of preserving our natural resources.
“We’re working with school groups and the public in general, it’s wonderful to inspire the next round of biologists,” she says. “I love it because I’m able to talk about what I’m passionate about.”
LSSU Creates College of The Great Lakes Ecology & Education
Capitalizing on its singular location in the heart of the Great Lakes, in July, Lake Superior State University (LSSU) announced the creation of the College of the Great Lakes Ecology and Education (CoGLEE). LSSU established the new college to fulfill multiple goals:
- increasing enrollment, retention and graduation;
- training the next generation of conservationist leaders and teachers;
- delivering high-impact practices for students, such as research, internships, and volunteerism;
- partnering with public and private natural resource agencies on environmental causes vital to the area;
- expanding revenue streams for the blue economy that flows across the Great Lakes; and bettering the Great Lakes region.
Dr. Ashley Moerke, executive director of the Richard and Theresa Barch Center for Freshwater Research and Education was named founding dean of CoGLEE which will include the School of Natural Resources and School of Education.
“I am honored to be part of this exciting initiative that recognizes LSSU’s unique location at the nexus of three Great Lakes and that will build upon our natural, cultural and social resources for our students to become the next local and global leaders in natural resources, conservation and education,” said Moerke. “It will leverage the Great Lakes and our state-of-the-art facilities, research and educational assets at Barch CFRE to provide unparalleled hands-on opportunities for students pursuing careers in natural resources, conservation and education.”