Place-Based Education Immersion Experiences

When it comes to connecting with a locality’s history, culture, and environment, there’s nothing quite like an “in place” experience. In fact, such outings are at the very core of place-based education.  Our Immersion Experiences offer you a chance to explore West Michigan.  What makes this region unique?  What can you learn here about “place” and “stewardship”?  How could you apply what you learn in your own community?

Get a “sense of place,” connect and converse with others, and generate ideas for powerful teaching and learning in your own place. Add an Immersion Experience to your conference agenda today!

Each Immersion Experience has upper/lower limits on the number of participants, as noted in the descriptions below.  Register soon to secure your spot! (If your choice is marked as being “full,” please contact Jan Sneddon at conference@greatlakesstewardship.org to be added to a waiting list.)

Registration for Immersion Experiences closes on November 2, 2023. 

Did you register for the conference but not for an immersion experience? Are you just now realizing how cool these are going to be? Not to worry—just click on the button below to sign up!

If an experience you are interested in is full, contact Jan Sneddon (conference@greatlakesstewardship.org) to discuss the possibility of being put on a waiting list. 

River Rewilding: Connecting Classrooms and Communities

Thursday, November 9, 9 a.m.–12 p.m.
Van and walking tour
Limits: 12-20 participants [EXPERIENCE IS FULL!]
Cost: $30

Engage in activities designed by the Groundswell Stewardship Initiative to engage students in a local environmental restoration project. Collect habitat and water quality data in two streams (Lamberton Creek and Grand River) and learn how research practices are developed for different ecosystems. Engage in a design challenge to create a Hester-Dendy macroinvertebrate sampler to take home. Discuss with colleagues how to embed similar student-led research efforts in larger ecological restoration projects in other communities, including your own. This experience highlights hands-on, meaningful research activities and directs you to lesson plans that align with Michigan’s academic standards. Guides: Eileen Boekestein from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and Matt Bain of the Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds (LGROW).

Michigan’s Dunes: Like No Place on Earth!

Thursday, November 9, 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
Van and walking tour
Limits: 7-14 participants [EXPERIENCE IS FULL!]
Cost: $60

Join a MiDNR interpreter at Hoffmaster State Park to hike the park’s spectacular and unique dunes. Take part in Hoffmaster’s popular, interpreter-led program, “Introduction to Michigan’s Sand Dunes.” Learn more about the value of public lands (including state/national parks and forests and local preserves) as sites for students’ explorations and stewardship efforts. The MiDNR’s Interpreter-led school programs are aligned with K-12 standards and also provide opportunities for students  to connect with environmental professionals in their communities. Guides: Kevin Frailey of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and staff of Hoffmaster State Park.

Lunch is provided.

Learn WILD with John Ball Zoo

Thursday, November 9, 12:30–3 p.m.
Van and walking tour
Limits: 10-14 participants [EXPERIENCE IS FULL!]
Cost: $30

For young learners, zoos provide a chance to experience and connect with the wonder of our natural world.  Older students gain understanding of the importance of conservation and stewardship and are also exposed to a wide variety of related careers.  Visit the John Ball Zoo and learn about the Zoo Lab. Designed as a week-long immersion program for K-12 students, the Zoo Lab includes behind-the-scene views of some of the Zoo’s habitats and operations, animal encounters, and observations of training or enrichment experiences offered to animals in their habitats.  Learn more about programming offered by the John Ball Zoo (and perhaps also at a zoo in your area).  Guides: Staff of John Ball Zoo. 

Lapping the Landmarks

Friday, November 10, 10:20 a.m.–12 p.m.
A 1.5-mile walking tour
Limits: 6-50 participants
Cost: $30

This walking tour is a must-do for those who really want to connect with the fair city of Grand Rapids!  Cruise by Campau Square, named after Louis Campau, who built a trading post, blacksmith shop, and cabin on the banks of the Grand River in the 1820s.  Explore some of the city’s “first and finest,” including historic sites, hotels, bridges, museums, Native American earthworks, churches, the Grand River and more—all neatly contained in a downtown loop.  Even longtime residents are sure to exclaim, “I never knew that!”  (In the event of inclement weather, this experience will be conducted in the nearly one-mile, covered skywalk that connects many buildings and points of interest within the city.)  Guide: Caroline Cook of Grand Rapids Running Tours.