Fruitport science class wins state environmental award

The Michigan Senate recently awarded teacher Rachel Kent and 10 of her eighth-grade science students at Fruitport Middle School with the White Pine Award for Environmental Excellence. Kent and her class are involved in the West Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative, one of eight regional hubs of the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative. The purpose of the GLSI is to develop young stewards of the environment through hands-on learning in the community.

Anonymous

Apr 11, 2011

The White Pine Award honors extraordinary environmental efforts in Michigan, and it was given to Kent and her students for their work on a stream restoration project.

In 2010, Kent and her students — who call themselves Fruitport Team Eco — identified a local stream that ran through school property and was polluting nearby Spring Lake, which drains into Lake Michigan. They developed a plan to build a rain garden at school to reduce stormwater runoff, and to work in a larger geographic area to monitor water quality, assess septic seepage, work with property owners to restore a length of stream and educate citizens about water resources.

Fruitport Team Eco will be working with representatives from Grand Valley State University, the Muskegon Conservation District and other local officials to write a management plan for these tributaries.

Read more of this story in Saturday's (April 9, 2011) print edition of the Grand Haven Tribune.