LSSI News & Events

Initiative News

 

Center lightens local schools’ funding burden

By GRAHAM JAEHNIG, The Daily Mining Gazette
HOUGHTON - When schools want to host a science-based program using Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education resources, the school simply applies to the center. The center then works to provide the grant funding, and the personnel to bring the program to the individual school or classroom.

Joan Chadde, program director for the center, said the grant money comes from a number of sources.

"The grant funds come from the Great Lakes Fisheries Trust through the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative, then to the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative (LSSI), we are one of nine hubs in Michigan," Chadde explained. "We have been receiving funding since '08; we're the longest funded. We started receiving funding the first year of the program." In order to receive funding, Chadde said the center needs to apply for grants.

"We write a lot of grants. And that's how we support all of our programming," Chadde explained

THE LSSI is part of the statewide Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (GLSI), which was launched by the Great Lakes Fishery Trust with support from the Wege Foundation.

The goal of the GLSI is to increase understanding and active stewardship of the Great Lakes by K-12 teachers and students in partnership with local units of government and community organizations, according to a brochure published by the Western Upper Peninsula Center.

As an example of where just some of the grant funding comes from, and where it goes, Chadde explained, "We have a Michigan STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) partnership grant of $12,000. The Wege Foundation in Grand Rapids, provides us with $20,000---they've been funding the Center for Science and Environmental Outreach at Michigan Tech since 1999."
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