The IHM Sisters’ Motherhouse in Monroe was the site of the twelfth annual Lake Erie Water Festival on Wednesday, May 13. The festival hosted nearly 250 sixth- and seventh-graders from Monroe County.
The event was designed to help students learn about our most precious natural resource – clean, fresh water. By teaching them about water quality, organizers hoped to inspire the next generation to be great stewards of water resources.
With support from the Monroe County Environmental Fund, this free program helped students appreciate the importance of water and its impact on their daily lives. Presentations included hands-on activities on water resource topics such as ecosystems, social studies, the geosphere, and the hydrologic cycle. Perhaps most importantly, students learned about the central role that the River Raisin and Lake Erie play in the region’s quality of life and how they can help protect our water resources. Students had the opportunity to learn about watershed animals, organic farming, and habitat restoration in the historic setting of the Motherhouse campus. Other topics included Lake Erie birds, snakes of Michigan and Ohio, beekeeping, invasive species, protecting waterways, and fish in the Great Lakes.
All participating teachers received classroom sets of a watershed education booklet from the River Raisin Watershed Council, with pre- and post-activities from the Monroe County ISD to supplement the learning experience. In addition to the IHM Sisters, presenting partners of the Lake Erie Water Festival included River Raisin Institute and Monroe County Intermediate School District.
Other presenters included Huron-Clinton Metroparks, St. Mary Organic Farm, Imagination Station Toledo, Monroe Conservation District, The Ohio State University Stone Lab, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Monroe Beekeepers Club, University of Michigan-Dearborn Environmental Interpretive Center, River Raisin Watershed Council, Bird Center of Michigan, and Monroe County Historical Museum.