By the Numbers: EGLE's environmental education efforts grow

EGLE’s environmental education efforts grew in 2022, including its work on EGLE Classroom, Michigan Green Schools, and the Career Series.

EGLE Classroom

EGLE Classroom grew content and programming with the addition of a full time Environmental Education Coordinator. Key accomplishments include:

         Expansion of the Environmental Education Lending Station

The Environmental Education Resource Lending Station was established through funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. From April through December 2022, items from the Lending Station were used at 35 different locations, reaching 4,009 youth and families with hands-on learning about the Great Lakes and Michigan’s environment.

         Michigan Environmental Education Curriculum Support (MEECS)

Funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, work continued on updating the MEECS curriculum units for Ecosystems and Biodiversity, Water Quality, and Climate Change. All three units will be released in 2023, with trainings scheduled that will reach an estimated 600 educators across the state in 2023.

         EnviroSchool Professional Learning Series

EGLE Classroom launched a new, monthly online professional learning series for Michigan educators. In this series, educators learn directly from EGLE staff about their areas of expertise and have an opportunity for discussion and questions about how to teach that topic in the classroom. Since September 2022, four professional learning events have been held. These events have trained 80 educators in live participation, and recordings have been viewed over 275 times.

Michigan Green Schools

The Michigan Green Schools program fully transitioned from an independent nonprofit to EGLE management, and 197 schools were certified in 2022. EGLE launched a new, fully online application and review process via an ArcGIS Hub Site in November 2022.

EGLE Career Series

ESD’s Environmental Education and Outreach staff collaborated to launch a series of video and written interviews featuring EGLE staff and their career pathways. These resources are used to build career awareness within EGLE Classroom programs, to aid in recruitment for open EGLE positions, and to build connections with Michigan residents interested in our work. As of December 2022, seven full length Day in the Life videos, eleven Fast Five style written interviews, and one social media Reel video have been completed as part of this series. Staff are currently working to create a Career Series hub on the EGLE website to house all content long term.