School-Community Team Stewardship Projects

 

What is a School-Community Team?
 
School-Community teams are composed of:

  • Students in K-12, typically several school classes,

  • At least 2 teachers, an administrator, and at least one community partner (e.g. non-profit organizations, government agencies, units of government, local business).

What are Stewardship Projects?

Stewardship projects are designed to meet community stewardship needs, can be integrated into the school curriculum, and include facilitated communication within their community.

Each Place-based Stewardship Project is unique, incorporating exploration of the local community and natural surroundings through hands-on experiences. Teachers are encouraged to follow the Earth Force Process to identify real-world issues affecting their community then work together to investigate and address the problem. During a culminating event, students share their findings with other youth, parents, residents, and local partners.

Explore Past and Current LSSI Projects by clicking on the School names to the left.

How to Become A School-Community Team

Any teacher in the Western UP is invited to form a team (requires a minimum 2 teachers + 1 administrator + 1 community partner). LSSI can support one team per building. Contact Emily Gochis to get assigned a mentor to assist you, and start planning!

What support does LSSI offer School-Community Teams?

Each team works with an experienced project mentor to develop a mini-grant proposal and work plan for a year-long stewardship project. Mentors will help facilitate the project once approved, providing support in a wide variety of ways. Mentors provide a minimum of 5 hours of direct mentorship for each team per year valued at over $500/team.

Teams are eligible to receive financial support through mini-grants, along with sustained and ongoing professional learning valued at over $1000/team.

For LSSI Teachers (only): Here is a link to the Stewardship Project & Mini-Grant Proposal Form 2021-2022. The Submission WiLSSIndow for applying is:
Monday, October 15, 2021 - Monday, January 31st, 2022