GLIN==> Lake Erie Student Summit in Cleveland April 27

Alliance for the Great Lakes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, April 23, 2010

Contact:
April Mather, 216-630-8140
amather at greatlakes.org


Lake Erie Student Summit: New Generation to Confront Water Scarcity  

Forty years after a burning Cuyahoga River helped propel the first Earth Day into a national movement, Cleveland’s youth are working to light a fire under a new generation of water stewards.

An estimated 100 students and educators from seven schools in northeast Ohio are scheduled to gather for Cleveland’s first Lake Erie Student Summit on Tuesday, April 27 at the Great Lakes Science Center.

The 1969 fire that made the Cuyahoga River a poster child for the environmental atrocities of that time no longer burns, and once “dead” Lake Erie is back from the brink -- yet the growing reality of water scarcity has students as determined as ever to safeguard these local waters.

The daylong summit, sponsored by the Alliance for the Great Lakes and featuring a keynote address by former Ohio Gov. Bob Taft from 8 a.m.-9 a.m., culminates several months of student projects and school commitments aimed at water conservation.
 
“This summit comes just after the 40th anniversary of the Cuyahoga River fire; Lake Erie has improved a great deal since that time in part because we're learning more about our connection to the Great Lakes and our impact on the lake,” said April Mather, Alliance Ohio outreach coordinator. “These students serve as an example of the great enthusiasm area youth have for Lake Erie today and for learning about why water conservation is so important.”

Student projects have ranged from installing rain gardens at home and rain barrels at school to teaching others in the community about the importance of water conservation and participating in the Alliance’s Adopt-a-Beach™ cleanup program.

At Westpark Community Middle School, students have proposed to survey local appliance stores to gauge how well salespeople understand product water efficiency features.

“Working on this project allowed my students to gain a greater understanding of their impact on our water supply,” said Michelle Clark, who teaches 7th and 8th grade science at Westpark. “They had a great time testing their conservation techniques and tracking the results. The students were surprised to learn just how much water goes to waste during simple, everyday tasks and how easy it is to save it.” 

Janelle Horton, a science and technology teacher at The Intergenerational School in Cleveland, said her middle school students “became deeply concerned about water pollution and advocates of water conservation during this process.” The class has already begun projects to help save Lake Erie's water, among them developing informational websites and PowerPoint slide shows, performing a water audit among the oldest classes, and creating an environmental club.

The April 27 summit will feature a presentation by Josephine Mandamin, a water walker and elder in the Ojibwe Nation of Thunder Bay, Ontario, as well as field trips and student-led sessions related to water conservation issues in and around Lake Erie and the Great Lakes.

The summit is the second in a series of student summits designed to educate and motivate students to learn more about the Great Lakes and the need for water conservation. The Lake Michigan Student Summit, held in Milwaukee last year, was the first.

“Scientists tell us this generation of young people will someday grapple with issues of water scarcity here and abroad as never before,” said Stephanie Smith, Alliance education director. “They need to feel that they have a seat at the table today.”

Summit location and Times: 
Former Gov. Bob Taft will speak from 8 a.m.-9 a.m. Student workshops and presentations will be held from 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Students will be off site attending field trips from 9 a.m.-noon. The Great Lakes Science Center is located at 601 Erieside Ave. in downtown Cleveland. 

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Formed in 1970, the Alliance for the Great Lakes is the oldest Great Lakes citizens’ oganization in North America. Our mission is to: conserve and restore the world's largest freshwater resource using policy, education and local efforts, ensuring a healthy Great Lakes and clean water for generations of people and wildlife. More about the Alliance for the Great Lakes is online at www.greatlakes.org. 


Susan Campbell
Communications Manager
Alliance for the Great Lakes
414-540-0699
Visit http://www.greatlakes.org




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