GREEN

The Global Rivers Environmental Education Network program (GREEN) provides opportunities for young people to learn more about the watersheds they live in and to use their findings to create lasting solutions for pressing water quality issues. Through GREEN, Earth Force and our partners at General Motors share a commitment to civic engagement, education, and the environment.

In this award-winning program, middle and high school students acquire essential academic skills -- critical thinking, teamwork, problem solving and decision making -- while actively engaging their communities on water quality issues.

How it works
GREEN gives teachers tools to build exciting, hands-on science programs around watershed assessment and improvement. Resources include the "Protecting Our Watersheds" curriculum, testing kits, and links and lessons for community action projects. Educators are connected to local partners, including GM environmental engineers and other staff, who assist with water quality monitoring, offer classroom support, help make community connections, and coordinate events. These partnerships provide educators with access to innovative resources such as a network of national and community support, online resources, technical manuals, activity guides, and water quality monitoring equipment.

 

  

 

GREEN News

News

GREEN History

The impetus for GREEN began in the spring of 1984 with a group of concerned students at a high school located along the polluted Huron River in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Their teacher contacted Dr. William Stapp at the University of Michigan, and together they developed a comprehensive educational program called GREEN.

The idea quickly caught on and the experience gained with schools along the Huron River set the stage for an expanded program on the Rouge River in 1987 - part of an effort to improve education and the environment in metropolitan Detroit. The educational model moved to other watersheds around the Great Lakes in the U.S. and Canada.

When GREEN became a program of Earth Force in 1999, its long standing financial and volunteer supporter, General Motors, joined Earth Force as well. With the help of General Motors, Earth Force was able to develop the nationally recognized curricula, training, and resources for supporting educators in implementing GREEN around the country.

Through Earth Force’s GREEN program, corporations like General Motors are providing leadership to young people in the classroom as well as in the field. Using the Protecting Our Watersheds curriculum, corporate volunteers and local partner organizations are working with educators to engage young people in their watersheds through experiences that will hone their problem solving skills and will increase their ability to make informed decisions in the future.

To date, with the support of over 22 local partner organizations and several corporate sponsors, GREEN has engaged over 100,000 young people in watershed protection.

GM Partnership

When GREEN became a program of Earth Force in 1999, its long standing financial and volunteer supporter, General Motors, joined Earth Force as well. 2009 marked 20 years of General Motors' partnership with GREEN!

Over that span of time, thousands of GM employees have worked side by side with teachers, community partners and more than 100,000 young people in more than 32 communities in the United States and Canada. This successful partnership effort works to engage our youth and whole communities in watershed education and river protection efforts.

Students, teachers ,and GM employee mentors literally get their feet wet while visiting their local bodies of water to conduct water quality monitoring -- performing chemical tests, sampling for aquatic insects and assessing the stream's physical attributes.

Young people are supported throughout the program by GM mentors who help them see the "real-world" application of science. Before and after water quality monitoring, GM mentors support students in interpreting data, analyzing local issues, applying critical thinking skills and balancing opposing viewpoints. With the help of their mentors, students use scientific knowledge to discover community problems and then work to create lasting solutions to pressing water quality issues.

With the support of GM, Earth Force developed the nationally recognized Protecting Our Watersheds curricula, training and resources for supporting educators in implementing GREEN around the country.

You can read more about the success of the GM GREEN program in the annual reports below!

Annual Reports: 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004

GREEN Videos

Here are some recent videos of GM GREEN in action. Please click on the videos to enlarge and watch.

Trinity River Watershed Conference

Volunteer Spotlight: Todd Rouse, GM Environmental Manager, talks about GM GREEN


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