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Bay City
Why We Are Here: Earth Force’s long standing partnership with General Motors prompted the GREEN program’s establishment in Bay City, a small community established along the banks of the Saginaw River. Earth Force’s long standing partnership with General Motors prompted the GREEN program’s establishment in Bay City, located in the Saginaw Bay Watershed. This watershed is Michigan’s largest and includes 22 counties and the largest contiguous freshwater coastal wetland system in the country. Covering nearly 8,700 square miles and containing 7,000 miles of rivers and streams, the watershed drains approximately 15 percent of the state. Main concerns within this watershed include dioxin and PCB contamination as well as agricultural pollution from the highly productive thumb area of Michigan.
Demographics: 12.8% of families were below poverty level throughout Bay City. According to the 2006-2008 American Community Survey, the racial composition of Bay City was: • White: 26.80% • Black or African American: 0.89% • Native American: 0.14% • Asian: 0.07% • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.00 % • Some other race: 0.05%% • Two or more races: 0.61%% • Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 2.22% Source: American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau. "Bay City, Michigan - ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates: 2006-2008". Factfinder.census.gov. link. Retrieved 2010.
What We Are Doing: GREEN engages the next generation of Saginaw Bay stewards through direct water monitoring experiences in partnership with General Motors and the Bay City School District. Bay City Central High School, Western Intermediate, Garber High and Koln Elementary schools participate in fall and spring water monitoring events and benefit from classroom visits by GM employees and other community partners. We are now working to establish connections with local service-learning organizations that can help support school district-wide service-learning opportunities for Bay City youth. Potential partners include the Bay Sail program, which engages students in shipboard environmental education in Saginaw Bay.
Earth Force History in this Community: Bay City’s GREEN program developed through a long standing relationship with General Motors and Earth Force. The Bay City GM Powertrain facility has contributed volunteer GM mentors for classroom visits with watershed models, support during water monitoring events, and funding for student projects like rain gardens and nesting boxes at a local nature preserve. Number of Youth: 351 Number of Educators: 6 Participating Partners: Bay City Science Center - http://baycitytechnology.com/Science/ General Motors – www.gm.com
Participating School Districts: Bay City School District - http://www.bcschools.net/
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