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Clinton River Watershed (Orion/Pontiac)
Why We Are Here: Our partner, General Motors, has had a presence in the Clinton River Watershed for decades, and through their longstanding support of the GREEN program, Earth Force has been able to develop programming from the suburban headwaters in Oakland County to the shores of Lake St. Clair in Macomb County. In Oakland County, Auburn Hills and Orion have experienced urbanization and growth as a largely suburban part of the Detroit Metropolitan region. In Macomb County, Warren and Sterling Heights have experienced urban decline like Detroit, and its schools and communities have many students receiving the free and reduced lunch program. Further north, St. Clair Shores and Chesterfield are also within Macomb County along the Lake St. Clair shoreline, at the delta of the Clinton River. All communities are part of the Clinton River Watershed, covering 760 square miles across four Southeast Michigan counties. The river and its tributaries flow through 60 rural, suburban, and urban communities with a total population of more than 1.5 million. With such a wide variety of communities in this GREEN program, the issues of new development in the headwaters and older infrastructure near Detroit bring a mix of challenges to maintaining water quality for the region. The major watershed issues include excessive urban runoff and overflowing sanitary sewers affecting Lake St. Clair.
Demographics: Oakland County: 5.70% of families were below poverty level throughout Oakland County. According to the 2006-2008 American Community Survey, the racial composition of Oakland County was: • White: 79.69% • Black or African American: 11.84% • Native American: 0.26% • Asian: 0.03% • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.03% • Some other race: 1.15% • Two or more races: 1.60% • Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 3.08% Source: American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau. "Oakland County, Michigan - ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates: 2006-2008". Factfinder.census.gov. link. Retrieved 2010. Macomb County: 6.8%of families were below poverty level throughout Macomb County. According to the 2006-2008 American Community Survey, the racial composition of Macomb County was: • White: 87.85% • Black or African American: 6.66% • Native American: 0.31% • Asian: 3.09% • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 0.00% • Some other race: 1.67% • Two or more races: 2.32% • Hispanic or Latino (of any race): 2.07% Source: American FactFinder, United States Census Bureau. "Macomb County, Michigan - ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates: 2006-2008". Factfinder.census.gov. link. Retrieved 2010.
What We Are Doing: Earth Force partners with the Clinton River Watershed Council and several GM facilities, including GMPT Warren Transmission, WFG Headquarters, Pontiac North, CCA –Pontiac, GM Technical Center and Orion Assembly Center to implement the GREEN program across Macomb and Oakland counties. The Clinton River Watershed Council aims to educate students on habitat preservation and surface runoff issues through their version of the GREEN program, called Stream Leaders. Students and teachers examine the chemical indicators of pollution, inventory physical and land use conditions and assess aquatic biological species to evaluate watershed health. After classes analyze their data for root causes of pollution, students and teachers identify and complete a civic action project such as beach and river clean ups, restoring habitats, or making presentations at the Clinton River Watershed Council’s annual Student Congress. The GM Warren Technical Center has over 25 environmental engineers volunteering with the GREEN program, making it one of our most active facilities. Mentors are active in many communities throughout the Clinton River watershed, including Warren, Auburn Hills, St. Clair Shores and Sterling Heights. Furthermore, the Orion facility mentors work with three middle schools and one high school in that community.
Earth Force History in this Community: The Clinton River Watershed Council developed its GREEN program through a long standing relationship with General Motors. Six local GM facilities support GREEN in the Clinton River watershed by contributing employee time and expertise at water monitoring events, funding for monitoring supplies and Student Congress support. Number of Youth: 1 Number of Educators: 18 Participating Partners: General Motors – www.gm.com Clinton River Watershed Council - http://www.crwc.org/
Participating School Districts: Lake Orion Community Schools http://www.lakeorion.k12.mi.us/ Auburn Hills - Avondale Schools http://avondale.mi.schoolwebpages.com/education/district/district.php?sectionid=1Macomb Macomb Intermediate School District - http://www.misd.net/index.htm
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Clinton River Watershed (Orion/Pontiac) Calendar
