History of GREEN
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
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. Earth Force also launched green.org, a web-based tool designed to help students and educators better understand, use and share information about their watersheds.
Through Earth Force’s GREEN program, corporations like General Motors and Staples 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 30,000 young people in watershed protection.