The SEMIS Coalition Blog
The place to connect, learn and share perspectives in place-based learning
Welcome to our SEMIS Coalition blog! A commons-based digital space for shared resources, images, and more. It’s a place for you to ask questions, interact with peers, and keep current with the latest Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition activities.
Browse through the most recent posts below, or browse past posts by category via the toolbar on the right.
A Walk in the Park, Detroit Institute of Technology, SEMIS Coalition, We Are The Forest
As a result of the Walk in the Park project, students have developed a sense of responsibility for nature in their community. Students have been able to use Rouge Park as a space to learn stewardship skills such as water quality monitoring, conducting environmental...
Introducing: Porter Chair Blog Series
Greetings! This year the SEMIS Coalition received the John W. Porter Endowed Chair in Urban Education, one of the most prestigious awards in the Eastern Michigan University College of Education. One of the roles of the Porter Chair is to create and facilitate...
Porter Chair Series: Guest Blogger Bill Boyle on Restorative Practices and EcoJustice Education
Recognizing Community, Recognizing Its Members By Bill Boyle October 27, 2015 One of the more promising antidotes to the alienated individualism of the “ethic of achievement” in schools lies in the use of Restorative Practices. As I’ve written previously, “We tend to...
Fall 2015 PD Resources
Our Fall PD on September 25th, 2015 was a great kick-off to the SEMIS Coalition 2015-16 project year! We had many new community partners and faculty from EMU, and many familiar faces we are happy to see return! It was wonderful to see everyone who was...
Water & the Artist
ERIC ZENER: http://abduzeedo.com/hypnotic-paintings-water-eric-zener Claude Monet does many different paintings of water flowers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Lilies Fredrick Remington, Fight for the Waterhole https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederic_Remington...
Nature’s Hidden Communication Network
Following the yearlong investigation into permaculture as a teaching method, one interesting aspect of this design method is tapping into a complex communication network among plant and animal communities that supports more harmonious agriculture systems, which are...
Quote Harvest: Wendell Berry
“The atmosphere, the earth, the water and the water cycle - those things are good gifts. The ecosystems, the ecosphere, those are good gifts. We have to regard them as gifts because we couldn't make them. We have to regard them as good gifts because we couldn't live...
“The Short Bus” Book Club
Background: The “ecojustice with/in disability studies” affinity group grew out of shared interests at the SEMIS summer institute. The group looks at the intersection and effect of attitudes towards human animals, nonhuman animals, and plants. The premise is that...
Ecojustice Reading List: The Good Garden, by K. S. Milway and S. Diagneault
When the exhausted soil of their family plot doesn't yield enough and her father leaves to find work, María Luz plants the winter vegetables using new farming techniques she learns from her teacher, Don Pedro. Marigolds repel insect pests. Terracing and using compost...
Quote Harvest: David Sobel
“Exploration of the natural world begins in early childhood, flourishes in middle childhood, and continues in adolescence as a pleasure and a source of strength for social action.” - David Sobel How do you adapt your place-based education to nourish the developmental...