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.
Drafting the Mission Statement, Guiding Principles, and Visioning for the SEMIS Coalition’s 15th Anniversary
YOU ARE INVITED! The Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition is celebrating its 15th anniversary next year! Since its founding in 2007, SEMIS has helped teachers at more than 35 southeastern Michigan schools bridge classroom learning to the community, so students can...
Meaningful Watershed Education Experiences: Great Lakes Grantee Showcase! SEMIS presents
B-WET Showcase: This was an opportunity in January for NOAA B-WET Environmental Education Program grantees to showcase highlights from their projects, including challenges and success stories. The SEMIS Coalition is one of these grantees and fortunate to be a...
SEMIS Coalition Members Attend Ypsilanti Sustainability Commission, Give Presentation
Civic Engagement in SEMIS Lisa Voelker, SEMIS assistant director, presented on Nov. 7, 2021, during the monthly Ypsilanti Sustainability Commission meeting. Our goal was to re-introduce ourselves and share how local teachers and students are engaged in place-based...
SEMIS statement about Oxford High School shooting
We would like to express our sadness and sorrow over the tragic loss and trauma the Oxford High School community is experiencing. Our hearts are with all those who have been impacted. Youth deaths through gun violence have taken the lives of many this year in...
Disability Justice Practices in Place-based Education
On July 22, 2021, coalition members had a critical discussion facilitated by Jason DeCamillis (teacher consultant at Washtenaw ISD) and me after watching the movie Crip Camp on Zoom. As a result, it launched a year-long initiative to create a universal design for...
Remembering Mariann Lupinacci
With great sadness, we announce the passing of Mariann Lupinacci-Kosinski on April 9, 2021. We would like to take this moment to express our deep love for her and our gratitude for all that she brought to the Coalition and the world. As the principal of John Paul II...
LIVING INTO OUR VALUES: We cannot “go back to normal”
I took a vacation this summer. Maybe you did too. It was not enough. Not enough to heal, rest, and re-set my body and mind after close to two years of constant tension and stress. As we head into the school year, let’s remember to: Listen to our bodies—We are...
The Eco-Project: A Yearlong Study of a Field Site
Students completed the “Eco-Project” at a field site near their home; there, they made observations, journal entries, sketches, and reflections. These are their final websites summarizing the experience.
Community Mapping with GIS
Mr. Segrist and Place-based Education has helped me learn and become more aware of my community’s history and how it has affected its current situation and surroundings. I’ve shown a connection between ArcGIS Online through EMU. I used story mapping, a geospatial platform, to share my community mapping.
Community Mapping with GIS
We were given a class project on community mapping and sense of place. It was an opportunity to exercise student voice and learn how to map. When walking around my neighborhood, I learned a lot about the lack of effort that is put into keeping our area safe and clean.