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Northville Public Schools (NPS) public education
program is designed to promote, publicize, and
facilitate education for the purpose of
encouraging the public to reduce the discharge
of pollutants into the separate stormwater
system. “Public” is defined to include all
persons who potentially could affect the quality
of stormwater discharges, including, but not
limited to NPS staff, contractors, visitors and
students of NPS, as well as residents, visitors
to the area, public employees, businesses,
industries, construction contractors and
developers.
Although some of the designated tasks outlined
in the PEP may not apply specifically to school
facilities, NPS is dedicated to work with the
individual communities and watershed council to
assist in the development of educational
materials, and mechanisms to provide these
materials throughout the communities in whom we
serve.
Northville Public Schools involvement with
the Friends of the Rouge and the “Rouge
Education Project”
Friends of the Rouge (FOTR) is a
local non-profit organization dedicated to
promoting restoration and stewardship of the
Rouge River through education and citizen
involvement. Since 1986, they have been
encouraging people to take action and get
directly involved in cleaning up and restoring
their streams. They are also leading efforts to
educate both young people and adults about the
causes and effects of river pollution, and
promoting understanding of what can be done
about it. One of our goals is to help everyone
achieve a sense of "ownership" of their streams
and the watershed.
Public Involvement Programs administered by the
Friend of the Rouge inform and engage local
citizens in activities that help to improve the
health of the Rouge River and its watershed. The
programs are designed to build community
awareness through educational workshops and
volunteer activities, to train citizens to
become river monitors through volunteer
monitoring programs, and, ultimately, to inspire
people to become lifelong stewards of the Rouge
River. These programs include the Frog & Toad
Survey, Bug Hunts, Riparian Corridor Management
Projects and Rouge Rescue.
The Rouge Education Project (REP) is a
multidisciplinary, school-based initiative to
raise young people's awareness of pollution in
the Rouge River and encourage them to take
action to restore and protect the river. The
project’s focus is the study of the Rouge
River—its history, current issues, how to
monitor its health, how to restore it, and how
to become its steward. As a water quality
monitoring and watershed education project, the
REP engages students’ interest, concern and
commitment through real-world education. The
project also builds school-community-university
partnerships through corporate sponsors,
corporate volunteers, and university students
who assist teachers participating in the REP.
The project is coordinated by Friends of the
Rouge.
NPS has been actively involved with the Friends
of the Rouge and the Rouge Education Project for
over 15 years. NPS science teachers and staff
have embedded the Rouge Education Project in
high school science curriculum and supports
training and resource development as part of its
watershed education and awareness efforts.
At the high school level, all the science
departments have participated over the years in
Friends of the Rouge watershed activities as
well through the Rouge Education Project and
other various activities in Biology,
Environmental Science, or Geophysical Science
courses. The Rouge Education Project not only
tests rivers to determine the water's health,
but also prescribes "treatment" or courses of
action. Students, teachers and citizens team up
to develop plans to improve the quality of the
river. This component provides another
opportunity for experience beyond the typical
classroom setting.
For more information on Friends of the Rouge or
the Rouge Education Project, please visit their
website
http://www.therouge.org/index.html.
Plan to Evaluate Public Education Program
The Public Education Plan will be evaluated
based on progress made towards meeting the
objectives described above. NPS will record and
track participation in each educational and
training program. NPS is considering development
of an initial survey to be provided to students,
staff, faculty, and volunteers to determine
initial watershed awareness levels. This survey
would be repeated in subsequent years to track
changes in awareness and adjust the PEP based on
the information collected. Additionally, NPS
will continue tracking the participation of our
community’s schools, community groups, and
individuals in existing Rouge Educational
programs to evaluate the impact of these
programs.
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