February Science Café: Dispelling the Myth of the Big, Bad Wolf

Announcing our February Science Café Topic: Wolves!

Date: Thursday, February 9th

Time: 4:30-6:00PM
Place: Environmental Interpretive Center, Room 119 (Map)

Cost: Free

Have you ever wondered about wolves? Do we have wolves in Michigan? Are they harmful or helpful? What is wolf conservation like in our state? Join the Student Environmental Association as we explore questions like these and more at our upcoming Science Café. We hope to discuss the importance of wolves to our ecosystems and dispel the myths associated with these important carnivores.

Guest speakers will include: Dorothy McLeer, Program Coordinator and Interpretive Naturalist for the EIC, and University of Michigan-Dearborn student, Jerry Heath.


Science Cafés are friendly forums where members of the public can engage scientists and experts with questions and become a part of a grand conversation. You don't need a background in science to attend a Science Café -- Science Cafés welcome everybody, especially those who want to learn more! Coffee and light snacks are usually served.


This event is free and open to the public. All ages (including K-12 students) are welcome to attend! We promise it will be a howling good time!

Visit the Facebook Event Page for more info!
P.S. You can read about one of our previous Science Cafés here!

Rouge Project Comments: Reply from the Army Corps of Engineers

I've discovered "The Agency Tone" of written voice. Very polite! Possibly because I submitted comments over a month ago (several agencies dealing with the National Environmental Protection Act [NEPA] are obligated to give response within the month of communications from the public).  Having spoken to EPA employees, the EPA has legal obligation to respond to any citizen communications--probably within a month timeframe too.  

The Army Corps of Engineers  (ACE--what a fine acronym to have!) was supposed to respond with 30 days (I'm no longer sure, but I suspect it's a direct stipulation from NEPA), but I had to prod them earlier in December to see if there'd be any follow-up.

This is about as exciting as I'd imagine getting a personal letter from an elected official. For those who can't really see what's here--it's a personal letter from the DOD's Army Corps of Engineers in response to my questions--stamped and signed too! 

In reply to my procedural and project comments to the Army Corps of Engineers from November, Detroit district sent a personal letter with detailed replies to both comment sets I submitted.

One of my primary concerns involved the poor degree of outreach--had it not been for friends who major in environmental studies/science and work with the Friends of the Rouge, I might not have known about the proposal at all!

It turns out (as you'll see in their reply letter) the Army Corps of Engineers did what they could and needed to inform local governments and organizations. From what I read, the ACE's response to one of my questions (about watershed outreach plans) means that promotion/marketing/pr is more of an issue than having the right community stakeholders and closer coordination between federal and local government.

I suspect poor infrastructure for communication and outreach is an endemic issue for our beloved but under-budgeted/staffed local governments and not-for-profit organizations alike.

Also, I learned county government plays a more significant role in the project than previously thought.

I believe PR organizations/institutions and colleges (with education and marketing programs or willing interns from any discipline) can better help coordinate and promote the outreach in the future.

Page 1 (click the image[s] to read)
I'll let you decide what happened with
the date that they entered--by the looks of things
I submitted my comments in the future!
Also, I couldn't resist blacking out my address
on a government document,
it now looks even more official than the original.

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4  Hand signed with a real person's signature!

A random remark: this post has a lot of meta text--I wrote (and you read) about photos of writing--how odd!


And my follow-up e-mail (from Dec. 8th):
To whom it may concern,

I submitted a procedural recommendation on Monday Nov. 7th and (according to my e-mail) comments on Nov. 8th at 12:00 AM and would like to know about the status of the project. I did not receive any message of acknowledgement or reply within the 30 day timeframe and therefore am writing to request for follow up.

I hope the procedural recommendation merits a reply since it was submitted within the comment deadline.

Thank you...

Arctic Cycle Turning Wheels Close to Home: A Blizzard of Snowy Owls Lands in Great Lakes Region

Snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) from the Quebec Government website

While most of us in Southeast Michigan are still awaiting the arrival winter snow, another kind of "snow" has arrived in the meantime to hold us over -- snowy owls. This bird, which hails from the northernmost reaches of Canada, has been spotted all over the state, including at locations within an hour of Detroit. There is even one unconfirmed report of a sighting downtown.

This event is more than just the arrival of an interesting and beautiful bird of prey -- it is a great chance to understand the workings of nature and how cycles happening far away can affect us close to home.

The appearance of so many snowy owls usually indicates a severe food shortage in the regions of Canada where they are typically found. These daytime hunters, which are impressively sized birds with a wingspan of about five feet, rely on lemmings, voles, and other small mammals to survive in the Arctic. When competition for their food increases (either due to a lack of prey or an overabundance of fellow predators), the snowy owls are forced to go south to find food -- as far down as the Great Lakes and beyond. Here they will hunt for voles, mice, and other small mammals, competing with local birds of prey to survive.

"We haven't had a good Snowy Owl Winter in years," recalls Rick Simek, naturalist at the Environmental Interpretive Center. "I remember a winter a long time ago when I worked at the [Metro Beach] metropark; I think I remember Snowy Owls picking off and eating injured ducks."

(There are no reports yet of snowy owls picking off housepets.)

Scientists usually refer to these dramatic mass migrations as "irruptions". They will stay in the region hunting and resting until March, when they return to the Arctic to breed.

Although this season's blizzard of snowies has been bliss for birders, the long trip south takes a toll on the owls, who must spend an enormous amount of energy to get here. It is usually the youngest and most inexperienced birds that are driven south, and many do not survive. If you go looking for one, try not to disturb it -- every movement it makes wastes calories, and the owl needs every bit of energy it can get. Be respectful and observe them from a distance, or from a blind where they can't see you (like behind some bushes, or inside your car).

If you are interested in knowing where snowy owls have been spotted, or submitting a sighting of your own, check out the Snowy Owl Maps on eBird. While you're there, check out their article, too -- lots of great information about this season's irruption, as well as some commentary on the importance of citizen science.

Let's keep our your eyes to the skies this year! Cheers to 2012!

P.S. A special treat, courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology:

This week in the civil realm...public meetings in Southfield and Dearborn

SEA members are watching (and representing) at a few public meetings this week!

Today Sara Cole, a UM-Dearborn Environmental Interpretive Center employee, is attending the Southfield City Council meeting to testify about the community and educational impact of Environmental Interpretive Centers.

Meanwhile, a handful of SEA members have their eyes and ears open for tomorrow's public meeting on Dearborn's proposed Greenway expansion grant:

Tuesday Dec. 13th at 7:00 pm in Club Room 1 of the Ford Community and Performing Arts Center, open to the public!

The city's applying for an MDOT grant to extend part of its Greenway (which runs from Andiamo through UM-Dearborn and HFCC and beyond). This is a good time to follow up on remarks made at last year's recreation master plan meeting. There are many interesting comments emerging from people reading the article too... perhaps we'll see you there?

Read more about it via Dearborn Patch:
http://dearborn.patch.com/articles/city-to-hold-public-meeting-on-greenway-trail-extension-effort

And the Dearborn Press and Guide:  http://bit.ly/PrssNGdDbrnGrnwyXpnd

Residents are especially encouraged to submit comments. If you can't attend, remember that you can submit your comments in writing (it's possibly even more effective if you can do both).

Procedural and Project comments for the Army Corps of Engineers Rouge River proposal

Dear Army Corps of Engineers... I hope I submitted my project comments in time.

Some comments submitted by Ian Tran to the Army Corps of Engineers (some of which undoubtedly submitted in great haste... pictures from the Army Corps of Engineers taken at Sault Ste Marie added for visual narrative purposes):

Procedural comment to the Army Corps of Engineers and all other relevant federal entities (please share with the EPA as well):

Greetings!  My name is Ian Tran.  I'm an undergraduate Environmental Science student at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and resident of Canton Township who lives within the Rouge River Watershed.

Please disseminate project proposals and public comment/hearings concerning environmental issues on a more thorough watershed stakeholder basis. Reach relevant county commissioners, city officials, and if time permits, local watershed stakeholder organizations so as to ensure better dissemination of announcement in community newspapers and newsletters via other local government units.

It is extremely challenging for individual citizens to keep up with and find out about upcoming public hearings and projects. Delegating announcements and resources to local governments and their community stakeholders is a must—this was realized and expressed vehemently at this summer's (2011) EPA National Environmental Justice Conference in Detroit. An abysmal gap between federal and local communications exists and many people are impacted by this lack of awareness.

Using this Rouge Channelization announcement as an example: The Army Corps of Engineers could have notified Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb (which are constituents of the Rouge Rive Watershed) county commissioners of this project and public comment period with directions to distribute to their respective municipalities for release to the press.

This outreach approach is important to the Rouge Project because upriver citizens in communities like Canton Township can be unaware of their tie-in to down-stream communities and the river. In the interest of promoting awareness for green infrastructure, a decision making event such as a public hearing may be the first time they encounter the topic and the bigger picture goals for regional development. I appreciate that green space is an acknowledged need for the Dearborn/Detroit community. However, as the Corps may be aware, flood alleviation requires upstream coordination and prevention as well.

Public hearings are an outstanding opportunity for local community organizations and educational institutions to provide outreach on complex issues such as watershed education, other environmental, economic, and political implications of potential projects.

Potential project announcements:

Please work with other Federal entities like the EPA to devise an educational phase as part of the plan for projects apart from and in advance of the public comment period and hearings.

With more advance notice about projects or issues under consideration, community organizations and educational institutions can provide authentic, coherent, and credible educational outreach prior to an impending decision. Citizens can decide and comment more incisively after they've been thoroughly educated about the principles of an issue.

Thank you for your consideration!

Project questions and comments (in strange formatting thanks to the magic of cut and paste...):

1. Has coordination with local non-government organizations been considered? Would annual volunteership at the proposed sites by non-profits like The Friends of the Rouge and student organizations such as the Student Environmental Association help

2. Do stipulations exist for favoring local contractors as groups that would implement the projects?
3. Despite its Area of Concern Status, do public access sites to proposed green spaces/river exist at this time? Would this breach the conditions for the project's designated goals? Several residents do kayak and canoe the river annually.

4. Can the Army Corps of Engineers stipulate a local purchasing guideline for contractors undertaking the re-vegetation effort? The Lakeplains Cluster Stewardship Network has a directory of native plant nurseries which may be useful for this.

5. Documentation and educational signage:
   In addition to monitoring, I'd like to request that the Army Corps of Engineers provides or helps to coordinate outreach for documenting near-term and long-term project progress (near as in 1,3, 5 years from now, long being 15, 25, or more—at least establish a framework outreach strategy with stakeholders like the University/community college, City, and non-profits like Friends of the Rouge).
6. Will the Army Corps of Engineers provide updates on project status to the community?
   
   7. Is it possible to allow permission for University, non-profit, and local government to install educational signs about the site and project?
   Continued citizen involvement/input:
   8. Please provide continued dialog and opportunity for involvement with the project with citizens. What ways can we direct inquiry or contribute further questions?
   Also,

We're glad to know that the Army Corps of Engineers is looking at alternatives to concrete.

I second this recommendation:
"Please consider installing bio-engineered materials that can handle
higher near bank velocities along the transition zone downstream of the remaining hard

A real Army Corps Engineer pondering at the Soo Locks (photos from Sault Ste Marie, MI by Ian Tran).

armored structures, such as the CSO outfall."  As an alternative, use previous hard-shore engineering (concrete) and arrange small banks akin to log jams that run tangent to a river bank--particularly in areas susceptible to accelerated bank erosion.

Good News for the Rouge: Removal of Concrete Channel being Considered

Your feedback is needed!

The Detroit District of the Army Corps of Engineers is currently considering undergoing a restoration of the channelized section of the Rouge River, and the public will have an opportunity to submit comments before November 7th. The removal of the concrete and replacement with a "soft-engineered" shoreline could lead to more riparian and aquatic habitat in that area of the river, may provide opportunities to increase the public's use of the river (imagine kayaking and, rowing off of Michigan Avenue), and would just plain look nicer than concrete!

You can find out more about good practices for governments and the connection between infrastructure, watersheds, and rivers here: http://nemo.udel.edu/manual/Chap2Web.pdf

If you are interested in submitting a comment to the Army Corps of Engineers regarding the restoration of the concrete channel, please see below for more details.

Excerpt:

The Corps of Engineers (COE), Detroit District, has completed the "Detailed Project Report and Environmental Assessment" report for the first phase of restoration of the Rouge concrete channel from Michigan Avenue downstream about 1.4 miles to the vicnity of Rotunda Drive. The COE is in the process of gathering public comments on the proposed Rouge River restoration project. I have attached the public notice. The full report including appendices is available from the COE website at:

http://www.lre.usace.army.mil/projectsandstudies/planningstudies/upper_rouge_river_section_1135/index.cfm?


You can also contact Ashley Binion of the COE at 313-226-2657 if you would like a CD of the document mailed to you.

Any comments on the report are due no later than November 7.

This project will restore the riparian and aquatic habitat within a large part of the concrete channel section of the Rouge River, will provide opportunities to increase public use of the river in that area, and is key to our vision for restoring all beneficial uses of the Rouge River. I hope you will join Wayne County in supporting this project. Please send any comments you may have to the address listed in the public notice letter.
Regards, Kelly

Kelly A. Cave, P.E.

Director, Water Quality Management Division
Wayne County Department of Public Services
400 Monroe, Suite 400
Detroit, MI 48226

We hope you consider submitting a letter of support for this restoration project!

Link to the Public Notice Letter: http://scr.bi/t87OXL

September SEA Events

September is going to be a busy month for the SEA! See the "Resources" page on SEA's blog for a map of the campus. Come when you can, go when you must.

Tues. 13th 12:00-3:00pm: Student Organization Fair

Thurs. 15th 4:30-6:30pm: SEA Meeting/potluck meet and greet

Fri. 16th 11:30am-1:00pm: Sustainability Fest planning meeting and pot luck with EverGreenTeam

Sun. Sept. 18th 9:00am to 2:00pm: SEA Working Day

Thurs. Sept. 22nd:
10:00 am: City of Dearborn’s Adopt-A-Watt program launch at (RSVP required by Sep. 19)
4:30-6:00PM: SEA Meeting and Officer Elections

Welcome to the new semester! The autumn winds bring a rush of events for The Student Environmental Association here at UM-Dearborn, and you're invited to join us!

Tues. 13th 12:00-3:00pm Student Organization Fair--Can you help us greet incoming students and spread the word about SEA at our table behind the University Center? Please let us know, 15 minutes of your time can make a big difference in recruiting and finding out what's happening on campus!

Thurs. Sept. 15th 4:30-6:00pm Our semester kick-off meeting takes place -- let's make this one a meet-and-greet potluck for sustainability. We'll pick up on the summer's events and talk about the new semester, too.

Fri. 16th 11:30am-1:00pm: Sustainability Fest planning meeting with EverGreenTeam room 1070 Administrative Building (at UM-Dearborn's campus)

Theme for this year: Fresh Water. Join us as we plan and coordinate the events with various campus and community allies for this year's week long October festival on sustainability! (We'll make a better image for this year's festival theme)...

Sun. Sept. 18th 9:00AM to 2:00pm* SEA working day at the Environmental Interpretive Center! Help us out with various projects, make/distribute fliers, learn about native/invasive species, meet and greet friends new and old! We're hoping to finish up around 2:00 or 3:00 pm, but this depends on who will be available, what gets finished, and whether we decide to eat on campus or off.

Thurs. Sept. 22nd: TWO MONUMENTAL EVENTS IN ONE DAY!! (two exclamation points to denote two significant things!!)

City of Dearborn Adopt-A-Watt program launch at 10:00 am on the West Parking Structure on West Village Drive in Dearborn’s west downtown

Launch of the City of Dearborn’s Adopt-A-Watt program at 10 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011. This public ribbon-cutting ceremony will recognize Adopt-A-Watt charter sponsors for their efforts to save energy and reduce City expenses through their adoption of new energy-efficient lights in one of our parking structures. The SEA helped the Dearborn Sustainability Coalition promote this program this summer at the Dearborn CARES Festival. Attached is a press release issued earlier this month by the Adopt-A-Watt organization.

Media will be invited, as will suppliers of energy efficient products and the Adopt-A-Watt founder, Thomas A. Wither.

Additional details about the program and organization are available at: http://adopt-a-watt.com/

Kindly confirm your attendance before September 19 by email (bcampbell@ci.dearborn.mi.us) or by calling the City of Dearborn Department of Public Information at 313-943-2285. Parking is free. Please show your invitation at the entrance.

SEA Meeting and Officer Elections at 4:30-6:00PM
The SEA has a meeting once again, elections for officership take place at this time, but you can also vote online (more on that this Thursday). We're looking for individuals interested in any of the officer positions. If you are interested in running for a position please let us know either via facebook or by e-mailing us confidentially at greenwolverines (at) ymail (dot) com .

We have many exciting projects and opportunities in the works for this term and we need some people to step up to the plate for leadership opportunities. If you have any questions please reach us!

Saturday Sept. 24th We will be selling our native plant seeds at the Master Gardeners Association of Wayne County conference here at UM-Dearborn and meeting many of the regions greatest greenthumbs.

As always, we welcome your interest and inquiries--feel free to reach us via facebook or e-mail!

Cheers to a fine new semester!

The Student Environmental Association at The University of Michigan-Dearborn

http://bit.ly/SEAbloghttp://on.fb.me/ SEAFacebookFanpage

Meeting July 11th, other news

We'll be meeting 
Monday July 11th 6:00pm 
on the second floor of the University Center in the SAOC
to plan for Fall Semester, take care of various projects, lay out some of our collaborative event plans, etc.

We're updating our mailing list too. To better plan how and what we communicate with you, please let us know:
1) if you'd like to be removed from the list
2) do you find the occasional job notices, conferences, internships, and volunteer opportunities valuable?
3) is there anything you'd like to lead or see happen in the future?
You can reach us at greenwolverines (at) ymail.com


Interesting news tidbits:

• Ready or not, your city may be very capable of adapting to accelerated climate change--Detroit's ranked in the top 3 (Cleveland got 1st place)! http://t.co/7MDYya8
• Check out the 1000 scientists in 1000 schools initiative. This would be a good complement to the NOVA ScienceNOW and Future City programs. http://bit.ly/mRKsjw
• Bright ideas by youths of Detroit (and some from Dearborn) gave ideas and some plans at the ESD Future Detroit symposium, the report has been published and one of SEA's members got to facilitate and author with workgroup 4. http://t.co/7UzuDOX  Issues of environmental justice and asthma didn't fit the final publication, but you can read the full unedited write up by requesting for a copy from the ESD (http://esd.org).

• The Pentagon has announced its energy/environmental strategy, hear parts of it discussed on the Diane Rehm Show: http://bit.ly/p269Qw  There'll be a time when the necessity of peaceable education overcomes the present reality of global conflicts soon, but all things considered it's still relatively good news as these perspectives in energy use are being put into action and will likely trickle into other parts of administrative and public attitudes toward sustainability.

For the 4th of July several of us went out to Ann Arbor to help with the last hoop house build for the 20 hoop houses in 20 days project--only to find a neighborhood without people building hoop houses (we probably rsvp'd too late and missed out on important details).  We saw a guy with a cello standing on the sidewalk without a shirt, a rockin' community garden in the Waterhill neighborhood, and then all three of us carpooled to visit the Michigan sailing club to partake in their potluck instead discussing bits of democracy and good books on a fine sunny day.  Hope you had a great and enriching 4th of July too!

Footage and Photos from 10/10

The Cool Cities Dearborn Sierra Club brought together several groups to host events on 10/10 as initiated under 350.org.

Dearborn's Community Television Channel also got footage of some of our activities and interviewed us:

http://dearbornvideo.org/videos/271/dearborn-journal-#243

I'm finally uploading pictures from 10/10!  It was a great event with upwards of ~45 people joining us to enjoy the outdoors for the Global Work Party Climate Action Day to walk, learn about the area, put bottled water to the test against tap (LWVDDH report no significant difference in preferences, but tap is 1,000 times cheaper!), paint pumpkins and gourds, and meet other community members.

Jenni Dunn of the Dearborn/Dearborn heights League of Women Voters at the blind tap vs. bottled water taste test table. Find out more about their actions and findings at their blog post on the 10/10 tap water taste test! 

Attendees gather for opening remarks on environmentally conscientious recreation, sustainability, and climate action from Ian Tran and Shannon Morrow before touring the Environmental Interpretive Center rain gardens, natural areas, and Rouge River Henry Ford Estate.

Pumpkin!  Apple from Apple Charlie's!  Cider and donuts also came from Apple Charlies, and we had attendees use compostable cups as planters for wild mountain mint (Pycnathemum pilosum) seeds collected by SEA--it was a leave-no trace event so all other items were composted or taken back for recycling/reuse.  The Fordson High School Environmental Club came forth in strong numbers and hosted the pumpkin painting table.

350.org participants gathered in all kinds of shapes, we made an Evergreen 1Sky, and the Sierra Club have signs up.

Several local parents hiked with their children, literally!

Liveability, walkability, and public hearings that could make it happen sooner!

Have you ever thought "Gee, crossing Evergreen Road and Hubbard as a pedestrian can be mighty dangerous!  I wish I could safely walk
from the Main Campus to the Fairlane Centers..." after class ended and the shuttles stopped running?

 

The following public meetings are opportunities to make the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus more walkable (maybe even less liable!), and the city more livable (which also helps reduce regional vehicular emissions) are coming soon.  Also, ask Dr. Bazzi if the public hearings merit ESCI/ENST 385 seminar credit.

Dearborn Sustainability Round Table II

The next Sustainability Round Table is Wed. August 25th 6:00-8:00 pm at the University of Michigan-Dearborn's Environmental Interpretive Center, hosted by the Sierra Club Cool Cities Dearborn Group.

The immediate objectives of this meeting are:

1. Envision the benefits from current sustainability initiatives for individuals
2. Envision the benefits from current initiatives in sustainability for the community as a whole

Longstanding objectives of these round table meetings are to:

1. Increase sustainability awareness
2. Organize interest in sustainability
3. Foster informed coalition building and network development in the city
4. Cultivate a more vibrant and sustainable community in the Metro Detroit area

Once again:

Come when you can and go when you must.


Feel free to bring informational materials about your organization, its programs and initiatives, as well as a dish to share (it's also a potluck for sustainability).
We hope attendees will have a clear understanding of the local groups
currently at work, as well as the regional initiatives which may
influence events happening within the Dearborn area.

The first round table was focused on organizing interest and
perspectives in sustainability--essentially to establish principles of
sustainability through broad community input.  Attendees, interested individuals, and organizations shared their individual initiatives and interests.

Please RSVP to Mary Ann Baier (313) 561-7351 email maturtle (at) gmail (dot) com


Meeting Preview:

The meeting will start with an interpretive walk of the natural area
and mushroom farm led by members of the Student Environmental
Association at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, introductions from
the Sierra Club Cool Cities Group and David Norwood, the
Sustainability Coordinator of the City of Dearborn will be a featured
guest speaker.  Round robin introductions of individuals and
organizations will be followed by a break out discussion on how
everyone's initiatives enrich individuals and the community as a
whole.

We intend to document the findings from this discussion, and
there is potential for them to be integrated into future proposals and
plans for the city or University.


Thanks, and we look forward to seeing you there!
Ian D. Tran
President, The Student Environmental Association at the University of
Michigan-Dearborn

Public meeting for offshore wind energy development--in Dearborn!

I just found out that the Michigan Great Lakes Offshore Wind Council has a public meeting for offshore wind energy development at UM-Dearborn next week!


July 21: Fairlane Development Center, UM Dearborn Campus, Dearborn.  (www.umd.umich.edu/maps_directions/)

There's also one at GVSU the day before:
July 20: Eberhard Center, GVSU, Grand Rapids  (www.gvsu.edu/meetatgvsu/)


(Source: http://www.michiganglowcouncil.org/coastal_community_meetings_spring2010.html Kudos to whoever updates the UM-Dearborn facebook page for posting this announcement yesterday--but why so late?)


I recommend doing some research on offshore wind and zoning before attending if you have the time. I'm also wondering if the Nearshore Framework has anything to implications on offshore wind development.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find a ready document from the International Joint Commission that speaks directly to offshore wind.  If you're wondering what the nearshore framework is about you read about it here:

http://www.ijc.org/en/priorities/2009/reports/2009-nearshore-framework.pdf
The document is about 1/2 as long as it looks--they alternate pages with note space.

Does anyone know of research on offshore zoning?  I thought the International Joint Commission did a piece on it but it seems like I was mistaken.

Invitation: Dearborn Sustainability Round Table June 16th

To whom it may concern,

I've been working closely with the Dearborn Sierra Club Cool Cities Group to bring institutional, not-for-profit, corporate, academic, governmental, and community leaders together for comprehensive sustainability efforts in the Dearborn area.

We cordially invite you to join us for a moderated round table discussion in room 1225 of the University Center at the University of Michigan-Dearborn on Wednesday June 16^th, 2010 from 6:00-8:00 pm.

This event is open to all, please RSVP to Mary Ann Baier: maturtle (at) gmail.com

Come when you can, go when you must.  If you believe this invitation may be suited for other individuals or organizations, please share it with them.

Our immediate objectives for this meeting is to increase sustainability awareness and foster informed coalition building and network development in the city.  We hope attendees will have a clear understanding of the local groups currently at work, as well as the regional initiatives which may influence events happening within the Dearborn area.

Among our longer-term goals, we aim to organize interest in establishing a sustainability panel for the city and formalize the University of Michigan-Dearborn's task force to coordinate efforts in sustainability to increase meaningful impact locally and globally through the community.

Feel free to bring a dish to share (it's also a potluck for sustainability) as well.

Below is the agenda overview:

-Greetings
-Introduction and objectives
-Organizational introductions, activities, accomplishments, goals
-Local event opportunities
-Mingle, network, etc.

-Next steps and meeting closure

Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to meting you,

Ian D. Tran

--

President, The Student Environmental Association at The University of Michigan-Dearborn

http://sustainableum-d.blogspot.com/

http://www.rcampus.com/Clubhomeshellc.cfm?xsite=sealeader

What's up at the University thusfar in sustainability...

There's a lot of stuff going on under the radar, so I thought I'd let you all know about some of it here as it pertains to the SEA and UM-Dearborn:

• Campus food reform

In response to Provost Davy's Urban Farming summit, a food panel was formed to examine and guide action on changing our campus food system and impacts. 

One agreed upon goal was to offer healthier food options, and to ensure ethical/responsible/sustainable food system practices.  This has also on Student Government's platform of agenda items, but both the panel and vice versa didn't know that they were working on the same thing.

Two visible action items are growing out of this:
-a comprehensive sustainability policy (I think I'm the only one looking into it right now, feel free to prove me wrong)
-a proposal for a cheap vegan sub sandwich to offset environmental and health impacts (a brilliant brainchild of Dr. Skrbina's)

After unsuccessful attempts to reach and join the United Students or Fair Trade via SEA (I'm guessing spotty internet connection when I pressed submit--I'd try again, but it was a detailed form to fill out so maybe later), we have reached out to food justice groups like the Coalition of Imokalee Workers to see what's going on with our current food contracts and food service's operations.  Aramark is at the table with the CIW and recently made an agreement to pay more for tomatoes as of January, so we can move on to watch for Kroger (the grocery store) some time on the horizon.

Through a very helpful person named Meghan from the Student Farworkers Alliance/CIW, I recently came across the Real Food Challenge's resources and was delighted to find a plethora of useful things:  We can find out about all of UM-Dearborn's contracts via FOIA requests (here's a useful guide for food services)  and add them to the contract database!  Plus, there were examples for Sustainable University Policy (Huzzah!!!), which brings us to the next point...

• University Sustainability Policy

We've joined the University of Michigan Student Sustainability Initiative and are waiting to catch up by phone with what's going on at the big campus in A^2.

To strengthen our actions in the food initiatives and other activities in the community, we're proposing that the University passes a sustainable charter that would be used to hold all future contractors to the University's standards of ethical operations within sensible time frames.

The great news is that we don't have to reinvent the wheel--The University of California and Brown University already passed comprehensive Sustainable University Policies and Student Government resolutions!

Eventually, things like sustainability and civic minded curriculum will be at the forefront of the agenda for the University, but one thing at a time...

• Community outreach and engagement

As part of the University sustainability policy and per the discussion at the "End of Suburbia" screening this past month, dissemination of credible education (aka science, and ways to civilly discern and communicate credible information) are key to enriching the community at and around campus.

The Sierra Club Dearborn Cool Cities group is looking to ask the mayor to formalize a sustainability panel for the city (in accordance with the city's proposal for comprehensive sustainable education and outreach) and at the same time, UM-Dearborn's EverGreen Team have been waiting to do the same with the university.  The Detroit Regional Chapter U.S. Green Building Council Green Schools committee is also checking out Dearborn to offer educational consulting services... might I add that the word "coalition" is under discussion?


In other things, SEA's being promoted in several places:  you can find us on the Engineering Society of Detroit's Affiliate Council (we're an affiliate society, which has really nice benefits like meeting lots of non-profit groups in the region, tasty discounts, and other stuff), at idealist.org under the affinity groups, at greeningdetroit.com next to MSU's sustainability group, and the blogs page of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE)
I've also found a few articles in The Reporter mentioning our events and activities (Thanks Jennifer Thelen!).

• Habitat restoration/preservation (invasive species removal right now, native plantings June 5th--assuming we have a landscape plan in place)

The past two weeks were all about Garlic Mustard removal, and it's an ongoing challenge.  Six people have removed over 300 pounds of the invasive plant in a beautiful nature preserve nestled inside of Livonia MI--ferns, trillium, spicbush, jack in the pulpit, and some very old elm trees are a mere smattering of the wonders to be found there.  We've been reporting our "harvests" to the Stewardship Network's Garlic Mustard Removal Challenge.

Henry Ford Estate (yes, the one on our campus) is also looking for help--and it's not too late!  They plan to remove more Garlic Mustard this Friday, and are.

JUNE 5th:  SEA and Volunteer Dearborn are hosting UM-Dearborn's Rouge Rescue Day (and all are invited to join!).  Before then, we're figuring out how we could squeeze in some bioswale site surveying and are looking for some landscape architects who'd be willing to contribute some time in coaching us on how to make a viable remediation plan so that we can propose the bioswale to campus Facilities Planning and Management.

That's all for now I think...

Public Hearing at EIC Feb. 10th: Our Say for the Rouge River

This Wednesday the 10th of Feb. at 7:00 pm, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment is holding a public meeting at the UM-Dearborn's Environmental Interpretive Center concerning modifications to our water treatment system. Public comments will be accepted through February 12, 2010.

This is a fine opportunity for all students to engage our greater community and consider our impacts on the social, economic, and ecological environment of Southeastern Michigan. Even if you're not yet ready to join the discussion concerning the science and policy, it is a great opportunity to observe and learn how what we do is affected by past actions and influences our future conduct as a region through a local civic event. Also, students in the Environmental Science and Studies program can receive ESCI 395 credit for attending this meeting (be sure to take notes and ask good questions!).

As I understand it from the attached document, a proposed Rouge River water treatment facility will treat stormwater runoff and primary effluent (physically strained waste water/sewage with basic treatment) with provisions to disinfect and dechlorinate any storm water runoff (water collected from storm drains off streets, etc.) that combines with the treated sewage and overflows and goes into the river. Discussion for alternatives to how we currently approach the waste water infrastructure is another focus of the meeting.

Among the alternative recommendations, investment in "green infrastructure", which I'd explain as preventative storm water treatment that creates natural spaces and other natural rain retention features, and let them do their job in trapping storm water. The Great Lakes Report blog has detailed financial coverage and some more history behind the Rouge River Outflow project, and there's also this link that explains the project.


As you may be aware, our Campus and much of Southeast Michigan is part of and is influenced by the status of the Rouge River--tap water for many people in the area is collected downstream of the Rouge River in Detroit and will be downstream of the proposed treatment site.

Author and historian Ginger Strand notes the following about infrastructure:
"Most of us take infrastructure for granted but we shouldn't; it tells us a lot about ourselves. The massive investment in designing, building and maintaining infrastructure is one of a society's most utopian actions: through it we seek to remake the world. Hydroinfrastructure, for example, shows our conviction that the perfect world has easy access to cold drinks and hot showers. It also links country and city through the flow of one of earth's most elemental substances, demonstrating that the worlds of 'nature' and 'culture' are not as separate as we often believe."

Similarly, the responsibility inherent to our belief in access to a healthy place for all to live is vested in events like these.

Here's to the River!

10 Feb. 2010 Update:
There's a snow day at the campus. The following information may be useful to all interested persons:

All interested parties are invited to present comments on the proposed NPDES permit. Persons unable to attend the public meeting and hearing may submit comments through February 12, 2010. This information will be considered prior to taking action on the permit. For additional information contact Thomas Knueve, Permits Section, Water Bureau, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, P.O. Box 30273, Lansing, Michigan 48909, telephone: 517-241-9535; e-mail: knuevet@michigan.gov.