Manistee County Great Lakes Water Stewardship Satellite Plan
Grant Type: 2007 Capacity Building Grant
Project Duration: 6/13/07–12/1/07
Grant Amount: $5,213.50
Project Description
The foundation was awarded a capacity-building grant through the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative to explore how a community interested in pursuing the initiative’s goals and strategies might collaborate with one of the initiative’s regional hubs to develop a “satellite” that serves K–12 teachers, students, and community organizations.
Project Outcome
The foundation was awarded a capacity-building grant through the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative to explore how a community interested in pursuing the initiative’s goals and strategies might collaborate with one of the initiative’s regional hubs to develop a “satellite” that serves K–12 teachers, students and community organizations. Leaders and a team of stakeholders from Manistee County met as a group on several occasions and also met several times with leaders of the funded regional hub at Muskegon Area Intermediate School District. The foundation’s report identifies existing core capacities within Manistee County and also describes efforts already underway in Manistee that are related to the goals and strategies of GLSI. The report contains a table that lists assets and needs related to GLSI’s key strategies: place-based education, professional development for teachers, and school-community partnerships. A draft budget of $35,000 for satellite operations represents only preliminary estimates of activity and effort. Specific descriptions of roles, responsibilities and on-going collaboration between a Manistee satellite and the Muskegon hub were not fully developed, possibly because the plan of operation for the Muskegon hub, itself, was still in the planning stages during the life of this capacity-building grant. Positive outcomes of this grant within Manistee County include: cross-county collaboration, a thoughtful consideration of existing capacity and needs, greater public awareness of the GLSI’s goals and strategies, and an opportunity for K–12 teachers and administrators to serve as community leaders through participation in the work team.