From Bold Initiative to Sustained Network
Our mission is to develop and support lifelong Steward-Leaders of the Great Lakes Basin. To do so, we connect people, place, and purpose through localized stewardship education and action.
In partnership with community-based host institutions throughout Michigan and the Great Lakes Basin, GLSI operates as a network empowering students, educators, and community partners to learn through local hands-on explorations, develop a strong sense of place and lifelong connection to the Great Lakes Basin, and take meaningful action to address local issues that impact the health of the Great Lakes Basin and its communities.
The effort to envision and create the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (GLSI) began in 2005 with a goal to ensure Michigan's young people have opportunities to form a strong sense of both place and agency within the Great Lakes Basin, while also developing as the next generation(s) of Steward-Leaders working to protect the Great Lakes Ecosystem, Freshwater System, and the region's communities. Recognizing both the state's unique connection to the world's largest freshwater system and its responsibility to future generations, GLSI set out to help students understand their communities, explore local environmental challenges, and take meaningful action. The Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative was launched by the Great Lakes Fishery Trust in 2007 with a 10-year, $10 million commitment, as part of its ongoing investment in education and community engagement that leads to stewardship of the Great Lakes.
GLSI developed throughout its first 10 years as an initiative of the Great Lakes Fishery Trust
To bring this vision to life, GLSI endeavored throughout its early years to develop a new approach to youth leadership development, learning, and community participation that prepared young people for 21st Century Careers and to be the future leaders and stewards of the Great Lakes Basin and its communities. The approach braided formal K-12 learning, career pathway exposure, civic engagement, and student collaboration with local businesses and organizations to implement stewardship action projects. This effort was refined into a unique, nationally-reviewed model of formal classroom teacher training, teaching delivery and project management, and student learning: Place-Based Stewardship Education.
At the same time, GLSI developed a statewide network of regional hubs, each a joint effort between GLSI and a community-based host institution. GLSI Hubs support schools, educators, businesses, and community organizations within a regional service footprint to create and sustain hands-on, place-based learning experiences and stewardship action projects that empower students to address local environmental issues and increase community nature access.
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"The Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative offers one of the most comprehensive Place-Based Education programs in the nation."
David Sobel,
Author, Scholar, and Developer of Place-Based Education Philosophy
After a first decade developing and operating from within the Great Lakes Fishery Trust, GLSI transitioned into an independent nonprofit organization and network in 2017, with a leadership structure to include representatives of each GLSI Hub and a team of independent board directors. During the same period, GLSI also incrementally transitioned its funding structure and strategy to strengthen the local, long-term sustainability of each GLSI Hub and grow the organization's capacity to serve schools and communities throughout Michigan and the eight Great Lakes states.
Today, GLSI's network spans the entire state of Michigan, from the Keweenaw Peninsula to Detroit, Alpena to Grand Rapids, and Flint to Muskegon, with local partnerships embedded in universities, school districts, and community foundations. GLSI also supports a rapidly growing number of communities and schools/districts in all eight Great Lakes states, and connects a national community of education and community leaders, researchers, funders, and organizations through its leadership of the National Place-Based Education Conference and related programs.
Over the past 20 years, GLSI has grown into the nation's largest and longest-running place-based education network and is recognized internationally for empowering young people to improve their communities while learning far beyond the classroom. In 2027, GLSI will launch into its next 20 years of connecting people, place, and purpose throughout the Great Lakes Basin.