Environmental Education Program

Great Lakes

Our Goals

Over the past twenty-four years I have worked with the children of northern Michigan through Au Sable Institute's environmental education program. As I talk with children an alarming picture emerges. Many children do not feel connected to the environment. They spend little time outdoors. They do not understand that their basic needs are supplied by the natural world. This is particularly disconcerting as I look into the future. For where there is a notion that we are disconnected from the natural world, stewardship has no chance.

That is why Au Sable Institute's environmental education program strives to meet the following goals.

1. To provide direct experiences in the natural world which foster wonder, joy, and delight.
2. To provide experiences which demonstrate our dependency on the natural world for our food, water, energy, clothing, etc.
3. To provide opportunities for each student to develop a sense of place by familiarizing them with the plants, animals, landforms, and ecosystems of their region.
4. To provide instruction in the basic principles of ecology.
5. To provide training in the skills necessary to make decisions which sustain and maintain a productive and healthy environment.

Within the context of our environmental education program we strive to inspire as well as instruct - to train the heart as well as the head. This type of training is best done through direct experiences in the outdoors. Through the Au Sable program we try to reach each student's imagination, to stir the student's heart and mind, to awaken enthusiasm, to pique curiosity, and to evoke feeling and action. We try to set the stage so our students will want to know more, will want to discover on their own, and will seek out deeper meanings and understandings.

We appreciate your participation with us as we strive to protect the environment of northern Michigan through education.

Sincerely,
Patricia Fagg
Environmental Education Coordinator

Au Sable Institute
7526 Sunset Trail NE
Mancelona, MI 49659
(231) 587-8686 Phone
(231) 587-5353 FAX
fagg@ausable.org

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