Ecological Society of America

Chapter Directory > University of Michigan

"SEEDS" » Ann Arbor, Michigan

SEEDS at University of Michigan strives to share our passion for ecological sciences with people who have traditionally limited opportunity in and exposure to ecology. We aim to foster sustainability by enhancing ecological literacy, particularly among youth in local communities of color. With our proximity to the Detroit metropolitan area, we hope to develop a persistent feedback of community pride in place and engender broader perspectives in the field of ecology.

Plans for 2007-2008

• We are planning on developing a website that will make it easier for new students to get involved, and also to make resources easily available.
• We intend to be part of the inter-group council for environmental groups and work together with other campus groups in planning events and joint activities.
• We are trying to team up with the National Ocean Science Quiz Bowl and the local NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) office who puts on a Great Lakes Bowl for high schools at our campus. We want to go to high schools in underrepresented areas and try to create Quiz Bowl teams that we will coach and mentor throughout the year. We are really excited about this, and this will be one of our main focuses.
• We have already set a date to volunteer at Earth Works Gardens in Detroit which is a large urban garden that involves local children with activities that teach them about gardening and where their food comes from. All of the food goes to a soup kitchen that is part of the facility - http://www.earth-works.org/. This event will be directly after our mass meeting and will kick off the year for new members.
• We also hope to have various retreats (canoeing, nature hikes, scientific facilities tours) to promote chapter unity and environmental awareness in students not involved with SEEDS.
• We are also in the process of making T-shirts and stickers to promote protecting the environment and getting involved with our SEEDS chapter.

2006-2007 Activities

• Bi-Weekly Meetings: Every other Thursday from 7:30-9:00 pm, open to all members and guests invited once in a while
• Board Meetings: a few throughout the semester to help plan and organize for our general meetings and for funding and other paperwork
• Mass Meetings: one at the beginning of each semester to get more people involved. Gave out free organic pizza and presented a PowerPoint about what our group is and what we do.
• Field trip to Pickney Nature Area and the George Reserve: This was our first event, about 8 undergraduates, 2 graduate students, and 1 professor went and explored trails at a local nature area and shared our knowledge about the ecosystems and talked about what we observed. We learned how to identify some plants as well as mushrooms. We then went to the George Reserve and visited a graduate level field course and got to see what the grad students were doing and what their research was about. We also got a tour of the facility and research labs. We also participated by collecting some data on small mammals.
• Ohio State University Climate Change Conference: This was a 1 day trip down to Ohio where we attended a conference at the Byrd Polar Research Center and learned about climate change research from experts. We also got to tour the facilities and see an ice core and sediment core from the arctic. Three student attended the conference and then gave an informal presentation to the rest of the group members when they returned.
• Sciencepalooza Volunteer Event: We made posters and developed activities for elementary school aged children at the local hands-on science museum. We had 2 tables, one on aquatic ecology and the other on soil ecology. About 15 students took shifts volunteering.
• Career Panel: We planned an ecology/environment career panel that took place right after the multicultural career fair put on by our career center. We had 4 panelists: a university professor/scientist, a community outreach coordinator from the Ecology Center, a US Forest Service employee, and an education director from the Botanical Gardens.
• Great Lakes Science Bowl: We sent 2 volunteers to this event
• Contributed to the Diversity Mural: We designed and painted a puzzle piece that represents our chapter and it will be part of a mural in the Michigan Union
• Earth Week: Members represented SEEDS on the planning committee and helped to organize the campus wide event.
• Hands on the Planet Day: We collaborated with EnAct, and other student groups to host this event where students spent the day doing environmental service such as cleaning the Huron river by canoe.
• Potluck dinner and Movie: We watched The Life of Birds by David Attenborough
• End of the Year Retreat: We went for a day trip to Waterloo Recreational Area for a hiking expedition and canoe trip. Over 15 students took part in this day long event which culminated in an afternoon picnic.