Portage Middle School students from Willowcreek and Nativity of Our Parish schools will participate in the Alliance for the Great Lakes Beach Cleanup on September 17th at West Beach and Portage Lakefront Beach.
Faculty and students from Valparaiso University and Indiana University Northwest will be challenging Portage Middle School students and science teachers (Willowcreek Middle School and Nativity of Our Savior 7th and 8th graders) in the Alliance for the Great Lakes Beach Clean-up at West Beach and Portage Lakefront beach on September 17th.
This event will be the kick-off for the 2 year EPA Environmental Education grant awarded to Valparaiso University entitled "Building bridges for environmental stewardship: schools, universities and community collectively embracing the health of a local watershed." Valparaiso University project partners include IUN, Portage Middle Schools, Save the Dunes and the Hoosier Environmental Council (HEC).
The overall EPA project goal is to engage students and the Portage community in activities that lead to greater awareness, understanding and protection of the local watersheds. Faculty, teachers, students and other interested participants will take part in watershed monitoring and water quality testing in efforts to determine major stresses on the Lake Michigan tributaries that flow through the watersheds in Portage. University research students will study water quality to better comprehend watershed disturbances. Two prominent environmental nonprofit organizations in Indiana, Save the Dunes and the Hoosier Environmental Council (HEC), will conduct annual workshops for the community on watershed and fresh water topics, beginning in early November.