SEMIS Coalition

SEMIS Coalition The SEMIS Coalition facilitates school-community partnerships to develop students as citizen-stewards of healthy ecological-social systems.

www.semiscoalition.org “Place-based education is learning that is rooted in what is local—the unique history, environment, culture, economy, literature, and art of a particular place.”
― Gregory A. Smith, Place- and Community-Based Education in Schools

On Monday, we gathered on the campuses of Salina Elementary School and Salina Intermediate School in Dearborn. The Sal...
06/04/2026

On Monday, we gathered on the campuses of Salina Elementary School and Salina Intermediate School in Dearborn. The Salina schools have had a strong focus on outdoor learning/nature-based play and environmental remediation for the past few years. Several SEMIS Coalition teachers and administrators in our Outdoor Learning cohort requested an opportunity to visit the campus and hear from the school and district leadership about the design and implementation of their outdoor learning spaces. With several natural play areas, a prairie, three rain gardens, and two vegetable gardens, Salina is truly an outdoor learning paradise. We also had the fun opportunity to witness students engaged in outdoor learning, from kindergarteners watering plants in the garden to students creating art on the walking track with chalk.

Friday Field Story: A Legacy of CareBeing a Biology student at Ypsilanti Community High School means science comes alive...
05/29/2026

Friday Field Story: A Legacy of Care

Being a Biology student at Ypsilanti Community High School means science comes alive in practical, real life ways. This week, Ms. Delaney Garcia’s scholars continue a tradition of sustainability and community stewardship that began in 2018 with the first rain garden installed by Geometry students. The original rain garden was joined over the years by a second rain garden, a prairie, and an orchard. The new rain gardens worked each year to control stormwater, slow erosion, and prevent flooding on school athletic fields. These green infrastructure projects help build community resilience to environmental changes, but a rain garden needs specific care to continue its important job.

After a long winter, May planting days finally came and SEMIS delivered over 400 plants to revitalize the rain gardens. Teams of students worked hard during each class period to get plants in the ground. Some students prepared holes; others removed new plants and loosened their bound roots, while others planted them. Their teamwork resulted in nearly all 400 plants finding new homes and ready to start their resilient work again. Ms. Garcia's and her students' work is supported with funding from NOAA's Office of Education. NOAA Education

Yesterday we welcomed almost 200 youth presenters to our annual Community Forum, an event where students and educators h...
05/22/2026

Yesterday we welcomed almost 200 youth presenters to our annual Community Forum, an event where students and educators have the opportunity to share their projects in a conference setting, with students in the position of educators!

Presenters joined us from 12 schools including Early College Alliance, Ford STEAM Early Learning Center, Henry Ford Elementary School, James and Grace Lee Boggs School, John R. King Academic & Performing Arts Academy, Mumford High School, Renaissance High School, Salina Intermediate School, The School at Marygrove, Wylie Elementary, Ypsilanti Community High School and Ypsilanti Community Middle School! They did an amazing job!

Special to the Zero Waste Early College Alliance at EMU High School Team! They were incredible, and inspired everyone at the event to pitch in, and learn more about food waste! Check back for more photos and the story on that! 🍓

Our Annual Community Forum each May is one of our favorite days of the year! This youth-led event consists of students from schools across southeast Michigan coming together to share the stories of place-based learning with the broader community. 🌎

Friday Field Story on Saturday! We were thrilled this week to celebrate alongside the Environmental Science students at ...
05/16/2026

Friday Field Story on Saturday! We were thrilled this week to celebrate alongside the Environmental Science students at Renaissance High School as they unveiled their new rain garden. Students have spent the semester learning about stormwater issues and solutions from community partners at the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, St. Suzanne Cody Rouge Community Resource Center, Friends of Rouge Park, and more! They researched, designed, dug out, and installed this rain garden to help with flooding issues along the sidewalk near the football field, alongside their vegetable gardens and greenhouse. Great job!

Today and tomorrow only! Plant sale Ypsilanti Community Schools High School on Packard. They close at 1ish today, but wi...
05/14/2026

Today and tomorrow only! Plant sale Ypsilanti Community Schools High School on Packard. They close at 1ish today, but will back around Friday. You will see them out front. 🪴

Seedlings and house plants are available! They look healthy and happy, so stop by and grab your garden goods from your local high school CTE Botany program!

This Field Story Friday, we're celebrating alongside the scholars, educators, and leaders of the 11 Ypsilanti Community ...
05/08/2026

This Field Story Friday, we're celebrating alongside the scholars, educators, and leaders of the 11 Ypsilanti Community Schools schools that received Emerald or Evergreen recognition (the two highest levels of recognition!) by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy! This community, across all levels, has done so much to make sustainability and community stewardship a priority, not only through projects on their school buildings and grounds, but also through innovative courses, place-based curriculum, and student-driven learning and civic action. From Grizzly Woods, to the Holmes prairie, the rain gardens at Estabrook, the greenhouses at the middle and high school and so much more, you've made it clear that young people have the knowledge, skills, and mindsets to lead meaningful and sustainable change in our community. Congratulations!

YCS Ford Early Learning Center Holmes Elementary School

We are very honored to work with the incredible educators in our Coalition! Behind every breakthrough, every "aha!" mome...
05/08/2026

We are very honored to work with the incredible educators in our Coalition! Behind every breakthrough, every "aha!" moment, and every spark of curiosity is a teacher who does this work from their heart. Teachers don’t only deliver content; they provide the context, empathy, and encouragement that turns information into wisdom for their students. Thank you for being a teacher! 🍎📚🌳

As this week of appreciate comes to a close, we want all of you to know that we will continue to appreciate you throughout the school year! Teachers are foundational to our communities for reasons too many to list here, and we recognize the above and beyond required in this work. We are here for you!!

Green is the color of spring—and spring is a time of action and achievement for hundreds of SEMIS Coalition students. As...
05/02/2026

Green is the color of spring—and spring is a time of action and achievement for hundreds of SEMIS Coalition students. As the May 21 Community Forum approaches, young people are finalizing their place-based models, completing research analyses, and preparing to present their work to peers, government officials, scientists, educators, and community partners.

This year, both new and returning teachers, alongside their students, have made meaningful, informed commitments to addressing local environmental challenges. At Ypsilanti Community Schools High School, we had the opportunity this week to partner with 9th-grade Biology students on their legacy rain garden project. Through this work, they explored how green infrastructure—such as rain gardens and prairie landscapes—can strengthen campus resilience and contribute to a more sustainable “Green School."

Meanwhile, Botany students continue to expand the school’s orchard by planting native trees, further enhancing biodiversity on campus. Thanks to the sustained efforts of students across disciplines, the high school has now achieved Evergreen status—the highest recognition awarded to schools that implement 20 or more environmental initiatives.

Celebrating a special Earth Day edition of Field Story Friday! The SEMIS team was busy taking part in incredible events ...
04/25/2026

Celebrating a special Earth Day edition of Field Story Friday! The SEMIS team was busy taking part in incredible events at schools across our Coalition. Highlights include: Frederick Douglass College Prep Academy's Earth Day Community Celebration in Detroit; Ypsilanti Sustainability Commission, Huron River Watershed Council, Washtenaw County Resiliency (Washtenaw County Resiliency Office), and Great Lakes Integrated Sciences + Assessments Center (GLISA) visit to Ypsilanti Community Schools to talk with 9th grade Biology students about their upcoming rain garden project; Dearborn's Salina Schools (, ) celebrating the completion of two nature-themed playgrounds; and Wylie Elementary (Dexter Community Education) 3rd grade teacher, Jim Barnes, recognized as the 2026 Teacher of the Year by Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti Regional Chamber and the LaFontaine Family. Congratulations, Jim! What an inspiring day, celebrating the places and the planet we all share.

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203 Boone Hall Eastern Michigan University
Ypsilanti, MI
48197

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Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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