Thunder Bay Film Festival: Northeast Michigan youth are stewardship leaders
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EmailNortheast Michigan youth leaders will be stars on the big screen as part of a new Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative documentary premiering January 26th during the Thunder Bay Film Festival.
Students from northeast Michigan will be featured as part of a new documentary that will be featured as part of the Thunder Bay Film Festival. The film festival will run January 24-26 at the NOAA Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center in Alpena, Michigan. The Friends of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, in partnership with the San Francisco International Ocean Film Festival, are hosting this second annual event, which explores our world’s oceans and Great Lakes through educational films such as artic exploration and marine wildlife to issues of marine debris and Great Lakes recreation. Featured among several Great Lakes films will be the premiere of a new place-based education documentary following schools and students of the Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (NMGLSI) network.
Collaborating with the Great Lakes Fishery Trust and statewide Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative, international 
filmmaker Bob Gliner spent multiple days filming with schools and students, community partners and their Great Lakes stewardship projects in northeast Michigan. Gliner, known for his documentary Schools that Change Communities, worked with the NE MI GLSI network to create this documentary film highlighting place-based education efforts among schools and communities of northern Lake Huron. From applied robotics to investigate water quality and aquatic invasive species monitoring, to beach-clean ups, mapping shipwrecks along the shore, and writing about Lake Huron’s biodiversity promoting sustainable coastal tourism, Gliner’s documentary captures and celebrates northeast Michigan youth who are gaining unforgettable educational experiences while enhancing their local environments and community.
The NE MI GLSI place-based education documentary will show in the Visitor Center’s main theater at 2:00 p.m. on January 26, highlighted among the many other films that center on our world’s valuable oceans and Great Lakes resources. Tickets are $25 on Friday for the opening reception and films, and $10 for adults ($5 for students) each day on Saturday and Sunday. For those unable to attend, this documentary is available online to show, firsthand, how these youth are enhancing their communities through environmental stewardship action.
Michigan State University Extension, Michigan Sea Grant and 4-H Youth Programs are proud leadership partners to the Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative network. This partnership serves to support schools and teachers, encourage strong school-community partnerships, and promote high quality place-based education opportunities with students. Place-based education reflects a learning strategy where students, through their learning, are engaged in hands-on environmental stewardship projects for the benefit of their community.
In 2013, the NE MI GLSI network and partnership engaged more than 6,000 youth across eight northeast Michigan counties, through hands-on learning, in fielding Great Lakes stewardship projects directly enhancing their local communities and natural environment. This documentary celebrates the northeast Michigan students who are addressing relevant Great Lakes issues and community development goals and promoting a sustainable future for our Great Lakes resources.
For more information about the Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative and place-based stewardship education partnerships, visit the NE MI GLSI website and view this documentary online. For more information about the Thunder Bay Film Festival call 989-356-8805, ext 38, or email Stephanie Gandulla.
