2023 Place-Based Education Conference: Exploring Connection

Climate Change Colloquium (Richard M. Devos Center)

Thursday, November 9th (4-6 pm)

For the first time in conference history, the Place-Based Education Conference is featuring a special topic event—The Climate Change Colloquium. Engage with an incredible panel of interdisciplinary experts from across West Michigan, each of whom is working to address various aspects and impacts of the climate crisis. We’ll begin with a panel discussion followed by refreshments and roundtable discussions.

Welcome Reception: Grand Rapids Brewing Company

Thursday, November 9th (7:30-9:30 pm)

Plan to kick off the 2023 PBE Conference at our Conference Connections Welcome Reception at  Grand Rapids Brewing Company ! We’ll provide a tasty selection of complimentary hors d’oeuvres and drinks and the opportunity to connect with friends new and old in GRBC’s private gathering space. We’ll also have access to the Game Room, featuring classic arcades, skee-ball, pool tables, air hockey, and more! This event is free, and though registration is not required, we ask that you RSVP to help us plan accordingly!

Dragonfly Award Banquet (Grand Rapids Public Museum)

6–9 p.m. on  Friday (November 10) | $60 pre-registration requested

Join us at the Grand Rapids Public Museum—a truly amazing venue—for our traditional Dragonfly Award Banquet, when we honor people who have made significant contributions to the field of place-based stewardship education. Converse with colleagues and check out the wonderful exhibits, then enjoy dinner and an inspiring keynote address—and maybe a carousel ride, too!

Join us at the Grand Rapids Public Museum—a truly amazing venue—for our traditional Dragonfly Award Banquet, when we honor people who have made significant contributions to the field of place-based stewardship education. Converse with colleagues and check out the wonderful exhibits, then enjoy dinner and an inspiring keynote address—and maybe a carousel ride, too!

Immersion Experience - River Rewilding: Connecting Classrooms and Communities

Thursday, November 9, 9 a.m.–12 p.m. (van and walking tour)

Engage in  activities  designed by the  Groundswell Stewardship Initiative  to engage students in a local environmental restoration project. Collect habitat and water quality data in two streams (Lamberton Creek and Grand River) and learn how research practices are developed for different ecosystems. Engage in a design challenge to create a Hester-Dendy macroinvertebrate sampler to take home. Discuss with colleagues how to embed similar student-led research efforts in larger ecological restoration projects in other communities, including your own. This experience highlights hands-on, meaningful research activities and directs you to lesson plans that align with Michigan’s academic standards. Guides: Eileen Boekestein from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy ( EGLE ) and Matt Bain of the Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds ( LGROW ). Limits: 12-20 participants (Cost $30) [EXPERIENCE IS FULL!]

Immersion Experience - The Immersive Learning Sandbox

Thursday, November 9, 9 a.m.–12 p.m. (van and walking tour)

This experience takes you inside the  Steelcase University Learning Center  (SULC) in Grand Rapids! Learn about aspects of the built environment and its impact on student behavior through a scavenger hunt that engages several members of Steelcase’s team and illustrates our human-centered approach to designing active learning environments.  Tour Steelcase’s most recent immersive learning studio to explore opportunities for using emerging technologies that support collaboration, communication, creative expression, critical thinking and wellbeing. Guides: SULC Staff. Limits: 40 participants (Cost: $30)

Immersion Experience - Michigan’s Dunes: Like No Place on Earth!

Thursday, November 9, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. (van and walking tour)

Join a MiDNR interpreter at  Hoffmaster State Park  to learn from a MiDNR interpreter and hike the park’s spectacular and unique dunes. Take part in Hoffmaster’s popular, interpreter-led program, “Introduction to Michigan’s Sand Dunes.” Learn more about the value of public lands (including state/national parks and forests and local preserves) as sites for students’ explorations and stewardship efforts. The MiDNR’s Interpreter-led school programs are aligned with K-12 standards and also provide opportunities for students  to connect with environmental professionals in their communities. Guides: Kevin Frailey of the  Michigan Department of Natural Resources  and staff of Hoffmaster State Park. Lunch is provided. Limits: 7-14 participants (Cost: $60) [EXPERIENCE IS FULL!]

Immersion Experience - The Possibilities of Summer Camp Partnerships

Thursday, November 9, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. (van and walking tour)

Summer camps are a vital part of youth development, and  Camp Newaygo  has been at it for 97 years!  Visit the camp’s beautiful 104-acre property to appreciate how place-based education is integrated across the camp’s facilities and programs, and how staff braid content knowledge with experiential learning in their role as educators.  Understand more about the camping industry and discover strategies you can use to forge new partnerships back home.  Guides:  Staff of Camp Newaygo. Lunch is provided. Limits: 10-28 participants (Cost: $60)

Immersion Experience - Learn WILD with John Ball Zoo

Thursday, November 9, 12:30–3 p.m. (van and walking tour)

For young learners, zoos provide a chance to experience and connect with the wonder of our natural world.  Older students gain understanding of the importance of conservation and stewardship and are also exposed to a wide variety of related careers.  Visit the  John Ball Zoo  and learn about the Zoo Lab. Designed as a week-long immersion program for K-12 students, the Zoo Lab includes behind-the-scene views of some of the Zoo’s habitats and operations, animal encounters, and observations of training or enrichment experiences offered to animals in their habitats.  Learn more about programming offered by the John Ball Zoo (and perhaps also at a zoo in your area).  Guides: Staff of John Ball Zoo. Limits: 10-14 participants (Cost: $30) [EXPERIENCE IS FULL!]

Immersion Experience - Harm/Harmony Tour of Silver Creek Drain

Thursday, November 9, 1–3:30 p.m. (van and walking tour)

Visit and learn about the history of Silver Creek Drain, a tributary of Plaster Creek. It was put underground in the 1930s as southeast Grand Rapids was developed. With a focus on environmental justice, the tour highlights the impact of humans on this landscape, and also recognizes the work that is underway today to help the creek and community.  Learn about how this creek inspired local middle students’ sense of this place, and enjoy the poems they wrote about it.  Guides:  Plaster Creek Stewards  of Calvin University. Limits: 10- 20 participants (Cost: $30) [EXPERIENCE IS FULL!]

Immersion Experience - Lapping the Landmarks

Friday, November 10, 10:20 a.m.–12 p.m. (1.5-mile walking tour)

This walking tour is a must-do for those who really want to connect with the fair city of Grand Rapids!  Cruise by Campau Square, named after Louis Campau, who built a trading post, blacksmith shop, and cabin on the banks of the Grand River in the 1820s.  Explore some of the city’s “first and finest,” including historic sites, hotels, bridges, museums, Native American earthworks, churches, the Grand River and more—all neatly contained in a downtown loop.  Even longtime residents are sure to exclaim, “I never knew that!”  (In the event of inclement weather, this experience will be conducted in the nearly one-mile, covered skywalk that connects many buildings and points of interest within the city.)  Guide: Caroline Cook of  Grand Rapids Running Tours . Limits: 6-50 participants (Cost: $30)

Immersion Experience - Experience the Grand Rapids Public Museum School!

Friday, November 10, 1:15-2:55 p.m. (time subject to change) (van and walking tour

This immersion experience takes you inside the  Grand Rapids Public Museum High School ! Formed in partnership with the  Grand Rapids Public Museum ,  Kendall College of Art and Design  at Ferris State University, and  Grand Valley State University’s College of Education , and recipient of an XQ Super School grant,  this high school’s unique learning approach focuses on community-based projects that incorporate design thinking and place-based education. Everything is geared toward empowering scholars to become leaders and change-makers in their communities. Tour the school space, engage with students through a student-led and designed learning session, and participate in a Museum-led tour of the archives building, where 95% of the museum’s collection is stored.  Guides: Staff of the Grand Rapids Public Museum and staff and students of the Grand Rapids Public Museum High School. Limits: 14-20 participants (Cost: $30) [EXPERIENCE IS FULL!]

Lodging: Holiday Inn

 The Holiday Inn: Grand Rapids Downtown  is a five-minute walk from the Eberhard Center (our conference venue) and is across the street from the Grand Rapids Public Museum, site of the Dragonfly Awards Banquet.

Lodging: Courtyard by Marriott

 The Courtyard Grand Rapids Downtown  is directly across the Grand River from the Eberhard Center (our conference venue) and is a quick 5-minute walk using the pedestrian-only Blue Bridge.