Students lead successful effort to reduce waste at annual forum at EMU

On the Ground Ypsilanti is an “embedded journalism” program covering the city and township of Ypsilanti. It is supported by Ann Arbor SPARK, the Center for Health and Research Transformation, Destination Ann Arbor, Eastern Michigan University, Engage @ EMU, Washtenaw Community College, Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission, and Washtenaw ISD.

Eastern Michigan University (EMU) students spearheaded a recent effort to transform the annual Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition (SEMIS) Community Forum into a zero-waste event for the first time. Thanks to their efforts, 250 pounds of food and other materials were composted, and 165 pounds of unused food were recovered and donated to Ypsilanti-based Hope Clinic, resulting in less than a third of a bag of waste from the event going to a landfill.

Held May 21 at the EMU Student Center, the forum welcomed more than 300 K-12 students and community members to share place-based learning projects centered on local issues and civic engagement. SEMIS, a regional hub of the nonprofit Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative, is housed at EMU and supported by the College of Education and Engage@EMU. The coalition brings together K-12 educators, school districts, universities, municipal organizations, students, and community partners to promote place-based education, an immersive learning model that connects classroom instruction to real-world community issues and civic action.

This year’s Community Forum reflected those goals in action through a new partnership to help implement composting and waste reduction measures throughout the event. The partnership involved students from EMU’s Early College Alliance (ECA), EMU Dining staff, and current EMU students.

According to SEMIS Coalition Director Anna Balzer, the push toward a zero-waste forum grew out of both student feedback and ongoing classroom work examining the relationship between food waste and climate change.

“It came from multiple angles,” Balzer says. “We went around to student teams this year and asked what they wanted to see at the forum. They wanted to do a big action plan that brought schools together.”

Balzer explains that the zero-waste initiative started last year, when an ECA class was using math to investigate climate change and opportunities for climate action. Students expanded on that work this year by touring EMU’s campus sustainability operations, including the Student Center kitchen, where they observed firsthand how food waste is managed and how composting systems function behind the scenes.

“They got to see what food waste looked like here, and that’s how they chose that focus,” Balzer says. “When they reconnected with Beth Smith, [director of community wellness and sustainability for EMU Dining,] and learned about the work already happening around zero waste on campus, students saw a way for it all to come together and wanted to make it happen.”

The project grew directly out of SEMIS’ place-based education model, which encourages students to connect academic lessons with local environmental and civic challenges. In this case, students applied concepts from their math coursework to issues surrounding climate change, landfill methane emissions, and food waste reduction.

“Students were using math to better understand climate change and methane release in landfills,” Balzer says. “There are going to be things they don’t know, which leads to connecting with others in the community, which is really where place-based education begins.”

Balzer says ECA students worked closely with Smith and current EMU students to help plan and support composting and waste reduction efforts during the forum. In addition to learning technical information about sustainability practices, students also developed communication and leadership skills through the collaboration.

“They knew a lot about compost and food waste already, but they also needed to learn how to prepare remarks, change behavior, and get others involved,” Balzer says. “That’s the beauty of SEMIS. Students work in partnership with adults, and they’re learning both the technical side of the work and how to operate in community.”

Balzer adds that place-based education helps bridge the gap between classroom instruction and professional collaboration by teaching students not only academic skills, but also how to advocate for ideas and work alongside community partners.

“You have to know the technical skills, but you also have to know who to talk to and how to argue your case to get others on board,” Balzer says. “That’s the glue that holds any body of work together.”

To learn more about SEMIS, visit the coalition’s website or contact team@semiscoalition.org. More information about the annual community forum can be found here.

“I hope young people walk away recognizing that their voices matter and that there are adults in their community who genuinely care about what they’re working on,” Balzer says. “Their small piece of the pie might not change the whole world, but they’re part of a greater cause.”