Central Michigan University
IN-26: Innovation C

Central Michigan University has a competitive Primary, Secondary and Higher Education program. A distinguishing sustainability feature of this program is the coalition with Michigan Environmental Education Curriculum Support or MEECS. The Website reads: "The Michigan Environmental Education Curriculum Support (MEECS) is carefully designed to help teachers integrate environmental education into their classrooms using balanced and science-based curriculum lessons and materials. Broaden the opportunities for young people to acquire basic information about the environment - how it functions, how it is affected by human activity, and how harmony between human activity and the natural environment can be achieved to benefit our economy, our environment, and our quality of life. A greater understanding of our environment will lead to greater care and stewardship. The units are Michigan-specific and include the many environmental issues that are unique to the Great Lakes region." This innovation within the CMU curriculum focuses teacher training on relevant sustainability issues. Since CMU has a partnership with this constantly evolving organization, the university is privy to the most current resources for sustainability related curriculum tools. This ensures that educators graduating from Central Michigan University have a solid foundation/background in teaching/infusing sustainability in the classroom.