During 2022, we worked in 15 Michigan counties and hosted SEEDS Centers in Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Manistee, Osceola, and Wexford. Your donations help us continue to spread and deepen our impact across Michigan!
Preparing young leaders for the future
We get young people excited about the natural world around them and invested in being good ecological stewards! Our programs actively teach leadership, life skills, and resilience. This year, SEEDS EcoCorps was 30-members strong! We hired 27 local individuals and hosted a group of six AmeriCorps NCCC volunteers, all of whom received hands-on introductions to green collar careers like wood working, trail building, and habitat restoration. SEEDS EcoSchool, serving K-12 learners, made friends with nearly 1150 students while providing daily access to experiential education in ecoSTEM, nutrition and gardening, place-based history and culture, and so much more!
Above: We hosted an AmeriCorps NCCC crew who got hands-on with woodworking at the SEEDS Workshop with EcoCorps and our wood fellow.
Above: EcoSchool students at Marion Elementary celebrate their pollinator garden project.
Regenerating habitats across Michigan
We’re growing a better tomorrow for non-human Michiganders through habitat restoration and regeneration! This year, we specifically supported milkweed, Karner blue butterflies, and the Eastern massasauga rattlesnakes along with a whole host of other creatures large and small.
Above: EcoSchool students at Kaleva Norman Dickson Elementary install more pollinator-friendly plants in their outdoor classroom with the Manistee Conservation District.
Above: EcoCorps Crew Leader Dirk plants native wildflowers as part of a habitat restoration project in the Huron-Manistee National Forests.
(Re)Connecting people and nature
Spending time in nature is healing. People who do so also get inspired to be curious and to take positive action. Building trails and improving parks helps neighbors and visitors experience and benefit from this bounty. All our programs prioritize helping get people outside and get interconnected!
Above: EcoCorps crewmembers stand on a deck they built, part of the 45 miles of built and improved trails we worked on this year!
Above: EcoSchool students at Forest Area Middle School go on a nature walk in their school forest.
Fostering systemic change; building on movements
We want it to be easier for everyone to help take care of our planet and our communities! We provide coaching and support to local decision-makers and community leaders about integrating carbon and biodiversity goals into their daily work and lives. For example, SEEDS is the fiduciary facilitator of a 10-county effort to keep compostable materials out of our landfills – we’re collectively aiming to divert 40 times more food waste (14,000 tons/year) and you can help!
Above: SEEDS working with the City of Traverse City as its Green Team Facilitator aiming for a carbon neutral future.
Above: In a first-year pilot partnership, SEEDS helped Trattoria Stella divert 2000 pounds of food waste from the landfill and into compost. Stay tuned in 2023 for more compost action and a ribbon cutting or two!
Donors like you enable us to pull off great things – together we are making the world a better place. Please consider joining us with a gift! You can send a check to PO Box 2454, Traverse City, MI 49685 or visit www.ecoseeds.org/donate.
