Schools Test I-P-M

We usually hear about Integrated Pest Management – or I-P-M – as itrelates to agriculture. In that setting, it’s a way to help reduce oreliminate the amount of pesticides farmers use on their crops. But theconcept of I-P-M is catching on in other places too.As the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports, somestates are taking Integrated Pest Management from the cornfields, righton into the classroom.

Commentary – Back to School Buying Frenzy

While millions of school kids are returning to classes, the retailers of the nation are counting up the profits from the back-to-school buying frenzy. But as Great Lakes Radio Consortium commentator Suzanne Elston points out, maybe the need to have everything new for the start of school year is one lesson we don’t want to teach our children:

Fishing Lessons

Learning how to fish isn’t hard, but if you don’t have someone to show you how…chances are, it’ll take a lot of trial and error before you learn the subtle nuances of the sport…like how to bait a hook so the fish can’t steal all your worms.For most of us, these fishing lessons were informal, taught by parents or older brothers and sisters. But as the Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson found out, this summer, the state of Michigan is helping people get into the act:

Floating Classroom Promotes Science

This summer, a floating classroom is making its way around Lake Michigan. On it, both kids and adults will be learning about water quality issues and gathering scientific data. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson has more:

Northern Great Lakes Center Opens

A new Great Lakes interpretive center opens May 30th on the south shoreof Lake Superior just west of Ashland, Wisconsin. One-hundred andtwenty-five thousand people are expected to visit the center each year.The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Eric Schubring has thestory:

A Greener Way to Hit the Slopes

Each year, Purdue University sponsors a contest to find creative usesfor soybeans. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s David Naylor reportson how this year’s winners may have found a "greener" way to hit theslopes:

Annual Sturgeon Spawn

Northeast Wisconsin is home to one of North America’s largest sturgeon populations. Every Spring, those sturgeon swim north from Lake Winnebago to spawn. The fish are huge, prehistoric-looking creatures. Some of them are more than six feet long and weigh a hundred pounds. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Nick Van Der Puy was there and has this report:

Environmental Theme Semester

"Environment" is the buzz word at The University of Michigan campus in Ann Arbor this semester. Following a trend among universities nationwide, faculty and students from all different departments here joined together to pay a tribute to planet earth with an Environmental Theme Semester. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Julie Edelson Halpert attended one of the events and has this report:

Great Lakes CD-ROM

Chances are when you were in elementary school, you saw your fair share of film strips. They weren’t much more than a boring lecture, with pictures…And the only good thing about them was getting chosen to run the projector. But today, computers in the classroom can really jazz up a lesson. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson reports on some new software that’s helping kids learn about the Great Lakes:

A Mother’s Crusade

Lead poisoning has been called the number one environmental health hazard for children. While low-income families are most affected, lead poisoning can happen to anyone. And the damage it does is permanent. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Wendy Nelson recently met a family that’s been forever changed because of lead: