Field Note # 7: State Of The Great Lakes 2009 Highlights Report

Field Note #7 June 23, 2009
by Aurora Harris



Today I read about all the yucky stuff that's being dumped into our Great Lakes like used technology and old prescription drugs. The used technology includes televisions, phones, cell phones and old computers. After conducting a bit of research today on the Great Lakes, I found a 2009 report on http://binational.net/solec/sogl2009_e.html.
The report is a joint effort of the United States' Environmental Protection Agency and Environment Canada. When you click on the link, you will be able to download the latest and past reports about the status of the ecosystem, invasive species, effects on human health, contaminants and more.

At the link below, on pages 6-7, there is a report that 99% of freshwater mussels have been wiped out.
http://binational.net/solec/sogl2009/sogl_2009_h_en.pdf.

An excerpt from the 2009 report on Biotic Communities states:

Overall, the status of biotic communities varies from one lake to another, with Lake Superior generally having a more positive status than the other lakes. Indicators that measure lower food web components generally show more negative status and trends, and most of these can be related back to the impacts of invasive zebra and quagga mussels. Some indicators that focus on higher food web components are more positive and highlight the successes that can be achieved as a result of long-term restoration and protection efforts.

Benthic Organisms: Bottom-dwelling, or benthic, aquatic organisms are important to, and indicative of, aquatic ecosystem health. The diversity of benthic organisms in Lake Superior, Lake Huron, and Lake Michigan is typical of nutrient-poor, oxygenrich conditions. In contrast, the community of benthic organisms in Lake Erie is more typical of an aquatic ecosystem with low oxygen, nutrient-rich conditions.

Diporeia is an aquatic invertebrate that is an important food source for preyfish, and its populations have declined drastically in all lakes except Lake Superior. The decline
began after the arrival of zebra and quagga mussels, but their continuing downward trend is far more complex. The continuing decline will have serious consequences for the
food web, and impacts are being observed in populations of preyfish such as whitefish, bloater and sculpin.

In the lower Great Lakes, over 99 percent of the native freshwater mussel population has been wiped out by the establishment of invasive zebra and quagga mussels. There are a few isolated nearshore communities of native mussels that are still reproducing, with coastal wetlands
acting as refugia for native mussels. Recent research onnative mussels in the St. Lawrence River shows that aftera period of time following an invasion, the numbers ofnative mussels in open waters may stabilize and natural reproduction may resume.

Field Note # 6 Eco Justice, Environmental, Rivers and Lakes Resources

Field Note #6 June 18, 2009
by Aurora Harris

Here are resources for teachers and students to learn more about Eco Justice, Environment, Lakes and Rivers in and around Michigan:

Eco Justice Dictionary at Chet Bowers' web page: http://www.cabowers.net/CAdictmain.php

Eco justice education: http://www.cabowers.net/www.ecojusticeeducation.org/

Friends of The Detroit River. Historical info, announcements and facts: http://www.detroitriver.org//

FDR and U of M Dearborn's
Environmental Interpretive Center
Present "A Sense Of Wonder"
July 9th 2009. Free Movie Coupon available by clicking detroit river link above.

Grosse Isle, MI Large Lakes and Rivers Research Station; Environmental Protection Agency:
http://www.epa.gov/greeningepa/facilities/grosse_ile.htm

Gardening, Holistic Health and African-centered Education

By Malik Yakini, Director of Nsoroma Institute

African-centered education is at its root an effort to heal the damage that has been done to African people by centuries of oppression, underdevelopment and teachings that have caused us to dislike and distrust self and kind. Often people think that African-centered education simply seeks to inform students about the African origin of civilization or about the works of Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X and our other heroes and sheroes. Those are important aspects of African-centered education, but our healing approach must address all aspects of our existence; mental physical and spiritual. Our approach to liberation must be grounded in our own worldview; an African worldview that recognizes the interconnectedness of the internal and external aspects of our lives.

This holistic approach demands that we teach in an interdisciplinary fashion. The various academic disciplines must be taught so that students intuitively understand the relationship between science and social studies, between math and art and between language and culture.

African-centered schools seek to develop whole, healthy Black children who love themselves, their people and understand their responsibility to develop the African World Community, and by extension humanity. Thus, holistic health is an integral part of the philosophy of African-centered education.

At Nsoroma Institute, one of the most innovative ways that we incorporate the teaching of holistic health is through organic gardening. For the past nine years we have planted and maintained a school garden. For the past three years we have participating in the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, a community coaliton of groups and indivduals doing organic urban gardening.

In reality, the gardening initiative is only part of a larger effort at teaching community food security. In 2000, Anana Lololi of the Toronto based Afri-Can Food Basket met with Nsoroma staff and parents to develop a community food security curriculum guide. The curriculum guide designates topics to be examined by students including nutrition, food production and distribution, and the sciences related to the growth of plant foods.

Holistic health is also promoted by offering healthy food choices at school programs, healthy snacks in our vending machines, a schoolwide ban on pop and candy, schoolwide daily meditation, physical education classes and drug and alcohol prevention workshops.

Field Note # 3 Nsoroma Raised Beds Gardens and Cultural Awareness

June 4, 2009, Field Note # 3 : Tomato plants in raised bed gardens at front of the school.

























Photos 3 and 4 are raised bed gardens at the rear of the school.

At the school, a positive message is found over the entrance. Ten raised bed gardens are a part of the landscape. Some of the vegetables and herbs that students and teachers planted were cabbage, collards, tomatoes and basil in beds at the rear and front of the school. There are six raised beds on the front lawn of the school and four behind the main school building.

Cultural Awareness

When you visit the Nsoroma Institute, you will find that being courteous is part of the school culture. The students and staff address adults in Swahili with titles such as Mama (Mrs., Miss, Ms, mother, woman), Baba (Mr., gentleman, sir, father), or Bibi (Mrs, Miss, Ms, lady, woman without children). At the school, I am addressed as Bibi Aurora.

Common greetings are:

Hujambo? How are you? (to one person)

sijambo I'm fine

Hamjambo? how are you (to more than one person)

Njema good

Nzuri good, fine

Words Associated with the Nsoroma Institute, Food Security, Gardening, Farming , Lakes and Rivers

On June 1 and 2, after visiting with teachers in their classrooms and learning about their classroom experiences, Baba Malik, Mama Nko, Mama Deborah and Mama Fabayo and I agreed that it would be a good idea to have a vocabulary list of English and Swahili words. I compiled the following list of words for teachers, students and community partners to contribute to:

Acre- eka

Agriculture- kilimo; ukulima

Air- hewa

Bee- nyuki

Beehive- mzinga

Child, children -mtoto; mwana

City- mji mkubwa

Circumference - mzingo

Clean- safi

Community - jamii ya watu wakaao pamoja

Culture- uungwana

Dance- dansi

Development; progress - maendeleo

Dirt - uchafu

Earth- dunia, ardhi

Environment- mazingira

Family - jamba

Farm- shamba la mfugaj

Farm (cultivated field) - shamba

Farmer- mfugaji

Food- chakula

Friend- rafiki (na)

Fresh- bichi; a sikuhizi

Garden- bustani

Gardner- mtunza bustani

Greens- mboga ya majani

Grow- Kukua

Guidance - maongozi

Happiness- heri; furaha

Harvest- mavuno

Health, healthiness- afya

Healthy- enye afya

Help- msaada ku

History - historia

Honey- asali ya nyuki

Honeycomb- sega la asali

Insight- ufahamu

Inspiration- Maongozi ya moyoni

Inspire- kutia moyoni

Justice- haki

Knowledge- maarifa; habari

Lake- ziwa (ma)

Leaf- jani

Learning- elimu

Love- upendo

Mathematics- elimu ya hesabu

Measurement- kipimp

Meter (length) - meta

Nature- utaratibu wa ulimwengu

Nourishment- maakuli mema

Nutritious- a kulisha mwili

Outstanding- kutokeza

Parent- mzazi

Peace- amani

Plant- mmea; kupanda

Plentiful- tele

Poem, poetry- mashairi

Poet- mshairi

Pollution- uchafu

Positive- a hakika

Possibility- yumkini

Rain- mvua

Reflect, reflection- kurudisha nuru; kufikiri

Respect- staha; kustahi

Respectful- enye adabu

Responsibility- mandaraka

Resource- mahali patokapo msaada

River- mto

Safe- salama;

School- chulu; shule

Security- usalama

Seed- mbegu

Share- fungu(ma)

Smile- kuchekelea

Soil- udongo; kuchafua

Spring- miezi March-May

Squash- kuponda; kusonga

Stream- kijito

Student- mwanafunzi

Summer- kiangazi

Sun; sunshine- jua

Teacher- mwalimu

Till- kulima; hata

Together- pamoja

Tomato- nyanya

Tradition- mapokep

Transform; Transformation- kugeuza kabisa

Understand- kufahamu

Urban- amiji

Vegetables- mboga

Water- maji

Weeds- magugu

Whole- zima; kamili

Wholesome- enye afya

Write, wrote, written- kuandika

Writer- mwandishi

Writings-maandiko

Tools - kifa, zana ya kazi

Bucket- ndoo

Hoe- jembe (ma); kupalia

Rake- jembe la meno

Shovel- sepeto (ma)

Note: all photos are c.2009 by Aurora Harris. Please contact Aurora Harris at aurora917@gmail.com to request permission to use, copy or duplicate.

# 1. Welcome! Kukaribishi kwa furaha !

June 3, 2009 Field Note:#1. Creating A Blog

Welcome to Nsoroma Institute's blog ! (http://www.nsoroma.org/).

My name is Aurora Harris, B.A., M.A. Social Foundations of Education. I am a recent graduate of Eastern Michigan University. As a board member and poet of the Broadside Press (http://www.broadsidepress.org/), I serve as a community partner with the Nsoroma Institute as part of the Southeast MI Stewardship Coalition. After speaking with the principal and teachers about having a blog, we are in agreement that one should be created. I am happy to present the blog site to our community partners and the public!

Nsoroma Institute is an African-Centered K-8 school of Oakland University. It is located on the northeast side of Detroit, MI. Our students and staff greet each other in English and Kiswahili, therefore, we say, "Welcome" or "Kukaribishi kwa furaha!"

At the Nsoroma Institute, our work is related to the theme: "Food Security." I work with Malik Yakini, Principal; Nkosazana T. Bakari, Math and Technology Teacher; Deborah Martins, English Teacher and Fabayo Manzira, Kindergarten and Dance Teacher. We share ideas and information that can be used as poetry, lesson plans and curricula.

This blog will provide useful educational information in the form of the history of the school, community partners, photos and poetry. A vocabulary list in English and Swahili that teachers may contribute to and use as generative themes for class discussion; environment related links, my work in the form of "Field Notes" and contributions by the teachers that I am working with at the school.

History of the School

Concerns about the safety and well-being of children and adults, the environment, clean water, food security and oppression are not new to the staff and students of the Nsoroma Institute. On June 2, 2009 Malik Yakini, Principal, shared that the Educational Philosophy in the Parents' Handbook (pg. 8), was written in 1994 and reflects the concerns:


Educational Philosophy

"Nsoroma Institute is an African-Centered Institution. We are guided by a philosophy which seeks to: develop within our children insight into their individual gifts, talents and missions; connect our children with the rich and diverse historical and cultural legacies of African peoples; restore a world view which reflects an understanding of the inter dependence of humans, plants animals, the air, water, soil and natural elements which create the delicate balance that sustains life on the planet earth.

Inherent in this world is the understanding that oppression is wrong. Any system or set of circumstances which limits a people from realizing the fullest expression of their human potential must be replaced with ways of relating spiritually, socially, politically and economically which facilitate peace, prosperity, health, happiness and maximum human development...

Our African-Centered perspective provides us with a window through which we can look inward at ourselves, and simultaneously look out at the various expressions of human culture... Nutrition is stressed as a tool for contributing to a balance between mind, body and spirit."

Award Winning Students!

While visiting with teachers at the school on June 1, 2009, I learned that the school has a newspaper called "The Nsoroma Vision." In the Fall 2008 edition, there was an article titled: "Students Awarded For Participation In Urban Environmental Awareness Program." The article written by Malik Yakini informed the community that on May 16, 2008 at an award ceremony given by the University of Michigan Detroit Center, "24 eighth grade students from Nsoroma Institute, Timbuktu Academy of Science and Technology and Aisha Shule/ W.E.B. Dubois Prep were awarded certificates for their completion of the 2008 Urban Environmental Awareness Program at the University of Michigan-Dearborn...Students toured a water basin, learned how to build and install ground water monitoring wells, visited brown fields, learned how to take soil samples according to the Environmental Protection Agency's protocol and analyzed the samples in a laboratory." Students have been participating in the program for four years.

After I read the article, I felt proud to be Nsoroma Institute's community partner! As part of a larger Education, Food Security, Health and Wellness network that exists in Detroit, MI and surrounding Metropolitan Detroit, some of the schools partnerships include:

• Detroit Black Food Security Network http://detroitblackfoodsecurity.org/
• The University of Michigan-Dearborn Urban Environmental and Awareness and Media Program
• Organzation of African Centered Educators and Schools (OACES)
• East Michigan Environmental Council: http://www.emeac.org/

Info about Nsoroma Institute, Food Security, the D-Town Farm and SEMIS can be found at the sites below. As of today, June 3, 2009, the links are working.

PDF File: Hub- Southeast Mi Stewardship Coalition (SEMIS) at Eastern Michigan University

http://www.glstewardship.org/Hubs/08-GLSI-112_HubSheet_EMU.pdf

Michigan Citizen Articles:

Special report by Shea Howell: "Unexpected moments" http://www.michigancitizen.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=7172&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1070&hn=michigancitizen&he=.com
Eric T. Campbell's article about the D-Town Farm: "Economic planning inspires food farm in Rouge Park'": http://michigancitizen.com/default.asp?smenu=1&sdetail=6378

This concludes my Field Note #1 for now. The next postings will have a vocabulary list of words in English and Swahili that are related to the school's philosophy, student awareness of the environment, gardening, farming and other Field Notes. Hopefully, I'll figure out how to add photos soon!

Best-

Aurora Harris

mynsoroma@gmail.com
aurora917@gmail.com

Note: all photos c.2009 by Aurora Harris. Please contact Aurora Harris at aurora917@gmail.com to request permission to use, copy or duplicate.

Field Note # 2: Working and Photographing at the D-Town Farm

June 3, 2009 Field Note#2
Being a community partner with a school or agency is not just about sitting down and having a discussion. As a community-worker-educator, I have found that there is a lot to learn from shared leadership environments. On Saturday, May 30th, 2009 at the D-Town Farm, I worked with The Nsoroma Institute's staff, students, parents, and, volunteers from the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network. During the tour, I photographed the farm and volunteers. Later, I helped out by raking a quadrant. The D-Town Farm is a self determination project of the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network. I learned that on Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. the community comes together to tend to the farm, how large the farm is, that they have bee hives, a hoop house where lettuce and other greens grow and a trail of garlic that survived through the winter months. When I stopped by, the soil had been tilled and the community worked to clear leftover debris from the quadrants before planting. Students were busy making wood chip trails for people to walk on. I helped to cross-rake a quadrant to remove debris where squash is being planted. The photos are a front to back view of the farm, folks planting, Malik Yakin in the hoop house, bee hive stands, me raking a quadrant, and various types of lettuce. More photographs to come!

Best-

Aurora Harris

Note: all photos are c.2009 by Aurora Harris. Please contact Aurora Harris at aurora917@gmail.com to request permission to use, copy or duplicate.