Fostering Relationships with Nature
We firmly believe that a prerequisite to caring for the environment is caring about the environment. Therefore facilitating the development of new and deeper interconnected relationships between people and nature is one of the cornerstones of our work.
Greener Schools: The Greener Schools Initiative brings children in Detroit schools closer to nature. We believe that by instilling a sense of interconnectedness and love for the environment our youth can become advocates for their environment and their communities.
Ready2Grow: EMEAC's Ready 2 Grow program connects parents and children to educational and recreational activities that grow healthy communities, healthy families, healthy kids, and healthy media messaging around food and the environment.
Multi-cultural Environmental Arts and Science (MEAS) Labs provide environmental justice education in the classroom through hands-on lessons covering subjects including biodiversity, air quality, water quality, food security, cooking, and Sharing Nature with Children. We currently have two labs at Palmer Park Preparatory Academy and Nsoroma Institute where students investigate local environmental issues, grow their own vegetables, sell plants to parents and teachers, and create nature themed or recycled art projects. We work closely with teachers in order to supplement their core subjects and align our lessons to Grade Level Curriculum Expectations.
Addressing Environmental, Climate and Food Injustices
We aim to contribute to meaningful change in southeast Michigan by organizing and working with communities to understand and address environmental, climate and food (in)justices via liberatory frameworks and practices.
Gardening, Activism, Media Education (GAME) Summer Camp: GAME is a summer camp in which youth and young adults learn about environmental justice, climate change and food/land justice. The 6-week program culminates in the production of a collaborative project.
Our Power - Communities Organizing for a Just Transition: At EMEAC we are shifting how we discuss our work by referring to our aim of a “Just Transition.” Just Transition is a broad frame that outlines our commitment to co-create the transition from such heavy reliance on dirty, polluting forms of energy to more sustainable, renewable forms. It also encompasses our commitment and efforts to lift up and contribute to building local, living economies that foster community resilience and bring about lasting change. This area of work includes all local environmental and climate justice campaigns.
ReMedia: The Remedia program does media production for East Michigan Environmental Action Council, which is an Environmental Justice non-profit based in Detroit. Remedia empowers community members, youth and adult, with the skills and technological tools to tell their own stories about environmental issues in SE Michigan. These can be public service announcements, music videos, short films, digital art works or documentaries about air quality, water access and affordability, land use or food security. We also have an environmental justice media fellows program where program participants are hired by area justice organizations to meet their media needs around documentation and promotions.
Universidad Sin Fronteras: USF is a 6-week non-traditional course that focuses on a particular theme. Course participants are of all ages; teaching and learning is interactive; and conversations are led by activists and community members of all ages.
Young Educators Alliance (YEA): The Young Educators Alliance is a small group of young adults (aged 14-24) who come together to identify issues in their environment and work collectively on solutions, using their creativity and personal insight. YEA advocates for healthy environments in Detroit in a way that fosters leadership and holistic development. Young people learn to identify injustices, place them in a historical context, and propose alternatives that involve community input, community organizing, and/or advocacy. The program aims to build a “pipeline for community activism” in which young people come to see themselves as community activists and learn to network and engage with existing communities of activists.
