Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit
Announcing Our Fall 2022 Conference
Hello! We are excited to announce our fall in-person Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit conference, which will be held on October 14-15, 2022 at University of Detroit Mercy. The newly renovated Student Union will be our venue, on the McNichols campus in Detroit. Our 17th annual regional conference is a Pollinators event in partnership with the national Bioneers organization, that is, the Bioneers Collective Heritage Institute (see bioneers.org for more information on them, including great information and wonderful videos from the national conference!)
We are happy to acknowledge that the 2022 conference is supported by three generous grants, from the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, the Congregation of St. Joseph and the Fund for Equal Justice. These grants will enable us to lower the registration costs in several categories. We are currently calling for 2022 conference sponsors. Sponsors play a crucial role in supporting the conference. For information on how to become a sponsor, write the conference co-Chairs, Gail Presbey (presbegm@udmercy.edu) and Nick Schroeck (schroenj@udmercy.edu).
We will soon have the schedule and the registration link live on this page. In the meantime, here's a sneak preview of our five bus tours for Friday morning, Oct. 14, 2022. Revisit our page for more conference details in early August!
- Naim Edwards' tour is on "Expanding Food and Nature Connections" (in northwest Detroit at Michigan State Universities 3.3 acre urban farm site).
- Myrtle Thompson offers "Grow a garden, grow a community" at Feedom Freedom Garden (southeast Detroit).
- Fr. Charles Morris will lead a tour to "Madonna University and Felician Motherhouse Grounds: Renewable Energy and Sustainable Buildings."
- Nicholas Schroeck of Detroit Mercy offers the "Environmental Justice Bus Tour" (that will visit near major sources of industrial pollution as well as places of environmental justice victories).
- Brendan O'Leary will offer a tour of "Urban water management and green storm water infrastructure at Wayne State University."
- In addition to the "Youth Day" organized via school attendance on Friday, we will host youth programming all day Saturday, so that families can bring their children age 12 and up.
The Mission and Vision of GLBD
The GLBD Mission
Our mission is to promote a sustainable community that fosters life-giving relationships, nurtures connections and celebrates solutions for restoring and healing Earth's communities.
The GLBD Vision
Our vision is expressed in the preamble of the Earth Charter: "… in the midst of a magnificent diversity of cultures and life forms, we are one human family and one Earth community with a common destiny. We must join together to bring forth a sustainable global society founded on respect for nature, universal human rights, economic justice, and a culture of peace."
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Past GLBD Conferences
The GLBD conference was hosted on Detroit Mercy's campus in 2018 and 2019, but we had to cancel the fall 2020 conference due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, we did hold four one-hour Zoom webinar events in October, 2020; you can watch them on our YouTube channel. We had our third (2021) conference in person! We have archived the highlights of these past conferences below.
Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit Conference (2021) "One Earth Community"
Co-Chairs of the Oct. 15-16 conference were Gail Presbey, director of the Carney Latin American Solidarity Archive and professor of Philosophy (313-993-1124 or presbegm@udmercy.edu) and Nicholas Schroeck, director of the Detroit Mercy Law Environmental Law Clinic and professor of law (313-596-9817 or schroenj@udmercy.edu). We also thank IHM Sisters Gloria Rivera and Paula Cathcart for their many years of leadership of the GLBD.
Information
- View 2021 GLBD Flyer
- View 2021 program schedule
- View Friday, Oct. 15, 2021 Photo Gallery
- Saturday, Oct. 16 Photo Gallery
Goals of this conference:
- Tap into the power and richness of Metro Detroit’s diversity
- Come together as a learning community
- Commit to new ways of living, acting and thinking
- Create a synergistic space in which to network with others
- Nurture a deeper understanding of ‘a sense of place’
- Welcome each other and work together for the common good
Sponsors of the 2021 conference
- University of Detroit Mercy, and the following Departments/Programs of the University:
- Adrian Dominican Sisters, www.adriandominicans.org
- Congregation of St. Joseph, www.csjoseph.org
- Detroit Black Community Food Security Network, www.detroitblackfoodsecurity.org
- Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice, www.dwej.org
- Earthworks Urban Farm/Capuchin Soup Kitchen, www.cskdetroit.org/EWG
- Eastern Market, www.easternmarket.com
- James and Grace Lee Boggs Center, www.boggscenter.org
- Marian High School, www.marian-hs.org
- Michigan Environmental Council, www.environmentalcouncil.org
- Michigan Organic Food & Farm Alliance. http://www.moffa.net
- MSU Center for Regional Food Systems, www.foodsystems.msu.edu
- People’s Water Board, www.peopleswaterboard.org
- River Raisin Institute, www.rriearth.org
- Shiffman Foundation
- Sierra Club of Michigan, www.sierraclub/michigan
- Sisters IHM Justice, Peace and Sustainability Office, www.ihmsisters.org
- Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Justice Team www.sistersofmercy.org
- Voices 4 Earth Justice, www.voices4earth.org
- Mike and Gail Whitty
- Diane Van Buten and Ernest Zachary in honor of Gloria Rivera and Paula Cathcart
Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit Webinar Series (2020)
- Oct. 23, 2020 - Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit Webinar No.1: Sr. Gloria Rivera, IHM and Dr. Nicholas Schroeck introduce students to the basics of environmental law, and outline key steps that can be taken to preserve the environment. During the session, Jason (8th grade) and Macey (6th grade) Zarate will present on “How Youth Conservationists are Helping to Save the Monarch Butterfly.”
- Oct. 23, 2020 - Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit Webinar No.2: Associate Professor of Biology and Director of Sustainability Victor Carmona gives a presentation on his integrative sustainability initiatives in the College of Engineering and Science at Detroit Mercy and their collaborations with community partners.
- Oct. 23, 2020 - Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit Webinar No.3: Student Voices: Stone Soup for Environmental Justice. Moderator and speaker, Detroit Mercy student Caleb Scheys, joined by Dolores Perales, Joyce Choi, Colin Goodman, Yahir Hernandez, and Dahlia Carmona-Valdivieso.
- 2020-10-23 Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit Webinar No.4: School of Law Associate Dean of Experiential Education Nicholas J. Schroeck speaks on "Environmental Justice, Climate Change, and Public Engagement.
Past news coverage
Bioneers Pollinator gatherings/events are independently organized and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of the Bioneers organization. For more information, visit: www.bioneers.org or https://www.glbd.org