Great Lakes Now: Restore, Release
PBS Western Reserve (WNEO 45.1 / WEAO 49.1):
Saturday, Sept. 23, at 6 PM
Fusion (WNEO 45.2 / WEAO 49.2):
Friday, Sept. 29, at 7 PM
Volunteers work to preserve a historic Great Lakes lighthouse, a Chicago community finds new life through embracing its past and high school students learn about Native American culture with the help of lake sturgeon.
Love for a Lighthouse
The Spectacle Reef Lighthouse sits 17 miles from the mainland in the Straits of Mackinac. It was considered a marvel of construction when it was built in 1869 and became a model for lighthouses constructed throughout the northern Great Lakes. A group of lighthouse enthusiasts bought the structure and formed a non-profit organization, Spectacle Reef Preservation Society, dedicated to preserving and restoring the lighthouse. Every weekend from the spring to the fall a group of volunteers travel to the lighthouse by boat and work on renovations. Their goal is to make the lighthouse an educational center where visitors can come and learn about the history of lighthouses on the Great Lakes.
Greening the Pullman Neighborhood
Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood on the southside of the city was almost bulldozed out of existence. It was once a thriving company town founded by George Pullman. His company built luxurious railroad cars, employing hundreds of workers. But, the Pullman neighborhood fell on hard times when the industry dried up. Plans were in the works to turn the nearly forgotten area into an airport. But, Pullman residents rose up and fought City Hall. Today, Pullman is thriving again after politicians, business and community leaders worked together to come up with a plan. Capitalizing on Pullman’s rich history, they attracted investors and breathed new life into an old, rusted out industrial corridor to create a sustainable green industry success story. Can this same formula be used to rescue other struggling Rust Belt communities in the Great Lakes Region?
Classroom Nmé
When the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians in northern Michigan decided to create an educational program that would highlight their current natural resources work, the tribe naturally turned to lake sturgeon or nmé, the grandfather fish to pull it all together. The first lake sturgeon started high school in Pellston, Mich. with the class of 2014. The program proved successful but expanding into more classrooms created new challenges. Like, what if the fish got sick? How would the LTBB biologists in northern Michigan help fish in classrooms that were hundreds of miles away on the other side of the state?