Allison Torres Burtka

Green spaces in a community are important, and not just because they look nice. That's why the city of Dearborn is full of parks and green spaces, from small pocket parks to the 300-acre Environmental Study Area at the University of Michigan-Dearborn campus, according to Dearborn Sustainability Coordinator Dave Norwood.

Michigan’s Thumb covers 150 miles of shoreline. The area gets less glory than some other areas of the Mitten State, but it’s no less impressive. Here are some hidden gems, as well as some well-known attractions that live up to their reputation.

The traditional annual performance review process is fraught with anxiety—so much so that some organizations are doing away with it entirely and replacing it with more frequent informal check-ins.

Mapping Deeper Connections to Nature Through Outdoor Afro

We are killing our planet. Of course, it’s not quite that simple, but, as acclaimed writer Elizabeth Kolbert explains in her Pulitzer-Prize-winning book The Sixth Extinction, humans are to blame for the impending mass extinction that will spell the end of many of the world’s species.

President Trump’s surprise firing of FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday ushered in a week of turmoil and uncertainty across official Washington. But the immediate effects may have been felt most acutely within the FBI, where the agents who conduct the bureau’s daily law enforcement work had suddenly lost their boss.

More than 1,000 eighth graders in the Grand Rapids Public Schools will get a chance to see their city from a new perspective next week: from a canoe. A program called Canoemobile , which brings canoes to urban areas across the country for hands-on learning experiences, is setting up at Riverside Park May 8 to 12. Grand Rapids Parks and Recreation is funding the program, which will include canoeing and other educational activities, such as learning about the river, water-quality testing, hiking,

At 20 state parks and recreation areas across southern Michigan, groups of volunteer stewards regularly roll up their sleeves to help protect and restore natural areas.

Kids who get to experience and explore nature—on a trail or in a kayak, for example—reap benefits that go well beyond fresh air. Adventures in the outdoors can do wonders for young bodies and minds, but minority and low-income kids often lack access to the natural world.

Businesses in St. Clair County are struggling to fill their open positions. Because the county's economy is based on manufacturing, recruiting for manufacturing positions represents the biggest need, said Dan Casey, CEO of the St. Clair County Economic Development Alliance (EDA).

I edited this AAJ Press book by lawyers Phillip Miller and Paul Scoptur.

The International Literacy Association’s 2017 “What’s Hot in Literacy” survey found significant gaps between what topics educators worldwide think are important to literacy education and those that are getting the most attention.