Introducing Emma Howland-Bolton (Ms. H-B), a 4th grade teacher from Detroit Public Schools and the K-12 Partnership’s Teacher in Residence (TIR) for summer 2025! True to her nature, Emma’s standard email signature is ‘stay dangerous’, she accepted the challenge with zeal and filled every moment with meaningful experiences! Read on to learn more about Emma’s TIR experience, which took place on June 17-26, 2025.
During her residency, Emma was mentored by Kara Haas, the Kellogg Biological Station Long Term Ecological Research Program (KBS LTER) K-12 Partnership Coordinator. Emma and Kara met through the Teaching Science Outdoors-Urban Partnerships program and have been collaborating to use the schoolyard as an outdoor teaching space.
Over the past four years Ms. H-B and her 4th grade students have been transforming their urban schoolyard to provide food for the local community. The Thirkell Food and Flower Gardens include six large, raised beds of vegetables and fruits, a rain garden and a pollinator garden! The rain and pollinator gardens are filled with a diversity, over 25 species, of plants native to Michigan – which were provided as part of Xerces Society’s Detroit Pollinator Habitat Kits project and support from Friends of the Rouge. These plants provide pollen, nectar, host plant material, seeds, shelter, nesting, and more for wildlife of all kinds. The Thriving in Urban Schoolyards: Student Perspectives on Biodiversity project, supports students as they explore the ecological diversity of their urban schoolyard and discover their role in encouraging it to thrive. The Thriving project seeks to understand the ecological and social impacts of these changes. The culminating event was a photo exhibit of students’ observations of what lives and thrives in their schoolyard: Click here to view the digital version of the Thriving Thirkell photo exhibit. During Emma’s TIR, she and Kara were able to collaboratively write, reflect and analyze data related to the Thriving project which will help them publish and present about this work in the future.
Emma’s reflection on her TIR experience,
“As an educator in Detroit Public Schools I have heard of KBS over the years but never imagined I would actually get to see it, much less participate in the TIR program. What a treat! To be surrounded by beautiful nature and folks from all over conducting fascinating scientific research was an incredible treat and really fired me up about teaching and learning.
Collaborating with Kara is always a grounding, inspiring, and expansive experience, and to be able to do so for an extended period over the course of my TIR time at KBS was a true gift. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you have the time and space to focus. It’s also tremendously beneficial to be able to view our work from a distance and gain a new perspective on what’s happening in Detroit from the west side of the state.
It was a unique delight to swim off Windmill Island, bike to the Chicken House for their specialty sea monster ice cream and fried chicken sandwiches, kayak at sunset in Gull Lake, walk the trails behind the Bird Sanctuary, and greet the dawn at the end of the KBS dock each morning.”
Emma’s ability to immerse herself in KBS offered her the opportunity to meet and discuss outdoor, field-based teaching and learning with scientists, educators and artists. The experience was grounding but also energizing and will be helpful as she returns to the learners and gardens that she is helping thrive!
The TIR program at KBS creates the opportunity for educators to visit the station and collaborate on education and outreach projects related to the research at the KBS LTER program. Each TIR offers the opportunity to engage with scientists, artists, students and staff at KBS and includes a project related to the work of the K-12 Partnership. Typically each TIR is related to on-going work connected to the K-12 Partnership and the time and experience will help form relationships and move that work forward in a meaningful way.
Emma’s TIR overlapped with many other exciting initiatives at KBS, including:
- Artist in residence, Blaire Morseau, a beadwork artist who is a citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, a 1855 Professor at MSU, assistant professor in MSU’s Department of Religious Studies, and affiliate faculty in American Indian and Indigenous Studies. Blaire, Kara and Emma were able to share a meal and learn about Blaire’s work to develop curriculum for Potawatomi Star Stories and her beadwork.
- On Wednesday June 18 MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz visited KBS. Emma and Kara were able to attend the opening remarks by interim KBS Director, Jeff Conner, and the MSU President and the evening reception. At the reception we were able to meet the President and share about our work in Detroit.