MSOE Honors Program students collaborated with Menominee Tribal Enterprises (MTE) and local universities to co-develop a week-long Earth Week celebration April 22–25 that commenced with a Peace Tree Planting Ceremony outside of the We Energies STEM Center at MSOE.  

The week began with MSOE students Sydney Madden and Sam McPeak traveling to UW–Madison to showcase their educational video game, Forest Frenzy: The Giving Forest. On Thursday, April 24, MSOE students Chloe Hyatt and Jackie Weinrich participated in Earth Fest at Catalano Square where they distributed free plants to the public.

On Friday, April 26, students received an award from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) for their Forest Frenzy: The Giving Forest video game. Following the ceremony was a Peace Tree Planting Ceremony outside of the STEM Center at MSOE.

The Peace Tree Ceremony included speeches and powerful reflections from Nels Huse, MTE marketing manager, and James Flores, Oneida Nation and manager of tribal relations at the Milwaukee Public Museum. Participants were given arrowheads and invited to bury the arrowheads at the base of the newly planted white pine tree. The white pine is a symbol of peace, and the arrowheads represented burying our weapons and putting negative thoughts to rest, including greed, violence and racism. The ceremony closed with a sound bath healing session presented by Camille Mays.

The Earth Week celebrations were planned in collaboration with MSOE, MTE, Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC), Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD), Milwaukee Public Museum and UW-Madison.

These partnerships and events promote collaboration and hands-on learning experiences for students while making a positive impact on the community. 

“Last November, we strengthened key connections between projects involving MTE and local colleges, fostering collaboration through student-centered conversations that informed each other’s work and created meaningful overlaps,” said Bridgette Binczak, MSOE honors project coordinator.

Projects like these help students develop the MSOE Mindset, which identifies graduates as leaders of character, responsible professionals, passionate learners and value creators.