Program History
The Joyce Foundation is committed to protecting and restoring the Great Lakes and developing cleaner energy for the Midwest region, especially through investments in energy efficiency. Its Great Lakes priorities include reducing polluted runoff into the Lakes through restoration of watersheds in the Milwaukee and Toledo areas and preventing invasive species from devastating the Lakes' ecosystem; a recent Joyce-funded study analyzed the feasibility of breaking the connection between the Lakes and the Mississippi River system, through which many invasives come.
Over the decades Joyce has supported a network of advocacy groups that have won major policy advances, including the federally funded Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the binational commitments embodied in Great Lakes Compact.
The Foundation has also sought improvements in broader national policies that affect the Lakes, including transportation, agriculture, industrial pollution, and climate change. Its work on energy has included funding on the human health effects of coal and shifts toward high speed rail.
Latest News From The Environment Program
5/16/2013 2:42:00 PM
Michigan Land Use Institute, a Joyce grantee, supports statewide effort to reduce energy costs.
3/21/2013 2:31:00 PM
The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative reached a milestone as it welcomed its 100th and 101st members to the organization!
1/18/2013 2:43:00 PM
Broadcast explores Great Lakes solutions.