PA Sea Grant: Lake Erie Shipboard Educator Science Workshop StoryMap Highlights This Year's Experience

This summer fifteen educators from across the Great Lakes states joined Sea Grant educators from the Center for Great Lakes Literacy and Great Lakes scientists for a week-long Shipboard Science Workshop on Lake Erie. 

The opportunity, which took place aboard the EPA’s research vessel Lake Guardian, launched July 7 from Cleveland, Ohio.

Three educators from Pennsylvania participated-- Casey Keating (Erie County), Brienne May (Westmoreland County), and Sarah Sato (Chester County)-- and were among fifteen chosen from an applicant pool of 115 Great Lakes-region educators for the program.  Read more here.

Throughout the week, participants recorded their experience via photos and commentary, which have been compiled into a StoryMap, available online.

Michelle Niedermeier, education lead for Pennsylvania Sea Grant, was one of the trip’s facilitators and developed the StoryMap. 

She shared, “Each day during the week was different. When the ship was in port, we explored ways to apply the Great Lakes literacy principles shoreside at both Put-in-Bay (South Bass and Gibraltar Islands) in Ohio, and Presque Isle State Park and related Great Lakes watershed field experience locations in Erie, Pennsylvania. When we were on the water, educators rotated between collecting samples on the deck and working together in the lab with the researchers. It was an amazing experience.”

The Shipboard Science Workshop brings educators and researchers together aboard the EPA R/V Lake Guardian for a full week each year. 

The SSW rotates to a different Great Lake every year and is designed to promote Great Lakes sciences while forging lasting relationships between Great Lakes researchers and educators.

The opportunity is made possible through a partnership with the EPA, NOAA, and with funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. 

Hosts for the 2024 Lake Erie workshop were CGLL partners Pennsylvania Sea Grant and Ohio Sea Grant.

The week-long shipboard science workshop is organized by the Center for Great Lakes Literacy, which is a collaborative effort led by Sea Grant educators throughout the U.S. Great Lakes watershed. 

CGLL fosters informed and responsible decisions that advance basin-wide stewardship by providing hands-on experiences, educational resources, and networking opportunities promoting Great Lakes literacy among an engaged community of educators, scientists, and youth. 

For more information about the shipboard science workshop visit the Center for Great Lakes Literacy website.

Click Here for the complete announcement.

For more information on programs, initiatives, research, upcoming events and more, visit the PA Sea Grant website.  Follow them on Facebook and Twitter.  Sign up for the PA Sea Grant newsletter (bottom of the page).

[Posted: August 20, 2024]  PA Environment Digest