PA Sea Grant: Virginia Friedman From Abington Friends School In Montgomery County Will Be Part Of A Shipboard Science Program On Lake Michigan This Summer

On June 11, Pennsylvania Sea Grant announced Virginia Friedman, a 7th grade science teacher at Abington Friends School in Jenkintown, Montgomery County, will join Sea Grant’s Center for Great Lakes Literacy staff and Great Lakes researchers to work aboard an EPA research vessel July 7-13, 2025.

Through a partnership with the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office, NOAA, and with funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, educators will spend a full week alongside researchers aboard the EPA R/V Lake Guardian.

Friedman is one of 15 educators from Great Lakes states embarking on the journey, which is designed to engage 5th – 12th grade educators, forge lasting relationships between Great Lakes researchers and educators, and to provide educators with resources to integrate the Great Lakes into their classrooms and other learning environments.

“I am excited by the chance to learn new skills and concepts and share my Great Lakes experiences with my students,” Friedman said. “My teaching philosophy is grounded in the idea that we learn best by doing. I love teaching middle school because students begin to see themselves as active members of society, and they are eager for opportunities to be engaged participants. Connecting with researchers and other educators will make my teaching more impactful. It’s also important for students to see their teachers as students, since our goal is for them to be life-long learners.”

CGLL 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.

Hosts for the Lake Michigan expedition are CGLL partners Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and Wisconsin Sea Grant. 

Visit the Sea Grant Shipboard Science Immersion Experience webpage to learn more.

Click Here for the PA Sea Grant 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).

Related Articles This Week:

-- DEP: Getting Stuff Done For The Chesapeake Bay: Pennsylvania’s Impact During Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week  [PDF of Article] 

-- University Of Maryland Chesapeake Bay & Watershed Report Card Shows Declined Health From 2024, Presents Long-Term Improvement  [PaEN]

-- PA Trout Unlimited, 17 Other Environmental, Conservation Organizations Expressed Opposition To Proposed DEP Changes To Spill Reporting Requirements  [PaEN]

-- $100/Well Bounty Established For Previously Unknown Oil & Gas Wells Abandoned By Conventional Well Owners Under New Program Funded By Oil Region Alliance; 4 Penn State Extension Workshops Set  [PaEN] 

-- Slippery Rock Watershed Coalition: Rare Earth Elements Study At Passive Mine Drainage Treatment Systems; Controlled Burn All Female Crew; Statewide AMD Conference [PaEN] 

NewsClips:

-- Senators Yaw, Martin: PA Senate Resolution Designates June 8-14 As Chesapeake Bay Awareness Week In Pennsylvania

-- Interfaith Partners For The Chesapeake Bay: Celebrating Juneteenth & Solstice Around The Watershed 

-- PennLive: Sinkholes Have Caused Millions In Property Damage; Is The State Doing Enough About Them?  [Buzzi Unicem Cement Pumping Water Out Of A Quarry In Northampton County] 

-- Beaver Times/Inside Climate News- Jon Hurdle: PA Fracking Company Surrenders Water Permits, Can’t Get Enough Water Out Of Big Sewickley Creek In Beaver County

[Posted: June 11, 2025]  PA Environment Digest