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2025 Lake Michigan R/V Lake Guardian Shipboard Science

6 teachers on a beach with a frame that reads "Love your Lake"
Photo credit: Lara Roketenetz

Application Deadline: February 10, 2025
Event Dates: July 7-13, 2025
Event location: Lake Michigan, starting and ending in Milwaukee, WI
Intended Audience: 5th-12th grade teachers and non-formal educators
Necessary forms:

15 educators, 3 researchers, 15 crew, and one 180-foot ship

Every summer fifteen educators are chosen from throughout the Great Lakes basin to participate in CGLL’s Shipboard Science Workshop. One participant aptly named this workshop “space camp for science teachers” because they experience being Great Lakes research scientists for a week while onboard the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) R/V Lake Guardian.

The participants work alongside scientists on the ship collecting and processing samples, and then analyzing the resulting data for group presentations at the end of the week. Additionally, the workshop includes one or two shore stops for educational field trips highlighting locally-relevant Great Lakes topics.

The participants also spend time exploring Great Lakes curriculum and other resources available for educators. They are then tasked with taking their new knowledge and experience back to their educational settings and incorporating the Great Lakes into their instruction. There is also stipend support to take their instruction to the next level with stewardship activities. The overall long-term goal of this program is to increase Great Lakes literacy

Teachers sort through marine debris that was collected along the shore for a project.
Photo credit: Lindsey Manzo

2025 Lake Michigan Workshop Details

  • Who: 5th-12th grade teachers and non-formal* educators in the Great Lakes states of IL, IN, MI, MN, NY, OH, PA and WI. (*Non-formal educators should be engaged in environmental education programming at an institution or organization, such as an aquarium, nature center or relevant non-profit organization.)
  • What: There will be 3 research projects that will take place during the week.
    • Investigate water quality (pH, conductance, turbidity, alkalinity), algal composition (using sensor), and carbon concentrations (using sensor) by depth within the water column and from nearshore to offshore.
    • Study the presence and abundance of zooplankton, benthic organisms and larval fish along nearshore-offshore gradients in Lake Michigan.
    • Explore the lake bottom looking for indigenous (non-shipwreck) archaeological sites using sonar. Interesting targets will then be investigated with a remotely operated vehicle.
  • Where: The ship will be on Lake Michigan, departing from and returning to Milwaukee, WI. 
  • When: July 7-13, 2025
  • Why: This once-in-a-lifetime experience provides an opportunity for educators to participate in ongoing Great Lakes research and monitoring, collaborate with scientists, establish relationships with other teachers in Great Lakes states, and bring home Great Lakes educational resources to use with their learners. 

The workshop is made possible through a partnership with the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office and NOAA with funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Hosts for the Lake Michigan 2025 Shipboard Science Workshop are CGLL partners Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and Wisconsin Sea Grant educators.

For questions about the Lake Michigan workshop, contact Julie Fiorito with Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant at fiorito4@illinois.edu

Teachers examine a sample from the Lake
Photo credit: Laura Elwood

Shipboard Science Workshop Expectations

Pre-trip 

  • Complete pre-workshop survey 
  • Participate in three virtual meetings: Great Lakes 101, Overview of Research Projects, and Trip Orientation
  • Complete pre-trip assignments, such as reading journal articles from participating scientists

During the trip

  • Adhere to all safety protocols
  • Work alongside scientists to collect, analyze and interpret data in the field and in the lab
  • Participate in Great Lakes curricular activities 
  • Share your experience with the public via digital communications 
  • Briefly present (as a team) research findings to colleagues, scientists and facilitators 
  • Develop a plan for integrating the experience into your classroom/programming

Post-trip

  • Incorporate the Great Lakes into your educational programming.
  • Participate in post-workshop virtual check-in meetings with Sea Grant staff and/or fellow participants
  • Complete the post-workshop and 8-month-follow-up surveys 

 Additional Details

Cost

  • The weeklong workshop is free for participating educators and includes room and board for 6 nights on the Lake Guardian. Travel reimbursement, up to $225, will be provided to cover or offset the cost of participants’ travel to/from Milwaukee, WI. 

Stipend

  •  Participating educators will be eligible for a $500 stipend upon the completion of program requirements.

Credits

  • Participating educators will receive a certificate of completion for 60 contact hours of professional development. 

Vessel

  • The EPA R/V Lake Guardian conducts monitoring to assess the health of all five Great Lakes by using state-of-the-art data collection techniques and instruments.
5 teachers on the ship conducting an experiment
Photo credit: Sarah Sato

How do I apply?

Prior to completing this application, you will need to have the following information ready and available:

  • name and email address of the person providing your letter of recommendation (See instructions in LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION section); 
  • your work contact information;
  • your fields of certification/licensure and years of experience;
  • subjects and/or grade levels of your learners/audiences; and
  • work demographics (number of learners, percentages who are English language learners, economically disadvantaged, school population diversity percentages).

For your PERSONAL STATEMENT questions, keep in mind how our 2025 research focus on water quality, underwater archaeology, and the lower food web (e.g., benthic organisms and zooplankton) might benefit you as a professional. (1200 character limit per question.)

  • Share your experience integrating Great Lakes, ocean, and/or general aquatic science into your educational setting.
  • Discuss any experience engaging students in stewardship and/or community science activities.
  • Describe any experience incorporating scientific data into your educational setting.
  • Share your leadership experience outside of the classroom (especially related to science/environmental education).
  • Describe past experiences demonstrating your enthusiasm and commitment for professional learning.
  • Describe briefly how you plan to share/integrate your new knowledge to increase Great Lakes literacy in YOUR classroom or educational setting.
  • Describe briefly how you plan to share/integrate your new knowledge to increase Great Lakes literacy BEYOND your classroom or educational setting.

The LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION should be from someone in your professional network who is familiar with your teaching. You will need to input the name and email address of the person writing this letter into this application. 

The letter should:

  • describe your quality of work with students/learners;
  • detail your experience collaborating with colleagues; and
  • highlight your role as an educational leader.

The letter must be uploaded as a PDF to the LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION Submission Form by February 10, 2025.

NOTE: The person writing this letter will need to be logged into Google (i.e., have a Gmail account) to access the application Google Form. If they do not have a Gmail account, please ask them to contact Julie Fiorito at fiorito4@illinois.edu for assistance.

Read what previous workshop attendees say about their experience:

To learn more about the workshops from educators’ perspectives, check out these story maps:

Anticipated Shipboard Science Workshop Schedule

2025: Lake Michigan
2026: Lake Superior
2027: Lake Huron
2028: Lake Ontario
2029: Lake Erie

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