Principles

Great Lakes literacy is an understanding of the Great Lakes’ influences on you and your influence on the Great Lakes

A Great Lakes literate person understands essential principles and fundamental concepts about the characteristics, functioning, and value of the Great Lakes; can communicate accurately about the Great Lakes’ influence on systems and people in and beyond their watershed; and is able to make informed and responsible decisions regarding the Great Lakes and the resources of their watershed.

1. The Great Lakes, bodies of fresh water with many features, are connected to each other and to the world ocean.
2. Natural forces formed the Great Lakes; the lakes continue to shape the features of their watershed.
3. The Great Lakes influence local and regional weather and climate.
4. Water makes Earth habitable; fresh water sustains life on land.
5. The Great Lakes support a broad diversity of life and ecosystems.
6. The Great Lakes and humans in their watersheds are inextricably interconnected.
7. Much remains to be learned about the Great Lakes.
8. The Great Lakes are socially, economically, and environmentally significant to the region, the nation and the planet.