Two Detroit-area educators will join week-long Shipboard Science Workshop on Lake Erie
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EmailMetroparks outreach interpreter, and Pontiac biology teacher, among 15 from Great Lakes region chosen to participate.
Michigan Sea Grant is pleased to announce that two Michigan educators are among 15 chosen to join Center for Great Lakes Literacy (CGLL) staff and Great Lakes scientists for the 2024 Shipboard Science Workshop aboard the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Research Vessel (R/V) Lake Guardian on Lake Erie this summer.
Sabrina Deschamps, an outreach interpreter for the Huron-Clinton Metroparks; and Laura Elwood, who teaches biology at Notre Dame Preparatory School in Pontiac, will live aboard the vessel working with scientists on research projects. The workshop is July 7-13, 2024, and begins in Cleveland, Ohio. Both Michigan participants were chosen from an applicant field of more than 100 educators from around the Great Lakes region. They plan to use their shipboard experiences to enhance their future lesson planning.
Through a partnership with the EPA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and with funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, Deschamps and Elwood will spend the week aboard the R/V Lake Guardian. Hosts for the Lake Erie Shipboard Science Workshop are CGLL partners Ohio Sea Grant and Pennsylvania Sea Grant.
In addition to summer programming at the Metroparks, Deschamps provides special science programming at John R. King Academic and Performing Arts Academy in Detroit, and Riverside West Academy in Dearborn. She is excited to attend the workshop and loves learning new teaching strategies. “Even though I have done Great Lakes and general aquatic science programs in the past, my knowledge is still limited, and I would like to expand upon it. I believe that this workshop would truly make me a better educator,” said Deschamps.
The Shipboard Science Workshops rotate among the five Great Lakes and are designed to promote Great Lakes sciences while forging lasting relationships between Great Lakes researchers and educators.
The experience is organized by the Center for Great Lakes literacy (CGLL), 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 on the 2024 Shipboard Science Workshop and application materials, visit the CGLL website.
Michigan Sea Grant helps to foster economic growth and protect Michigan’s coastal, Great Lakes resources through education, research and outreach. A collaborative effort of the University of Michigan and Michigan State University and its MSU Extension, Michigan Sea Grant is part of the NOAA-National Sea Grant network of 34 university-based programs.
