Byron-Bergen teacher to learn from scientists aboard EPA research vessel Lake Guardian

Peter Spence, a Living Environment and AP Environmental Science teacher at Byron-Bergen High School is among 15 educators from five Great Lakes states who will become scientists during the 2023 Lake Ontario Shipboard Science Workshop aboard the U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) Research Vessel Lake Guardian.

This unique professional development workshop hosted by New York Sea Grant (NYSG) will take place July 6 through 12. The ship will depart from Rochester and make shore stops in Youngstown and Oswego.

Spence and teachers from six other New York-based schools, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin will learn alongside scientists from the U.S. EPA GLNPO, the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Cornell University, and the Great Lakes Research Consortium (GLRC), including GLRC Director and preeminent harmful algal bloom researcher Gregory L. Boyer, Ph.D.

NYSG Great Lakes Literacy Specialist Nate Drag will guide the teachers in developing lesson plans and curricula to take back to their classrooms to inspire students. Among their activities, the group will take part in water sampling and be able to analyze the samples in on-board laboratories.

“This unique hands-on learning experience increases teachers’ understanding of the Great Lakes’ unparalleled value and fosters creation of personalized teaching resources to spark student interest in the world’s largest surface freshwater system,” Drag said.

“I am honored to be part of a team of teachers from several states to conduct research on Lake Ontario with Great Lakes scientists. I look forward to working alongside my colleagues to develop new real-world strategies to bring awareness about the Great Lakes to my classes,” Spence said.

This Shipboard Science Workshop is supported with Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding, through an interagency agreement by the U.S. EPA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and National Sea Grant Office. Learn more at http://www.epa.gov/great-lakes-monitoring/lake-guardian and http://www.epa.gov/great-lakes-monitoring/cooperative-science-and-monitoring-initiative.csmi.

New York Sea Grant (http://www.nyseagrant.org) leads the Lake Ontario Shipboard Science Workshop in cooperation with the Center for Great Lakes Literacy (http://www.cgll.org). NYSG is a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State of New York and one of 34 university-based programs in the NOAA National Sea Grant College Program.

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