By Janice Milanovich | November 2026
This summer, 13 Illinois educators visited Adeline Jay Geo-Karis Illinois Beach State Park in Zion, Illinois, for a coastal-themed professional development hosted by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) as part of the Environment and Nature Training Institute for Conservation Education (ENTICE) program.
Designed for formal and nonformal educators working with students in grades 5–12, the hands-on workshop explored aquatic ecosystems, coastal science and engineering through field experiences, research insights, and classroom-ready activities.
Educators literally got their feet wet seining for larval fish along the coast with staff from IISG and Dr. Hillary Glandon of the Lake Michigan Biological Station. They also participated in an invasive species scavenger hunt with the Illinois Coastal Management Program and learned about waves, currents, wind, erosion, and sediment transport with Dr. Sarah Peterson, IISG’s Coastal Engineering and Community Resilience Specialist.
These direct field experiences demonstrate how educators can adapt place-based, outdoor learning to meet their curricular needs. They also provide opportunities to interact with Great Lakes researchers and bring current science back to their educational programs.
Glandon, who led the fish seining station, said those interactions benefit researchers as well.
“Opportunities like this inform my outreach by helping me to understand what teachers need to know to communicate our research to their students,” Glandon said.
During the workshop, for example, she discussed how some of the scientific equipment used in the field could be replaced with simpler, more manageable alternatives for classroom use. Glandon said she plans to use what she learned from these teachers to adjust how she presents her research to future students visiting the park.
“Knowledge is power,” Kovach said. “Today’s middle schoolers will soon be our future leaders. Knowing how or why natural factors such as more frequent severe floods and droughts impact our lakes’ shores and overall watersheds will only ensure that future generations will make investments in conservation and restoration a top priority.”
The Great Lakes’ coastlines are dynamic, and between 2013 and 2020, Lake Michigan experienced over a six-foot rise in water level. Changes in lake level, coastal protection structures, and impacts along the coast are topics the workshop aimed to explore from a STEM perspective.
Educators experienced two lessons firsthand from Wisconsin Sea Grant’s award-winning Coastal Engineering: People, Places & Practices curriculum. After watching a demonstration using the Illinois Coastal Management program’s large-scale wave tanks, participants built smaller versions using plastic shoeboxes and sand. They observed how waves generated with a putty scraper changed their sandy coastline under high- and low-water conditions.
The second lesson shifted participants from scientists observing a problem to engineers designing solutions. Educators designed, tested, and improved structures intended to protect the shoreline inside their wave tanks. The lessons demonstrated that coastal engineering involves tradeoffs. Educators explored the range of coastal protection solutions, from traditional ‘grey’ engineered structures to ‘green’ natural approaches, and nature-based ‘green-gray’ solutions in between. They learned that selecting a shoreline management strategy often involves balancing multiple objectives, including erosion protection, ecosystem function and health, and public access, which was further exemplified by visiting and learning about the breakwaters, rubble ridges, and habitat features at Illinois Beach State Park.
Peterson said workshops like this provide educators with knowledge they can bring back to their students while also helping researchers and specialists improve their outreach.
“Engagement opportunities such as this allow me to gain insights on how to develop more effective and broader-reaching resources that connect both educators and students to the Great Lakes coasts,” she said.
That exchange between educators and experts is an important part of the ENTICE program, according to Lorna Shuman of the IDNR.
“Educators have told us how much they enjoy meeting and working with experts in the field and learning about current research and methods,” Shuman said. “Learning and participating in hands-on workshops helps teachers feel more capable of teaching their students about the world around them.”
Workshop evaluations suggest participants left with that increased confidence and understanding. All participants reported gains in their knowledge of coastal processes and an overwhelming majority said that the workshop enhanced their ability to incorporate coastal processes into their teaching.
For Gerard Kovach, a middle school science teacher at Decatur Classical School in Chicago, helping students understand Great Lakes coastlines is also an investment in the region’s future.
“Knowledge is power,” Kovach said. “Today’s middle schoolers will soon be our future leaders. Knowing how or why natural factors such as more frequent severe floods and droughts impact our lakes’ shores and overall watersheds will only ensure that future generations will make investments in conservation and restoration a top priority.”
By bringing educators, researchers, and natural resource professionals together along the Lake Michigan shoreline, the workshop gave teachers more than information about coastal processes. It equipped them with experiences, activities, and connections they can carry back to their students.
Funding for this professional learning workshop was provided by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources ENTICE Workshops and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
Photos Credits: Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant
About Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is one of 34 Sea Grant programs supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in coastal and Great Lakes states dedicated to the stewardship and sustainable use of the nation’s Great Lakes and ocean resources.
