By Julie Fiorito | August, 2025
What happened?
Fifteen educators from across the Great Lakes spent a week aboard the US EPA R/V Lake Guardian on Lake Michigan from July 7-13, 2025.
This Shipboard Science Immersion, a program facilitated by Great Lakes Sea Grant Network educators through a partnership with the US EPA Great Lakes National Program Office, brings educators and researchers together aboard the US EPA R/V Lake Guardian for a full week each year on one of the Great Lakes. The workshop rotates to a different Great Lake every year and is designed to promote Great Lakes sciences while forging lasting relationships between Great Lakes researchers and educators.
Past participants have described the experience as a “once-in-a-lifetime, professional learning opportunity.”
Program Partners
This opportunity is made possible through a partnership with the EPA, NOAA, and with funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Hosts for the the 2025 immersion are Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and Wisconsin Sea Grant.
The CGLL facilitators of the 2025 SSI include Julie Fiorito, Great Lakes K-12 Education Specialist for Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant; Ginny Carlton, Education Outreach Specialist for Wisconsin Sea Grant; and Kristin TePas, Great Lakes Literacy and Workforce Development Specialist for Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant.
