Lewiston Elementary students who sailed with Inland Seas this spring are featured in a Gaylord Herald Times article written by Arielle Breen. Teacher, Deb Michaels, has been bringing her students on board for 12 years! She believes that this is an opportunity to not only learn about the ecology and stewardship of the Great Lakes, but also a chance to actually get out on the Great Lakes on a tall ship.
“It’s very cool because most of the kids in Lewiston never even get a chance to go out on the Great Lakes — and then so many of us never get a chance to even go on the tall ships to sail,” Michaels said.
Besides sailing (the students get a chance to steer the ship and raise the sails), the students also collect water, fish, and plankton samples and analyze them on deck and below. They truly become Great Lakes scientists for the day.
While scholarships are available for schools to attend, many are partial scholarships so schools must fund raise to participate. In addition to the ship cost, schools often have to pay for transportation and other expenses. If you’d like to learn more about how you can sponsor a school in your community, contact ISEA at isea@schoolship.org or 231.271.3077.
Thanks, Arielle, for writing this article!