The Great Lakes Watershed Field Course (GLWFC) is an annual 4-day professional development experience for teachers throughout the Great Lakes region. Training includes watershed and environmental concepts, place-based education, environmental education pedagogy, and time for curriculum development. The GLWFC is open to teachers in all content areas, but teachers who participate are required to implement a watershed-based stewardship action project with their class.
Below is a reflection that one of our 2024 cohort alumni wrote on the impact that GLWFC had on her. Not only was it an impactful experience for her professionally and personally, but it also had a profound impact on her classroom.
Traveling, both geographically and emotionally, is a passion of mine that recharges my soul and keeps me young at heart. It was mid-winter in upstate New York. I clicked on an email and learned about the opportunity to travel to northern Michigan, sail on a schooner, and be with other science educators. I was very curious and excited. As a young child at summer camp, I had a scary experience on a sailboat that almost tipped over into the water. After that experience, I steered away from all sailing opportunities. The timing was perfect; I was ready to conquer my fears on one of our Great Lakes and connect with fellow science educators, which sounded like an amazing hands-on experience.
Traveling from Detroit up Highway M-115 to Sutton’s Bay, I wondered where I was headed, climbing in elevation, admiring the abundant and unfamiliar vegetation with towns few and far between. Before arriving in Sutton’s Bay, there was a pull-over where I could introduce myself to Lake Michigan. It was a bit unsettling how big and beautiful the lake appeared. At that point, I felt very small, wondered about all the stories the Lake had to tell, and I was ready for whatever the water wanted to share. It was a short trip to ISEA from that point, and I found it easy to settle in.
One of many well-organized and thoughtful field trips, in particular, highlights the meaningful connections I made with a colleague. We traveled to Traverse City and learned about Kids Creek Restoration Project. The conversation we had was about how we ended up being science teachers. We discovered that we had many similarities in job experiences, emotional experiences, feeling unsatisfied with our contributions at work, and then reaching a plateau that took us to what was next. We found ourselves searching for, exploring, and finding our match as science teachers, where we could contribute to society on a daily basis with greater satisfaction. This opportunity to meet a stranger, intimately connect about our career journey in the context of the Great Lakes Watershed was for me, life-giving. Like how we all need water, this sense of connection with educators from the Great Lakes provided much-needed and welcomed nourishment that impacted my enthusiasm as an educator this past school year.
There were several ways that I implemented the curriculum and experiences that I gained from the GLWFC. In the past, I had a small and now what feels like, insignificant unit focusing on water chemistry, use, and conservation. This past school year, I began the water unit where students worked in small groups making posters of environmental citizens. In addition to learning more about water and the importance of taking care of this essential resource, a student commented “wow, water is an important resource and I hadn’t thought about it like that before.” I was very impressed and learned so much about how our water is handled from the field trip to Traverse City’s Wastewater Treatment Plant that I implemented a field trip with my students this spring. I took over 20 students to Meadowbrook-Limestone Wastewater Treatment Plant, where their water is treated and put back into the creek. Following the field trip to the treatment plant, I took my students on a walk to Bishop Brook, a local creek where they observed and collected data on different aspects of the environmental conditions in the area. For example, they collected data on nitrate levels, water flow and organisms living in the area. Students participated in an oil
spill simulation lab and to wrap up the unit, students researched an environmental issue/ disaster in the United States and presented a poster project to their peers in a gallery walk. The ideas and inspiration that I gathered from the experience staying on the shores of Lake Michigan stirred something inside me and I wanted to share that with my students. The water chemistry unit expanded to include a field trip off campus, outdoor visits to the local creek, daily conversations about the importance of fragile resources. My students are more in touch now with everyday resources that will no longer go unnoticed and be insignificant.
Participation in the GLWFC exceeded my expectations and I have been sharing lively stories since the day I headed back for NY. From the welcoming day at ISEA, where watershed basics were shared and then quickly the prompts, activities and discussions ramped up to a high level. We were afforded the opportunity to learn so much from one another, the experts and community members. The thoughtful and intentional activities changed and nourished me as a seasoned teacher, by providing concrete examples to share with my students.
The following images showcase some of my students’ work this year in the Water Chemistry Unit.
Environmental Citizen Posters
Students’ review of the wastewater treatment plant process
Examples of Students’ Environmental disaster poster project
Example of students’ data collection and records from visiting Bishop Brook
If you are interested in participating in our Great Lakes Watershed Field Course, learn more here: