For more than 35 years, Inland Seas Education Association has equipped young people with the inspiration, knowledge, and resources necessary to ensure the long-term health and stewardship of the Great Lakes. In the face of today’s escalating environmental and educational challenges, we believe this continues to be the best approach. The experience of learning about the Great Lakes on the Great Lakes or in the watershed, where students can collect, touch, see, and hear the material, cannot be replicated in a classroom.

For this reason, ISEA has broadened our unique year-round STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) programming for the past eight years, resulting in demand exceeding our capacity. This demand has revealed the critical need for growth in our ship capacity, facilities, and staffing. In addition to a second ship, we are building a campus where people of all ages come to learn, problem-solve, connect with nature, and discover their place in the Great Lakes ecosystem.

No other Great Lakes education organization has the geographical reach that ISEA enjoys. Since 1989, more than 169,000 individuals have participated in ISEA programs. The Campaign for the Future of Great Lakes Education, underway now, will exponentially increase the number of stewards caring for the Great Lakes. Learn more about how you can help Secure the Future of Great Lakes Education.

Funds Raised to Date

Campaign Goals

Actual construction may differ from renderings.

An $11 Million Investment in Programs, Places, and People

Campaign Timeline

Expanding our Programs

ISEA’s STEM programs are effective for learners because the real-world, hands-on format creates stronger connections to the water and provides a more comprehensive understanding of the aquatic environment. The increasing demand for our experiential education programs from our growing list of K-12 schools, universities, foundations, conservation organizations, Indigenous tribes, and other nonprofits confirms the value of our teaching approach and ISEA’s standing as a leader in Great Lakes education. Our year-round program offerings at home and around the Great Lakes, reach underserved urban and rural youth to engage them in the stewardship of this irreplaceable resource. The expansion of both on-ship and on-land programs has created a need for a second schooner, a large multipurpose room, and a dedicated vessel maintenance space.

• Connect actions on land to the water’s health
• Align to K-12 education state standards
• Build STEM skills (science, technology, engineering, math)
• Explore Great Lakes careers
• Employ place-based and research strategies

Enhancing our Places

This campaign allows us to fulfill our programmatic demand, as well as create an interconnected hub of learning and community engagement that will benefit our participants and the Great Lakes. ISEA programs take place on our tall ships around the Great Lakes, on our Suttons Bay campus, at Discovery Pier in Traverse City, and in local watersheds like Leo Creek Preserve. 

To meet the demand of our broad range of partners around the Great Lakes and at home, ISEA purchased the schooner Alliance in November 2022. Alliance works alongside the schooner Inland Seas in delivering programs both at home and away. Groups from Chicago to Duluth, Cleveland to Suttons Bay, and many places in between now have the opportunity to experience our shipboard programs at the same time. The additional revenue generated from Alliance offsets operation costs during the campaign. The cost to retrofit the main cabin area to build 18 bunks is also covered in this campaign.

We are enhancing our physical footprint to provide more impactful learning. The properties to the north and south of the Capt. Thomas M. Kelly Biological Station have been purchased through the campaign. The existing north lot Millside building will be renovated to include a versatile multi-use educational space, and a dedicated vessel maintenance shop will be located in the basement. The updated campus, along with the nine-acre Leo Creek property gifted to us, expands our hands-on, year-round Great Lakes education and STEM career exploration programming that complements our shipboard programs. Our community campus will provide more avenues to connect students, volunteers, donors, and the community with the Great Lakes while also connecting them to the trails, parks, marinas, and businesses of Suttons Bay.

Leo Creek Preserve

Inland Seas Education Association has conducted watershed environmental education programs at Leo Creek Preserve since 2017. This unique creek, forest, and agricultural space is an outdoor learning laboratory where students investigate soil, water, and woodland ecology. Kate Thornhill and the Leo Creek Preserve Board of Directors have chosen to gift the preserve to ISEA. In combination with our campus, Leo Creek Preserve is the perfect natural location to demonstrate how actions on land impact the Great Lakes through our Watershed Exploration programs. As stewards of this property, we will maintain the beauty that has instilled a love for the outdoors. While we are excited about expanding our watershed exploration program opportunities on the property, the Preserve will continue to be open to the public.

Increasing our Investment in People

There are no programs without people. As we expand our unique, high-impact programming, we must invest in the passionate, qualified professionals who will bring this material alive for our students. In 2023, ISEA hired a full-time Captain, First Mate, and Great Lakes Educator. Seasonal Deckhand Educators were hired to assist with sailing the vessels in 2023 and beyond. A highly-trained relief captain is required to provide respite to our full-time ship employees who deliver programs 7 days a week, often operating 24 hours a day. As our year-round programs continue to grow, so will our staff.

Ways to Give

Your Gift Will Facilitate

• Life-changing opportunities for youth to step out of the familiar and experience the grandeur of the Great Lakes.
• Increased awareness for students about career opportunities in environmental science and about Great Lakes stewardship.
• More participation in Great Lakes stewardship by students from diverse backgrounds and from communities with fewer resources.
• Expanded partnerships around the Great Lakes resulting in a greater understanding of local watersheds and the lakes.
• A significant increase by 2045 in the number of stewards caring for the Great Lakes.
• A regional destination for K-12 schools, institutions of higher education, and the public to deepen their knowledge of and connection to the Great Lakes.