Thanks to the Captain and Crew!!!!

We are so thankful to the Captain and Crew of the Lake Guardian. They are all the absolute best and we could not have had this amazing journey without them! Click on the photo to view it larger!!!

Sailing into the Sunset

After dinner, everyone shared what they captured on the flags that we decorated all week. Everyone was so creative and thoughtful - it was a great way to culminate this amazing week!

Here's the chorus to a song that many contrbuted to during the week as well...




There's scientists and teachers
Aboard Lake Guardian
We go from stations to the labs
The learning's so much fun
We need to work together
Through rain and wind and sun
Crossing Great Lake Erie
COSEE will get it done






We didn't exactly "sail" into the sunset, but it sure was spectacular. What an awesome way for us all to reflect and take in the beauty of the Great Lake Erie. We learned and shared so much together. It was a great week aboard the Lake Guardian!

Jam-packed Day!

We started the day canoeing and kayaking the lagoons at Presque Isle State Park in Erie, PA. Everyone had a great time taking in the beautiful serene nature and watching birds and other wildlife. Species sited or heard included: yellow warbler, pine warbler, common yellow-throat, alder flycatcher, cedar waxwing, song sparrow, and muskrat.

Bob Wellington presented everyone with a history of the Erie shoreline as we left Presque Isle Bay. His photos really gave everyone a great snapshot of how the shoreline has changed over time.

Back in the lab, educators used a dichotomous key to identify Lake Erie fish with the assitance of Bob Wellington.







The activity To Catch a Walleye from the Ohio Sea Grant book Life in the Great Lakes was played to demonstrate the Great Lakes food chain.






Water sampling with the Rosette sampler was conducted at 60 meters - the deepest sample taken during the week. Data was entered to ensure that all parameters were captured.

Jackie Adams showed the educators how to conduct the water chemistry tests including measuring dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, alkalinity, and turbidity.


Everyone checked out the box core sample from Lake Erie's floor. On the top were many Quagga mussels!

Blinded Me With Science...

Benthic Beth demonstrates how to sieve the ponar grabs to collect benthic macroinvertebrates.

Quagga mussels, midge larvae, oligochaetes, and leeches were found in addition to others.





All participants were able to get their hands right in there to find out how the sampling and research are conducted.
"This is a type of immersion workshop (professional development) where teachers come away from it having had the experience instead of just reading about it." - Alysia, Ohio teacher


Dr. Greg Boyer assists the teachers with identifying phytoplankton and zooplankton from the water samples collected. Zooplankton included rotifers, cladocerans, and copepods. Phytoplankton included diatoms, dinoflagellates, and chrysophyte. One of the locations that samples were taken from was the NOAA IFYLE (International Field Years on Lake Erie) station 1192 RTM. For more info on IFYLE, go to:
http://www.ifyle.org/stations_map.html


Helen Domske led a lecture on Invasive Species. Preserved samples including: River Ruffe, Round Goby, Sea Lamprey, Spiny Waterflea, Zebra Mussels, and Quagga Mussels were passed around for closer inspection. Participants also took part in an Aquatic WILD workshop and received a curriculum book to take back to their classrooms.


We arrived in Presque Isle around 5:00pm. After dinner we toured the new LEED certified Tom Ridge Environmental Education Center where everyone watched the IMAX movie The Living Sea.

A little less queasy...

Continuation of Wednesday, June 21st...

In the morning and afternoon, everyone participated in a Flying WILD workshop and received a curriculum book with activities and ideas on how to hold a bird festival as well as great activities for the classroom about birds. In the afternoon, a panel session was held in the lounge for the teachers to interact with the scientists to brainstorm ideas on how the scientists can be better prepared to engage students in an elementary/middle/high school/non-formal setting. Conversation was very stimulating!

You too can look like a Lake Guardian fashionista! All the cool kids are wearing KEEN Newport trail shoes.







After arriving in Huron Harbor everyone ventured to area beachers with Dr. Larry Krissek to learn about the beach geology and shoreline stabilization techniques.

After dinner, everyone headed out to Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve and State Nature Preserve. Many arrived back soaked from the torrential downpours that were taking place around the area.

Does anyone feel queasy?

Got kicked off the Internet last night, so this is what we did yesterday - Wednesday, June 21st.
We started the Summer Solstice rocking and rolling to some mighty large waves. A few of us didn't fare very well even with medication. Everyone hung in there though. Check out this article about the weather we were experiencing:
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060622/NEWS12/606220480/-1/NEWS


As we left Huron Harbor, we travelled through some of that torrential rain while watching the four lift bridges open to let us through. We also saw the freighter Stephania I pass by.






Helen Domske gave a presentation on Lake Erie in the galley. As you can see by the photo, keeping a steady hand was quite difficult.






I'm having a difficult time with posting to this website (keep losing information), so addiotional photos will be posted later...

We're all on the same ship!

Mayfly Madness! Hexagenia limbata and Hexagenia rigida. The emergence was upon us. We woke up to mayflies everywhere! To get a good look, click on the photo to the left. Yep, that's me - your friendly Lake Guardian blogger (I'm pointing at the mayflies on my shirt and nothing else ;)




Lake Guardian Haiku - by Lou, Ohio Great Lakes Educator

Midges and Mayflies
Mussels and Quagga compete
Lake Erie sighs

Water samples were tested using a conductivity meter, pH meter, alkalinity titration, and turbidity meter.
Bottom sample results were:
conductivity - 286.9 umhos/cm (water was heated to 25 degrees Celsius.
alkalinity - 84 mg/L
pH - 8.5
turbidity - 6.65 NTU






Anne Danielski demonstrates how to tie knots on the O2 deck.

"Good Food, Good Fellowship, Good Sites with Good Sights!" ~ Carla, Ohio Teacher










Educators take time to be creative and express themselves and what they have learned by decorating canvas flags that they will be able to share at the end of the week.

The storm passed...

We did get to visit the FT Stone Laboratory last night. After a tour of the grounds and computer lab, Dr. Larry Krissek gave a presentation on Great Lakes Geology.













The stunning sunset photographed from the water taxi back to Put-In-Bay from Gibralter Island where the FT Stone Laboratory is located. The storm passed!!! After getting back to Put-In-Bay, everyone had time to explore the town or do their own thing - what happens in Put-In-Bay, stays in Put-In-Bay! kidding :)

Sampling, Activities, and Storms - Oh My!

Attack of the Gumbies! Seriously - safety first. Everyone had to learn how to put on their Immersion Suit (affectionately referred to as a "Gumby Suit") on the O2 deck.

Hands-On Real Science - Everyone was able to participate in the water sampling this morning. Techniques used were the Rosette Sampler (conductivity, temperature, chlorphyll, and dissolved oxygen), Box Core Sampler, Ponar Grab, and Plankton Net.

Activities from Ohio Sea Grant's Life in the Great Lakes were explored in the Galley. How well do you know the Great Lakes? That's the name of the activity, but also a question for all of us to think about.

In the labs on the ship, everyone was able to study the zooplankton and phytoplankton under microscopes. Species that were identified include: Chironomids, Rotifers, Zebra Mussel Veligers, and many others!

We arrived at Put-In-Bay and headed into town around 2:30, but had to head back to the ship by 3:15 due to a freak storm. It was sunny when we arrived. Trawling was cancelled, but we're still planning on taking a water taxi to FT Stone Laboratory (the oldest fresh water laboratory in the United States) after dinner. We tried to take the elevator up to the top of Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial, but they closed it just as we arrived due to the storm.

It's not pseudo-science

Course participants received a guided tour of the Steamship William G. Mather. Our excellent tour guide Molly explained to this group how the engine room works.



"I'm excited to be a part of authentic research" - Sheila, Ohio teacher

Dr. Rosanne Fortner gives an overview of the course over lunch at the Great Lakes Science Center in Cleveland, OH

Introducing....

Day One: Group photo - not everyone is present, but it's close! Cleveland skyline as backdrop. Photo taken on the O2 deck.

Map of our Route

This is a tentative map of the route we will be leaving on tomorrow.