At the recent National Marine Educators Meeting in Boston, Lisa Chizek, a 5th and 6th grade teacher from Iowa joined other teachers to learn about the new curriculum, Fresh and Salt, which connects Great Lakes and ocean sciences. IISG’s Terri Hallesy, education specialist, led this session. Here are some comments from Lisa:

“I am so excited to have these wonderful and effective resources to help connect my students with the Great Lakes and Ocean Literacy Principles. I believe we are so interconnected with the Great Lakes and the ocean that it is very necessary for everyone to become literate about how these wonderful bodies of water affect our planet in so many ways and how we affect them. It is very important to me, as a person who wants my students to be able to understand and think critically about our world, to help my students become literate with these principles.

“Learning about our planet’s great bodies of water is a responsibility of every member of society. Living in land-locked Iowa does not diminish this responsibility or make it irrelevant. We are all interconnected with these bodies of water. I plan to incorporate these wonderful lessons in both my 5th and 6th grade classes.”

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Join is in welcoming our new research and reporting coordinator, Laura Esman, to the team! In her new role, Laura will oversee research competitions and manage IISG’s research portfolio. She will also spearhead IISG data collection and lead the program’s annual reporting process.Esman brings over 30 years of experience in research, project coordination and grant administration. Her most recent positions include managing director of the Indiana Water Resources Research Center, and lab manager and research associate in the Natural Resources Social Science Lab in Purdue’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources.Full story at the link in bio.
There’s still time to register! Educators are invited to join the Great Lakes Region Place-Based Education Institute starting this February and dive into hands-on strategies that connect students with their communities and local environments. Don’t miss this powerful professional learning opportunity!Learn more & register at the link in bio.
🎉 Congratulations to our IISG Knauss Fellowship finalists! We’re proud to announce Anupama Chandroth (@iubloomington) and Laura Gray (@illinois1867) as Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s finalists for the 2026 Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship.They’ll join a national cohort of 48 finalists placed in executive and legislative branch offices in Washington, D.C., contributing scientific expertise to federal decision-making on marine, coastal, and Great Lakes issues.Full story at the link in bio.