Every year we offer Illinois and Indiana K-12 formal and non-formal educator professional learning opportunities as well as stipend support for stewardship projects that extend Great Lakes learning and stewardship to students through place-based learning experiences. Stay tuned for upcoming opportunities.

Freedom Seekers Curriculum Educator Workshop

Registration Link

Event Dates: November 2nd, 2024

Event Times: 10:00am to 4:00pm CT

Event Location: Altgeld Library, 955 E. 131st Street, Chicago, IL 60827

Workshop Contacts: Megan Gunn and Haider Mehdi

Registration Deadline: October 25th, 2024

Intended Audience: 5th-12th grade educators, non-formal educators teaching in Great Lakes States.

Continuing Education Credits: IISG will offer 6 hours CEC through UIUC and Purdue University.

Description: Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) and Openlands are pleased to offer a free educator workshop for 5th-12th grade educators. We will be hosting this educator workshop to present the “Freedom Seekers: The Underground Railroad, Great Lakes, and Science Literacy Activities For Middle & High School” curriculum and the African American Heritage Water Trail. These resources reflect the intertwined narratives of the freedom seekers, their connection with the land, and the impact on environmental justice education. Through this workshop, educators will also learn the history of freedom seekers in Illinois and Indiana and there will be lesson demonstrations from the curriculum itself, our collaborators, and classroom integration conversations. 

Participants from 2016’s Shipboard Science Workshop pose in front of the U.S. EPA R/V Lake Guardian.

Shipboard Science Workshop

Applications are now closed for the 2024 summer workshop on Lake Erie. Information and how to apply for the 2025 summer workshop on Lake Michigan will be available late 2024/early 2025 at cgll.org.

Through a partnership with the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office, educators spend a full week alongside researchers aboard the EPA R/V Lake Guardian. Facilitated by Great Lakes Sea Grant Network educators, the Shipboard Science Workshop, one per year, rotates among the five Great Lakes and is designed to promote Great Lakes sciences while forging relationships between Great Lakes researchers and educators.

Learn more:

• Educators Onboard for Learning
• 2023 Shipboard Science Workshop on Lake Ontario
• 2024 Shipboard Science Workshop on Lake Erie