Teachers and other educators have a unique opportunity to work with Great Lakes scientists this summer aboard the research vessel Lake Guardian as it explores Lake Superior. The seven-day workshop is sponsored by the Great Lakes Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE Great Lakes) for those who work with students in grades 4–10 in either a classroom or non-classroom setting.

UW Sea Grant Education Coordinator Jim Lubner will lead the team of instructors on the Lake Superior cruise. The intensive curriculum will focus on a variety of topics, including coastal processes, hydrology, ecology, and water quality.

Aboard ship, participants will collect water samples for chemical and biological analysis, identify plankton and benthic species, and measure the water clarity of the lake. They will also learn more about Great Lakes ecosystems through hands-on laboratory work and presentations by water scientists. At the end of the workshop, participants will meet to summarize their findings and to reflect on how they will use their new knowledge in their own educational programs.

Lubner, who taught last summer’s workshops on Lakes Ontario and Michigan, spoke enthusiastically about the experience: “It’s a great way to span the bridge between research scientists and educators.” Teacher Barb LaMourea agreed: “We are like sponges soaking up the knowledge to squeeze out on our students.”

For more information, teachers can check the Web site www.coseegreatlakes.net or contact Jim Lubner at jflubner@aqua.wisc.edu.

Graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources have a unique opportunity to work in Washington, D.C., through the National Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program which matches highly qualified graduate students with “hosts” in the legislative and executive branches of government.

Wisconsin’s Sea Grant College Program is currently seeking applications for the one-year paid internship that begins in February 2010.

To date, 17 Wisconsin students have been selected to participate in the program, which is partly funded by UW Sea Grant. Applications are due by 4 p.m. Friday, February 20, 2009, and should be addressed to Terri Klousie, Aquatic Sciences Center, 267 Goodnight Hall, 1975 Willow Drive, Madison, Wisconsin 53706-1177.

More information about the fellowship program is ­available at www.seagrant.noaa.gov/knauss.