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Mandi Young, a science teacher at The Pathfinder School, spent the week aboard the Lake Guardian taking water samples, working with EPA scientists, and thinking of ways to bring the experience to her students this school year.
Young spoke with IPR Climate Solutions Reporter Vivian La about her trip.
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LA: How did you end up on the EPA research vessel Lake Guardian in the first place?
YOUNG: It's a program that goes on year after year, where the EPA and Sea Grant, they invite about 15 teachers on the research vessel, and they go every year from lake to lake to lake. And this year I finally applied. I wanted to be able to bring science back into the classroom to my students, real life science that's happening right now that has an impact on understanding what's happening in the Great Lakes.
But I also wanted to apply to encourage my students to reach for goals and reach for dreams, and being on the water, being with scientists was a goal and a dream I had. So I wanted to inspire my students to do the same.
You were one of two teachers from Michigan. How did it feel to be on the research vessel representing northern Michigan?
Oh, I felt like it was a great honor that I was there representing northern Michigan, and whenever I said I was from Traverse City, Michigan, [people said] "Ooh, you're from Traverse City. Oh, I always like to vacation there."
You guys set sail from Duluth, Minnesota, and you were on board for a week. Tell me a little bit about what you saw, what you did, what science you were looking at.
There were three research projects going on to understand and monitor what is happening in the Great Lakes, and my specific project was looking at very small invertebrates. These small invertebrates are actually food for fish, and if their population is stable and substantial, then the fish population will be substantial, so that then there can be recreational fishing and commercial fishing.
We took samples from the bottom. It's called a Ponar grab. You can think of a grabber. It goes down to the bottom of a lake and brings up a whole bunch of mud, and then we get to sort through that mud, which was a lot of fun.
You're kind of describing a giant claw machine. It sounds like that kind of grabber.
Yep, a giant claw machine that grabs mud from the bottom.
After studying invertebrates in the lake, what was the conclusion from the week that you spent on the boat?
That is a great question too, and that's part of the scientific process: looking at the data and then analyzing the data. And what we found is there is a good population of both types of invertebrates we were looking at, and actually Lake Superior is one of the only lakes that has these two invertebrates.
You're probably in the thick of planning for your upcoming school year, and earlier you said this is a good way to teach your students about science and the Great Lakes. How will this experience help your students or make its way into the classroom?
I'm always brewing up ideas. The first is just to share the photos and videos that I took while I was on board, to show them the research equipment, the laboratory equipment, what the marine technicians were doing, what the teachers were doing, and just to show them how immersed I was in the scientific process.
Another piece I'm very excited about is, I'm going to use the data that I collected with the other teachers, and we are going to use that data to graph populations — the populations of the invertebrates in Lake Superior — compare and contrast, and research why are they different, or why could they be the same?
What do you hope students will take away from this experience that you're going to share with them throughout the school year?
I would like them to take away that science is happening right now. I'd like them to know that yes, I'm asking them to go through the scientific process, but it's happening all the time, all around them. I'm involving myself in the scientific process, too.
What was the most valuable thing that you took away from it?
One of the most valuable pieces was being surrounded by 14 other teachers that are excited about science and just really excited and passionate about bringing this experience to their students. That was very valuable and also just inspiring and empowering.
Would you go again if they asked you?
Absolutely. I wouldn't even think about it.
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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
