Inland Seas course work
01/10/2007
Inland Seas course work
200 volunteers help steer ship and guide science experiments
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
Retired teachers who still love their work, Len and Connie Klein found a way to continue guiding the next generation while honoring their passion for the environment.
The couple, who spent their careers downstate before retiring to Connie's hometown two years ago, volunteers on the Inland Seas, an educational schooner that reaches 5,000 children, teachers and families every year.
From May through October of last year, they plied the waves of the Grand Traverse Bay and beyond while helping passengers rotate among six science stations aboard: navigation, water chemistry, plankton, seamanship, fish and benthos or sediment. At each station, students conducted hands-on tasks or experiments guided by volunteers.
"I do have a science background but there's a lot of things that I learned and sharing this with students is really exciting, said Len, a retired physics teacher and science department head. "You can see their eyes light up.
"You want to make learning challenging, doable and fun in the right ways, he added. "Plus we give them a chance to steer the boat.
The Kleins trained to be volunteers last winter during a 12-session course held one evening a week over three months. This year, the Inland Seas Education Association just launched this year's version, with the first class of the Volunteer Training Program held last Wednesday evening at Norris Elementary School. For the next 11 weeks, the 32 new volunteers and 20 returning volunteers will immerse themselves in all facets of the science and sailing needed to volunteer on the 77-foot replica of an 18th Century schooner.
The Suttons Bay-based organization commissioned the ship in 1994 and has been using it for education and outreach ever since. The 220 volunteers in the organization have a range of backgrounds and experience sailing but are united by their devotion to the mission. They help with every facet onboard, from the science education to running the boat.
"I've learned to be a deck hand and Connie has learned to be an assistant cook, noted Len. "This has been really great because we kind of looked at retirement as a new phase of life.
The organization's main goals are to promote or inculcate an interest in a career related to the Great Lakes and to promote stewardship of this vast inland sea.
The organization passed a milestone of 70,000 students last summer, an accomplishment in which they take great pride. In addition to the spring and fall sails for school groups, Inland Seas also offers Summer Family Sails all throughout June, July and August. The organization also conducts longer sails for groups as well as free training programs for teachers during the summer.
For the school program, students board the ship and are the scientists for the half day, recording their findings for sending on to appropriate federal or state agencies. For example, they might send data on the fish they caught and released to the Department of Natural Resources or water temperature information to the National Weather Service.
"Everything we do is hands on and it's real science , said Randy Hill, shipboard education coordinator for the organization. "They're collecting samples, they're organizing them and learning their place in the food system.
"Then there's the history component, too, he added. "And they sing sea shanties, too, traditional sailing songs.
For more information on the Inland Seas Education Association, see their Web site at www.schoolship.org. The association welcomes new volunteers into the program at any point; contact Randy Hill at 271-3077 or rhill@schoolship.org for more information or to register.