Two opportunities to highlight NOAA’s mission of Science, Service and Stewardship
NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) remote sensing scientist, Dr. George Leshkevich, and Information Services team member, Katherine Glassner-Shwayder, participated in Washtenaw Community College’s (WCC) Earth Day Month Celebration on April 6 on campus in Ann Arbor Michigan. In celebration of Earth Month, information was presented about a diverse array of solutions to today’s environmental challenges by local non-profit, business, and government organizations, student clubs (nursing and sustainability) and WCC departments. One such featured challenge was on “Our Amazing Earth” to help students understand the science behind the intricate balance of nature, protect the Great Lakes, help green our campus, and find a green career.
In representing GLERL At the event, George and Kathe shared information on our research, focused on NOAA’s Great Lakes CoastWatch animations, illustrating retrospective satellite observations and in-situ Great Lakes data; research on Great Lakes ecosystem dynamics and threats posed by aquatic invasive species; Great Lakes geography; and information on the laboratory’s Summer Fellows Program (coordinated by the University of Michigan’s Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR), in conjunction with GLERL).
The WCC Earth Month Celebration provided a valuable opportunity for GLERL to raise awareness and understanding for the science driving the Great Lakes ecosystem among a diverse group of college students and community members. WCC faculty member and event coordinator, Dale Petty, commented that NOAA GLERL played an important role at WCC’s Earth Month Celebration, presenting the science about what’s happening in our environment.
Father and son show off their artwork from the GLERL/CIGLR “Create an Invasive Species” activity during Huron Intermediate Schools STEAM Showcase on May 13.
In addition to the event at WCC, NOAA GLERL Information Services team member, Nicole Rice, along with Michele Wensman from CIGLR spent the day in Bad Axe, Michigan, participating in the Huron Intermediate School District’s Thumb Area STEAM Showcase on May 13. During the event, students from Huron County schools showcased their work with the Science Olympiad, the MDOT Bridge Building Challenge, robotics, drones, music, art, and more. Exhibits included a trebuchet, an interactive planetarium, a petting zoo, live music, and a variety of hands-on activities.
The GLERL/CIGLR exhibit featured information about the lab’s science programs and CIGLR’s student opportunities, and interactive activities such as 3D bathymetry maps, a Great Lakes quiz, and a crafting area where kids could create their own invasive species or make a monster from a Great Lake. Check out the photo album on Facebook full of eager participants and their creative creatures!
NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory 