Marquette, Michigan is home to the Coaster II, a wooden hulled, gaff rigged, top-sail schooner. The Coaster II is a registered historic ship and a well-known vessel among traditional sailors and boat builders. Designed as a 19th century coasting schooner, she is authentic, with a flying jib boom, catheads, a real lunenburg windlass, deadeyes, sway hooks, carved taff rails and other features not found on vessels built after 1900.
Captained by Niko Economides, the Coaster II will be the classroom for numerous invasive species workshops this summer. Working in partnership with Marquette Alger Regional Education Service Agency (MARESA), the SWP will take area youth and educators on Lake Superior to learn about invasive species, their impacts, and ecology.
The knowledge gained through these experiences will help teachers and students develop leadership, understanding, and commitment needed for the long-term stewardship of the Lake Superior region. The focus of these educational efforts will help prevent the introduction and spread of new aquatic invasive species before they become established in the Lake Superior region. It is imperative that teachers, students, and the general public become aware of the concerns surrounding invasive species in the Lake Superior region.
Know anyone interested in participating or volunteering? Give us a call at 228-6095.
In June 2010, the SWP and Marquette Alger Regional Education Service Agency (MARESA) held a one-day workshop on the Coaster II for educators from around the state to develop Great Lakes curriculum. Topic areas included invasive species, water sampling (pictured above), seamanship, sediment sampling, and much more.
This day-long workshop was funded in part by the SWP, MARESA, Great Lakes Center for Youth Development, and NMU Seaborg Center.
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You may have seen the ERDA in Marquette's Upper Harbor. This is the SWP's research vessel that we share with Northern Michigan University.
The ERDA is used for a variety of SWP field projects that require water sampling in Lake Superior.
