All Hands-on Deck: Vessel-Based Education About the Freshwater Environments of the Northeastern USA and Laurentian Great Lakes

Survey of Freshwater Vessel-Based Education (VBE)

In October 2024, we surveyed 24 vessels operating in the freshwaters of the Northeastern USA and Great Lakes that host VBE programs. These vessels were identified either directly by the authors given their fields of expertise or through internet searches. Keyword searches included “vessel-based education”, “floating classroom”, “shipboard education” as well as appropriate geographic regions and state. Although our list may not be exhaustive, it represents the vast majority of vessels with freshwater education programs in the Great Lakes and Northeast and excludes vessels exclusively operating research programs or marine education. A questionnaire was generated in Google Forms (see Appendix A for questions) and distributed to the main contact(s) of 20 different VBE programs (four of the programs were associated with two vessels). We received 19 responses; no response was received from the Dr. Robert Werner Research & Education Boat (Skaneateles, NY), which was identified from an internet search, and it is not included in our results.

Case Study of Science on Seneca

Survey of Freshwater Vessel-Based Education (VBE)

All 23 vessels surveyed operated VBE programs, but the vessels’ primary use and focal subjects during VBE programing varied. Out of the 19 programs (some programs have multiple vessels), K-12 day programming was identified as a primary use for the majority (n = 15), often in combination with other uses (Table 1). Only five programs exclusively focused on K-12 education. The Sam Patch and Riverie (Erie Canal and Genesee River, NY) were the only vessels that primarily served tourists interested in the river’s historical significance. A majority of freshwater VBE programs taught the biological, environmental, and aquatic sciences aboard their vessels (n = 16). VBE programs also taught history (n = 10), geography (n = 6), and navigation and other maritime practices (n = 6).

VBE programs typically attracted audiences from within their watershed (10–20 miles), but some participants travelled as far as 100 miles or from neighboring states. VBE programs most often targeted high school students (n = 14) or educators (n = 13). Undergraduate students (n = 12), middle school students (n = 11), and elementary school students (n = 10) were also important audiences for these programs (Table 1). Individual VBE programs served between 80 and 5,000 K-12 students per year. Seven programs indicated that they also serve the general public (i.e., local and public organizations, families, and lifelong learners), with individual VBE programs serving 10 to 7,000 non-students per year.

Many of the freshwater VBE programs were funded through private foundations (n = 8) and concurrently supported with in-kind sources (n = 8), state grants (n = 7), and federal grants (n = 6). Eleven out of the 19 programs were university affiliated. Seven vessels indicated that they were funded by only one source (Table 1).

Case Study of Science on Seneca

Demographic analysis

Science on Seneca (SOS) educated hundreds of area secondary students in Western NY per year. More students attended the program in autumn compared to spring (Figure 1). The average number of participants in autumn was 346 students (Standard deviation [SD] = 92.4) and in spring was 214 students (SD = 70.3). The maximum number of students in autumn was 491 in 2016, and in spring it was 286 students in 2019. During autumn, the total number of students generally increased from 2010–2016 and then decreased from 2016–2023. Spring use of the program was more variable.

Figure 1

Students in higher grade levels used the program most frequently (Figure 2). Twelfth-grade (n = 201 total classes from 2010–2023) and eleventh-grade (n = 192 classes) were the most frequent participants. Grade levels between seventh and tenth ranged in frequency from 6 to 93 total classes. Seventh-grade classes had the lowest frequency (n = 6 classes).

Figure 2

Biology classes participated at substantially higher frequencies (n = 129 total classes from 2010–2023) than all other subjects (Figure 3). General biology (n = 48 classes) and advanced biology classes (n = 46 classes) were the most common subject areas to attend (Figure 4). Environmental science and studies classes (n = 73 classes) also were frequent subject areas to participate in SOS, including advanced environmental science and studies (n = 36 classes) and general environmental science and studies (n = 37 classes; Figure 4). Physics and physical science classes (n = 4 classes) were the least frequent subject areas.

Figure 3

Figure 4

Schools that participated in the SOS program ranged from those located in Geneva, NY (the vessel’s homeport) to some over 60 miles away, including one in a neighboring state (Figure 5). The average distance of schools visiting the SOS program to Geneva, NY was 37.9 miles.

Figure 5

Many schools participating in SOS were located in economically disadvantaged rural and urban districts, including two of NY’s largest cities: Syracuse and Rochester. Enrollment size of schools attending the SOS program ranged from 35 to 2,000 students. Thirteen schools exceeded an enrollment size of 1,000 students, and only three schools had less than 100 students.

Thematic Analysis of Teacher Responses

Four central themes were identified from our analysis of teacher interviews: (1) sense of aquatic stewardship, (2) interdisciplinary, experiential learning, (3) contribution to scientific research, and (4) on-board and logistical challenges.

The Audience and Content of VBE

The educational audience and geographic reach of freshwater VBE programs are impressively large. Individual VBE programs educate hundreds to thousands of participants annually. Several programs have been educating students for decades such as the Inland Seas Schoolship Program (Lake Michigan, MI), which serves as many as 5,000 students in a year, and SOS (Seneca Lake, NY), which educates hundreds of students annually and more than 7,000 students since 2010. Freshwater VBE programs operate in both urban and rural areas, mostly as partial-day field trips. Such accessibility is noteworthy as environmental education, in general, is spatially uneven with more programming in dense-population centers that are liberal-leaning (Hemby et al. 2024). Further, the SOS program demonstrates that VBE, while serving multiple high-needs communities (e.g., poorly resourced rural districts) in a local watershed can also encourage connection to globally significant environmental issues, such as nutrient pollution and invasive species.

The science of lakes and rivers is the focus of most freshwater VBE programs, and teachers use these experiences to meet science education standards based on our interviews with SOS teachers. Although some VBE programs cater to elementary learners, with simple hands-on activities and observation-based investigations, most aim programming towards middle and high school students for more in-depth limnological research. The student experience is often divided among data collection for the biological, physical, and chemical aspects of the water body, as illustrated by the programs aboard the R/V Blue Heron (Lake Superior, MN), Riverie (Genesee River, NY), and R/V William Scandling (Seneca Lake, NY). Similarly, on the R/V Lake Guardian participants gain knowledge about the biological, environmental, and aquatic sciences as the program aims to teach students and teachers about the Great Lakes (Twiss et al. 2005). To our knowledge, formal research concerning the outcomes of data-driven inquiry used by VBE is lacking for K-12 students, but studies document that undergraduate students appreciate and benefit from the use of such practices to teach freshwater science (Carey et al. 2015). Further, SOS teachers commented on the importance and power of such data collection. As data literacy is essential for aquatic and marine literacy, VBE programs will need to better develop the practice of organizing and interpreting ever more complex and plentiful data. Best practices are emerging for both shipboard experiences and classroom access to real-time and archived data (Miller & Nolan 2023).

Beyond the disciplinary sciences, our teacher interviews report the outdoor experience is a vital component of VBE with a lasting influence on participants that encourages healthy connections to vital aquatic resources. When students and teachers interface with aquatic ecosystems in meaningful ways, environmental awareness and appreciation for aquatic and marine systems increases, as does the development of social skills and self-discovery (Hunnell et al. 2023; Rowland & Kitchen-Meyer 2018; Wigglesworth & Heintzman 2017; Williamson & Dann 1999). Long-term shipboard programs, such as semester-long undergraduate courses in marine systems, are characterized as “powerful learning experiences”, which impact students’ thoughts and actions over time in a wide range of contexts (Rowland & Kitchen-Meyer 2018). Based on our thematic analysis of SOS participation, environmental awareness is a valuable outcome of freshwater VBE, but more research is needed on K-12 students given the wide-range yet short-duration of programing, as well as the influence of other experiences and demographics (Williamson & Dann 1999).

Opportunities for Expanding Aquatic Education with VBE

Although subject areas such as history, geography, and maritime practices are less common in VBE based on our survey and the literature about VBE, social dimensions are essential for connecting people to aquatic systems. Experiential learning, such as VBE, is understood to be an effective approach to increasing environmental stewardship because of the socio-scientific learning that occurs on board, which can encourage shifts in behaviors at the induvial and social levels (Morgan & Braungardt 2025). From our teacher interviews, we document that educators do extend to subject areas beyond the sciences to have greater reach and effect with their students. There are clearly opportunities for freshwater VBE to embrace the non-science aspects of water resources and environmental education. Such exploration will also create opportunities for participants inclined to the arts and humanities, those interested in environmental history and current policy, and students with aspirations to attain nautical jobs (e.g., engineering, cartography, navigation, engine repair). As aquatic educators, we also suggest that VBE programs would benefit from the explicit development of a watershed connection that better situates students in the waterscape and landscape by using GIS technology and/or other off-land experiences at the interface between land and water.

VBE programs may be interested in further developing environmental science and studies curriculum, including pre- or post-cruise lectures or lesson plans that accommodate environmental interests with greater intention. Despite the academic foundation (and current curriculum) of SOS in the disciplinary sciences of chemistry and geoscience, it is most often part of life science and environmental studies classes, a shared foci of many other VBE programs. To that end, we created a post-cruise activity based on teacher feedback for SOS that intertwines lake trophic status, nutrient pollution, and cultural eutrophication (Finger Lakes Institute 2025). These are prominent, interdisciplinary issues impacting lakes across the globe, including the Finger Lakes Region which was identified as a hotspot for harmful algal blooms (HABs; Wang et al. 2024). To comprehend and address the dangers of HABs, the intersection of multiple perspectives is necessary, including environmental legislation, the history of nutrient pollution, public health and economic impacts, and the role of global climate change (Egan 2023; Mclachlan et al. 2019).

Logistics and Challenges of VBE

Freshwater VBE programs are enabled by private and governmental funding, which highlights that they are viewed by these philanthropic audiences as consequential at the local and federal levels. It also suggests that freshwater VBE, as a whole, requires external funding to carry out at-sea education. Although most of the freshwater vessels we surveyed are not part of the Academic Research Fleet that is coordinated by the University-Oceanographic Laboratory System, there is a long-standing relationship between several universities and colleges that play a central role in the success of the VBE programs we surveyed. This is illustrated with SOS, which receives substantial in-kind support from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, including free training workshops, access to faculty and staff volunteers, and the use of a Coast Guard-certified vessel and its professional crew for a nominal fee ($25 per cruise; less than 5% of the cost to run the vessel for the cruise period) that is primarily used for undergraduate education and limnological research.

Even with substantial financial support, VBE programs face challenges. Teachers interviewed in our study shared that the most prominent barrier to student participation is a shortage of bus drivers, which, in part, reflects insufficient resources and funding for the travel needed to participate in education programs. These shortfalls may necessitate grant writing to support not only VBE programming but alleviate potential barriers associated with attending (e.g., Hemby et al. 2024). Declines in VBE participation, such as those that may be apparent in SOS since 2015, may result from teacher turnover, COVID-19 precautions, and transportation limitations. Additionally, teachers expressed the challenge of ensuring sufficient supervision while on board. The classroom teacher, despite the support from the sponsoring VBE, is integral in shaping the on-board experience for students, and future efforts for university-affiliated programs might seek to provide college-student volunteers to assist teachers with these endeavors.

VBE programs largely operate on vessels that serve multiple audiences (i.e., education, research, tourism), which create trade-offs for resources, data quality, and access to expertise among programs. Some programs are run by practicing scientists, others by teachers who have been trained by researchers, and still others by volunteers. The primary use of the vessel can also influence VBE programming due to available equipment, access to pre- and post-cruise data and materials, and program framing. Nonetheless, multi-functionality presents opportunities for synergies. For example, data collected by SOS students contributes to HWS-led research on Seneca Lake. We do note that more students attended SOS programming in the autumn compared to spring, likely because the academic calendar for upper grades poses conflicts (e.g., end-of-the-year regional and Advanced Placement exams) with the limited favorable conditions on northern lakes in the spring. Participating teachers and program coordinators should be cognizant that this artifact will influence citizen science as there are vastly different environmental conditions between autumn and spring on northern lakes (e.g., water temperature and patterns, biological activity; Anderson et al. 2024).

Another synergistic example of multiple-use vessels is the Riverie, which primarily operates, and generates revenue, as a tourist vessel on the Genesee River (Rochester, NY). It is also a crucial environmental education for the Rochester City School District as a universal fifth-grade field trip, during which elementary students engage in an investigation of the river that flows through their city; this may be transformative for students who are on the river (or even a boat) for the first time given there is limited accessibility to the river in this large urban school district (22,000 students, 90% economically disadvantaged; NYSED n.d.). This VBE operates from the income generated by the tourist-based vessel and engages a majority-minority school district (84% Black, African American, or Latino; NYSED n.d.) in otherwise inaccessible local “naturescapes” for disadvantaged students (Camasso & Jagannathan 2018).

Given that most aquatic, environmental issues can be experienced locally but are ultimately global in solution and interlinked with fundamental human rights (Hauschild et al. 2012), we highlight the need for VBE programs to connect with language classrooms and English Language Learners (ELL). While observing one VBE program we noted complications because the majority of students were ELL. Although some student materials were available in Spanish, even those were inaccessible to some participants due to their age and reading literacy, and instruction from volunteer staff on-board was exclusively in English. The expansion of existing VBE programs to develop resources for language learners is crucial to increase and sustain inclusivity and widespread impact.