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Additional Information

For Teachers

CLEER is your Erie partner for Outdoor Field Experiences and Steward Action Projects

What is a MWEE?

  • is a learner-centered framework that focuses on investigations into local environmental issues and leads to informed action. MWEEs are made up of multiple components that include learning both outdoors and in the classroom and are designed to increase environmental literacy by actively engaging students in building knowledge and meaning through hands-on experiences. In these experiences, the core ideas and practices of multiple disciplines are applied to make sense of the relationships between the natural world and society. MWEEs help connect students with their local environment and equip them to make decisions and take actions that contribute to stronger and more sustainable communities.

MWEE Essential Elements

  • The MWEE consists of four essential elements that describe “what students do:” issue definition, outdoor field experiences, synthesis and conclusions, and environmental action projects.

What are PA STEELS?

  • New academic standards for Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy & Sustainability were adopted by the State Board of Education in January 2022, to become effective for the academic year 2025-2026.  The new standards are aligned to current research and best practices in science education.  They prioritize a shift away from memorization of facts to having students productively participate in scientific discourse and practices, involve students in sustained investigation to support deeper understanding, and recognize that even young children are capable of more sophisticated scientific reasoning than originally thought. 

How are these connected?

  • The STEELS standards were developed such that teachers have to engage their students in MWEEs to achieve the STEELS standards

CLEER is your local partner for MWEEs. We can provide the Outdoor Field Experiences and assist with the creation and presentation of Steward Action Projects.

Additional Resources:

For Researchers

Facility Information:

  • Education & Research Lab
  • Wet Lab
  • Research Vessel: Environaut

History of the Environaut

The RV Environaut is a sixty seven year-old, 48-foot steel vessel, built in Erie, Pennsylvania. The boat started out as a fishing tug. It was then cut in half, and 11 feet was added to her length. It was inspected by the U.S. Coast Guard and used as a ferry for almost 30 years. After its use as a ferry, the boat was acquired by Gannon University and became classified as a Research Vessel (RV) for use in teaching and research purposes. It extends the classroom into the field for faculty and students, providing access to Presque Isle Bay and Lake Erie. External partners and stakeholders also have access to the RV Environaut for educational and research purposes.

The RV Environaut has a cruising speed of 12 mph and has a range of 250 miles.  A 4 cylinder Detroit diesel engine (150 hp) swings a 22 inch prop.  The RV Environaut weighs 18 tons and is stable in rough conditions.  The boat can operate in waters as shallow as 7 feet.

Information on reserving the Web Lab and Environaut coming soon.

Data

Lake Erie DataVerse

Research data created or gathered during research work conducted at CLEER will be made freely available by the time of publication or the end of the funding period, consistent with NSF policy. Following the FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) data principles, all data obtained using field station resources will be shared and publicly accessible via the Lake Erie Dataverse repository. To learn more about the Lake Erie DataVerse,

Other Freshwater Data Portals