Professor Coleen Edwards Leads New York Sea Grant Plankton Workshop for Teachers

Coleen Edwards, a faculty fellow in biology and environmental sciences at Niagara University, hosted a professional development workshop sponsored by the New York Sea Grant and the Center for Great Lakes Literacy. Twenty teachers and educators representing 17 school districts participated in the two-day workshop, which was held July 18-19, 2024, and focused on plankton, the organisms that form the base of the Great Lakes food web.

On the first day, the group collected plankton along the lower Niagara River shoreline before coming to NU's campus to identify it, run a zooplankton feeding experiment, and work on curriculum development for the classes they teach. Edwards also discussed the research she is doing with her undergraduate students, which focuses on developing a method to determine zooplankton diet preferences utilizing molecular techniques.

The next day, participants continued sampling plankton, this time from Buffalo's Outer Harbor and the east end of Lake Erie before discussing additional ways to integrate the topic of Great Lakes plankton into their curricula and programming.

"Learning to collect with the nets, identifying plankton with the microscopes, and running the feeding experiment during the workshop allowed the teachers to problem solve and build confidence. This is important and New York Sea Grant is excellent at making this happen in their workshops," said Edwards.

"Daphnia are fun critters to observe and a great teaching tool," she continued. "The teachers loved the feeding experiment. They were amazed to see the change in the Daphnia gut color with the introduction of a new food and believe their students will be hooked."

Edwards joined Niagara University in 2003. Her primary research interest is plankton, small animals, and plants that form the base of the food chain in oceans and lakes, and she has extensive experience aboard large research vessels, including work with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in the North Atlantic, the National Marine Fisheries Service in the Gulf of Mexico, and the USEPA in Lake Erie.

She received her B.S. in biological sciences from Bowling Green State University and her M.S.Ed. in science education from The Ohio State University.

New York Sea Grant is a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York with a statewide network of integrated research, education, and extension services promoting coastal community resiliency and economic vitality, environmental sustainability, and public awareness of New York state's Great Lakes and marine resources.

"The goal of New York Sea Grant professional development programming is to equip teachers and educators with the knowledge through hands-on learning and resources to develop and implement lessons and curricula plans focused on unique Great Lakes ecosystem and species," said Nate Drag, New York Sea Grant Great Lakes Literacy specialist.

"New York Sea Grant is a great organization and resource for educators," said Edwards. "I was very happy to collaborate with Nate in offering this opportunity to teachers. They were excited to learn about plankton and are eager to introduce their students to the importance of plankton in the Great Lakes (and all aquatic and marine ecosystems) in the coming school year."

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