That was life for schoolteacher Brienne May aboard the largest research vessel in the Great Lakes, sampling the waters of Lake Erie to measure microplastics and other pollutants.
"We would go on deck at night to see the sunset. It was gorgeous and so peaceful," said May, 33, a fifth grade teacher at Franklin Regional Intermediate School who lives in Plum with her husband and three children.
The view was similarly scenic when May caught a sunrise while pulling a data collection shift on deck at 4:25 a.m. in July.
But this was no vacation.
She was one of 12 educators chosen from Great Lake states for a weeklong shipboard science workshop on the EPA research vessel Lake Guardian.
The Lake Erie voyage began in Cleveland on July 7, then proceeded to Presque Isle and back to Cleveland on July 13.
The annual workshop is organized by the Center for Great Lakes Literacy, a collaborative effort of Sea Grant educators throughout the Great Lakes region. The nonprofit group promotes knowledge and stewardship of the Great Lakes among educators, scientists and youth.
May admitted she didn't know much about the Great Lakes before her trip. She learned about the Lake Erie research voyage from a "Trout in the Classroom" Facebook post. It turned out to be a great fit.
"As a former classroom teacher, I know the importance of these hands-on, experiential learning opportunities," said Michelle Niedermeier, education lead for Pennsylvania Sea Grant and one of the organizers of the 2024 Shipboard Science Workshop.
"Putting yourself in new situations helps you grow as a learner and provides a unique perspective about how others learn, which is an invaluable insight."
Ship ahoy
A landlubber, May was initially nervous, but quickly learned to appreciate her role and the crew. She grew comfortable with the researchers. She lived with about 40 people, many of whom were visiting scientists, on the 180-foot-long Lake Guardian.
"Everybody was so happy to meet us where we were in our understanding," she said.
If May wasn't collecting data on deck, she was processing it.
One of the researchers, Sherri (Sam) Mason, director of Gannon University's Project NePTWNE, studies microplastics in Lake Erie and is a leading researcher in plastic pollution.
"We were so busy with such meaningful work," May said. "This was real. We were collecting real data."
May and some of her shipmates trawled the lake surface, collecting water samples and filtering out microplastics less than 5 millimeters in size. They were placed on a petri dish and examined under a microscope.
Mason asked May what she saw.
"There were all these brightly colored pieces of plastic. I cannot believe that this is what microplastics looked like. It was shocking," she said.
The smallest of the Great Lakes, Lake Erie harbors the second-highest concentration of plastic particles in the lakes, according to the Lake Erie Foundation.
May could have researched invasive species or algal blooms, which she did learn about. But she chose to focus on microplastics.
Found in area waterways and drinking water, bottled water and food, microplastics are ubiquitous. They are not regulated and their impact on human health is unclear.
A 2022 World Health Organization report concluded microplastics posed no clear risk to human health, based on the available evidence. More research is needed, experts say.
People can, however, be exposed to chemicals produced by processing plastic water bottles and other products. Those chemicals are linked to a range of health issues from endocrine disruption to cancer, according to the United Nations Development Programme.
From lake to classroom to creek
May's students will soon learn about the plastics in waterways around them.
Plans are underway for monthly quality tests, for a sweep of microplastics for May's fifth-grade students.
"I don't know what we will find. We are all learning together. It's very authentic," she said.
That has been May's method. As she learns more, she brings it to the classroom.
For her doctorate in education dissertation from Liberty University, she wrote about changing science educational standards.
May was part of a team of teachers that proposed new science standards for K-12, adopted in the state for the 2025-26 school year.
The takeaway for the new standards: Students should focus on doing science in the field rather than just memorizing facts.
The soul of teaching science, for May, has been fieldwork.
"Some kids can tell you anything about animals that live in the savanna and all the exotic stuff. But they don't know about our native species. That really stuck with me," she said.
'What real scientists do'
Her students go to some streams near the school, with nets in hand to grab samples and review them with water chemistry tests, microscopes and magnifying glasses.
The fifth-graders calculate the pollution tolerance index based on the insects they find.
"I impress on the kids that this is not the fifth grade version of fieldwork — that this is what real scientists do," she said.
She remembers finding her first caddisfly. May didn't know much about them but soon learned about the crucial place in the food chain and its role as an indicator of good water quality.
"I could spend a whole year on macro invertebrates (animals without a backbone) and still not teach everything my kids could know," she said.
After participating in May's outdoor studies, Brandi Sberna said her daughter, Gabriella, talks like a scientist.
Sberna heard her daughter and friends planning a science experiment.
"They were not coached," she said. "It showed how everything Gabriella learned was deep enough that she was able to apply her knowledge to her own experiment."
An English as a second language teacher, Sberna, a colleague and a friend of May's, said she has a knack for getting kids comfortable to learn something new.
"She is able to take students who don't always feel confident in what they are doing and make them shine as student scientists."
Teach yourself
Since the Lake Erie research trip, changes have already been made in the May household.
They have committed to changing out plastic products one at a time: Switching to plastics-free laundry soap, substituting wool balls for dryer sheets, using bar soap for showers and solid shampoo and conditioner.
That was an easier lift for her husband. But May is adjusting; she recommends the bar shampoo at Lush cosmetics at the Ross Park Mall as well as Kitsch solid shampoo and conditioner.
She also prefers to pay for products without plastics to make a statement.
"You tell companies what you want by how you spend your money," she said.
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