The mission of Inland Seas Education Association is to inspire young people to a greater appreciation of the Great Lakes, to the study of science and to enhance the stewardship of the Great Lakes by the general public. We do this aboard our tall ships and now in the new Inland Seas Education Center.

This spring Inland Seas Education Association launched its seventeenth season, believing that the scientists and citizens who will solve the Great Lakes’ problems of the future may well be sailing aboard Inland Seas’ ships today. We already know our programs have had significant impact. Our recent evaluations reveal that "a remarkable 93% of all teachers reported an increase in their students interest in science and 100% of the teachers reported an increased concern for the Great Lakes; powerful testimony that this program works!

Inland Seas has clearly set the standard for excellence in Great Lakes education. Our award-winning curriculum has attracted students from over 150 communities statewide. Seventy-five percent of our teachers return with new students every year. Young minds are exposed to the science of the Great Lakes and the world’s need for freshwater in ways that will forever change their lives:

• Now I know what I can do to help and make our water better, thanks to the helpers

And teachers have discovered a whole new way of teaching:

• A teacher’s dream is to provide opportunities for children to truly discover by actively participating. Inland Seas provides that opportunity as our children truly experience how the Great Lakes work.
• Thank you for helping our children LEARN and ENJOY learning!

Now, with the successes of the past to guide us, we are clearly focused to secure the future; to sustain the indispensable mission of Inland Seas in perpetuity.

Despite Inland Seas’ great success, including statewide and national recognition and honor, our ability to serve our important mission is limited to the fixed number of students who can sail aboard our tall ships. Now the Inland Seas Education Center opens whole new opportunities for future service by providing new, year-round educational programs.

To sustain the future of Inland Seas, we are now pleased to offer donors a unique opportunity to ensure our vital work in Great Lakes education and to guarantee the natural lakefront at the Inland Seas Education Center in perpetuity. Your gift in support of ISEA’s new Campaign for Sustainability is the key to that future. Our goal for this initiative totals $2M.

The very good news is that our statewide "Achieving Excellence Award" from the DTE Energy Foundation in 2004 has enabled us to conduct a sophisticated capacity building study that will guide our future growth, and a Michigan foundation has recently awarded ISEA a challenge gift of $500,000 — a full 25% of our goal. Of the total goal:

• $1,000,000 is earmarked for capital funds to assure our waterfront location at the Inland Seas Education Center by paying for the property, buildings and remaining renovation;
• $500,000 is to provide a scholarship fund to match the tuition paid by 5,000 students in our education programs each year; and,
• $500,000 is to provide initial funding for the ISEA Operating Endowment to increase the quality and quantity of ISEA service.

Our Great Lakes are an incomparable wonder, holding fully one-fifth of all the surface freshwater on Earth. But their great size cannot protect them from the cumulative impact of human activity. The preservation of these life-sustaining waters requires effective stewardship from an informed and committed citizenry. That is the mission of Inland Seas.

The ongoing fight to preserve the Great Lakes will not wait. That is why, in response to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Inland Seas stepped forward to purchase our new waterfront site in Suttons Bay in 2002. This was an extraordinary commitment at the time, but it was clearly the right thing to do. Our new home now houses classrooms, a laboratory, boat shop, teachers’ resource center, library, and a public exhibition hall. With new programs based at the Education Center, ISEA plans to double the number of people experiencing hands-on Great Lakes education in the next few years.

After sixteen years of proven service, Inland Seas remains committed to actively protect and preserve the freshwater resources of the Great Lakes through education. Without our focused attention and your financial support, our Great Lakes remain threatened in many ways.

We know first hand how our Inland Seas have shaped our individual lives. They are an integral part of our heritage. How we care for them will be an essential part of our legacy. But the greatest threat… may be our indifference. There are many worthy environmental causes, but few opportunities to play an active role in building a lasting stewardship of the Great Lakes. The best way to protect them for future generations is education. Now is the time…will you help us continue our mission?