Float The New Boat: MCLI Goes For Pontoon Number Two

Shippen Bright

"We've got the 'Oh, cool!' factor," explains Shippen Bright. "We can guide the discovery of new knowledge."

Ship, who is Executive Director of the Maine Lakes Conservancy Institute, which he founded in 1999, is answering some very pivotal questions.

What's important? Lakes? Children? Money? If it's any one of them, or any combination, or all of them then, in Ship's words, "We can't afford to screw this one up."

Ship's mission in founding MLCI has been to provide hands-on learning about Maine's lakes to the state's children. From his background working in real estate, working on state housing, working as a deputy commissioner in the Department of Conservation under Governor Jock McKernan, working on the Great Ponds Task Force, Ship was all too well aware that there was no statewide educational association to work with school children on understanding and sustaining the state's beautiful and precious lake resource. He understood how very little many kids who live in Maine's local lake communities have. And, he knew the economics: that Maine lakes generate over $3 billion income per year and sustain over 50,000 families.

Lakes . . . children . . . money: The MLCI is a nonprofit environmental education organization dedicated to understanding, preserving, and sustaining the health and values of Maine's lakes and the communities dependent upon them. It takes no tax dollars. It gives monumentally through totally free outreach programs for teachers and children. It is the sponsor of the Melinda Ann, and that's where the "Oh, cool!" comes in.

Passengers on the Melinda Ann.

The Melinda Ann is a 30-foot floating classroom, a pontoon boat outfitted with the latest and greatest (and coolest) of high-tech imaging and monitoring equipment. Every passenger gets to use lake monitoring tools, which include the Secchi disc, hydrophone, plankton net, and a new ROV with video that can operate underwater up to 300 feet deep.

Better yet, the Melinda Ann is staffed with two really neat lakeside educators: Rex Turner and Phil Mulville. It's easy to tell they love welcoming children (adults, too) aboard, explaining the rules (children wear life jackets), piloting the pontoon out to an interesting part of the lake, and getting out the "toys."

As Rex and Phil explain how to use these devices that measure water clarity, extract samples from various depths, and take pictures of shoreline or bottom sediments, fish, plants, and "junk," it's o.k. for kids to touch the equipment. They each take turns actually using it. And, best of all, they can see what water samples contain or watch pictures through the underwater camera on a computer screen.

During the winter, MLCI has twelve schools representing all regions of the state covered through its full time programs. Its Lake Science Education Program has been recognized by National Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) with it Outstanding Contributor Award in 2001, the Environmental Protection Agency with its 2002 Environmental Merit Award, and the North American Lake Management Society with its 2003 award for Public Education and Outreach. In 2004, MLCI was featured by The George Lucas Education Foundation as an "unsung hero of American education" for its web-based Student's Portal.

The Melinda Ann underway.

Summers, the MLCI's Melinda Ann is used, often in partnership with lake associations, again in all regions of the state, to maximum scheduling capabilities.

"We've reached our limit in outreach capacity," explains Ship. "We need a second boat; we need $300,000."

The campaign to get a second pontoon boat up, outfitted, staffed, and on the water is MLCI's current focus. Associations, corporations, communities and individuals are encouraged to consider contributing to "Float The Boat!" Although a pledge card is available reflecting gifts in the four or five figures, there's a Loyal Friend category which gratefully appeciates whatever the giver contributes.

For more information call 563-6529 or visit www.mlci.org.

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Float The New Boat: MCLI Goes For Pontoon Number Two