Welcome to
Great Lakes, Great Read!
Welcome to the “one book, one community” program designed to inspire passion and connection to the Great Lakes Watershed through reading. Whether you live near the Great Lakes or far away, their beauty, history, and significance are impossible to ignore. They’ve been home to 120 bands of Indigenous people, provided drinking water for millions, held flourishing biodiversity and 20% of the world’s surface freshwater and more. By diving into this project, you are deepening your connection to a system that shaped the U.S. and Canada, and continues to sculpt stories today.
Featured Resource
Me and Debry! is a half-hour, whimsical, audience participation, theatrical performance about litter (marine debris) prevention. The rhyming script is designed for both formal and informal educational settings for fifth grade students however, audiences of all ages will appreciate the central message of “If it’s to be, it’s up to me!”
Host your own Great Lakes, Great Read
This toolkit will guide you in connecting your community to the water, words, and wonder necessary to complete this project.
Did You Know?
About 34 million people live in the Great Lakes watershed – making up over 30% of Canada’s population and roughly 10% of the United States.
By surface area, Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world.
170+ species of fish live in the basin, and 139 are native.