In Purdue University’s Agriculture Magazine:

A big house on a few acres in the country sounds like the American dream—and it has been in recent decades, as urban sprawl became the norm. However, a new landscape is emerging as unintended environmental consequences of that dream become apparent.

More than 55,000 acres of agricultural land in Indiana are converted to development each year. As the land changes in use, new problems can crop up—erosion, flooding, storm run-off and contamination.

Bob McCormick, director of Purdue Extension’s Planning with POWER project, doesn’t hesitate when asked what he considers the biggest problem in land use today. “Lack of open space—that’s the No.-1 concern,” he says. “That means buffer areas along rivers and more green space in urban areas.” Read more

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🌊 Save the Date! 🌊Shipboard Science Immersion 2026Join the Center for Great Lakes Literacy aboard the R/V Lake Guardian on Lake Superior, July 7–14, 2026!✅ Open to formal & nonformal educators (grades 5–12) across the Great Lakes region.📅 Applications open January 2026Learn more: https://cgll.org/signature-program/r-v-lake-guardian-shipboard-science-immersion/ or the link in bio.#TeachingTuesday
Join the Invasive Crayfish Collaborative for an exciting webinar featuring Dr. Chris Taylor from the Illinois Natural History Survey who will provide an overview of midwestern crayfish habitat requirements, feeding, reproductive biology, and life-history.Crayfishes in the Midwest occupy almost every type of aquatic and semi-aquatic habitat in the region. They function as critically important components of those ecosystems and in many cases represent a majority of invertebrate biomass. As “keystone” species, understanding their biology and roles in ecosystems is critically important. Register for the webinar at InvasiveCrayfish.org/events1 Or the link in bio.