Environmental clean-ups can revitalize a waterway and nearby neighborhoods, but are they always good for everyone in a community? Are there people left behind, or worse, negatively impacted by the process or the results?
 

Bethany Cutts and Andrew Greenlee (pictured here left, with a Milwaukee resident), both University of Illinois researchers, are investigating these questions in conjunction with Great Lakes Legacy Act clean ups in Milwaukee’s Lincoln Park and the Grand Calumet River in northwest Indiana. In Milwaukee, they have been interviewing residents, as well as representatives from businesses and grassroots organizations that have a stake in river management activities to learn how the remediation experience is playing out for more vulnerable members of the community.

 
Social vulnerability is a measure that is typically used when a community goes through turbulent change, which is mostly disasters. Vulnerable populations are defined by census categories—low income, minorities, single mothers, the elderly, for example.
“Socially vulnerable populations generally have a lack of capacity to recover from these setbacks or do not have a voice during the community decision process,” said Cutts. The interviews provide an opportunity to inform how vulnerable populations are characterized and it can help target outreach during remediation projects.
 
According to El Lower, a Master’s student working on this project, one preliminary finding in these taped interviews is that generally, residents tend to think about different river restoration projects together. They don’t separate them in terms of who is funding the work or the different project goals.
In the Milwaukee area, this means that the Great Lakes Legacy Act project, which has led to the removal of many cubic yards of contaminated sediment, may become viewed by residents as connected to a controversial plan to remove the Estabrook Dam upstream.
 
Caitie Nigrelli, IISG social scientist, affirmed that at public meetings for the Lincoln Park sediment remediation project, discussions were overtly steered away from the contentious dam.  
 

Through listening to residents and their strong opinions on the dam, the research team has come to have some advice for environmental organizations and agencies involved in other nearby restoration projects. “The conflict the dam generates may help outreach coordinators more successfully address residents’ questions and concerns regarding the Milwaukee River as a whole,” said Cutts.

 
Also, the dam project provides a ripe opportunity to hear from vulnerable populations. For her Master’s project, student Kaitlyn Hornik (pictured on right with El Lower) will create a video from interviews and focus groups to share the opinions of those who are not typically heard, which will be shown at a community meeting. “Public forums can be intimidating. The video can open people’s eyes to different points of view,” she explained. “It helps create a level playing field.”
 
Next, the researchers will turn their sights to northwest Indiana where the Grand Calumet River has been undergoing remediation for several years to learn how this is impacting residents.
 

“We need to think about socially vulnerable groups and if possible include them in the process,” said Cutts. “Analyzing how change can occur is important. The remediation process can be opportunity to have more compassion regarding how this process impacts people.”

To learn more about this project you can find videos and reports at Urban Environment Equity Research.

-Irene Miles

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Happy International Women’s Day! A special thank you to the incredible members of our IISG community who inspire, lead, and drive change every day. 🎉
It’s almost our favorite time of the year...Rain Garden Rumble!This will be our 6th annual competition where 28 native plant species go head-to-head (or bloom-to-bloom?) in a fierce competition. But the best part? YOU determine who is crowned champion.There are a few ways to participate. First, fill out a bracket* (steps below). Then, vote in our daily Instagram polls or Facebook posts from March 18th through April 4th. The person who submits the most accurate bracket wins a sweet set of Illinois Extension "rain-care" merch (an umbrella and rain gauge)!👀*You do NOT have to fill out a bracket to vote in the polls!1. Click the link in our bio to open our official blog with more information regarding the event.2. Scroll down and click our bracket.3. In the tab that pops up, click the “download” icon.4. Fill it out with your picks and save the document. Please include your name! Note that you can learn more about the plants by clicking their names in the bracket.5. Submit your completed bracket to RedOakRainGarden@illinois.edu by Monday, March 17. Matches begin the following day on Facebook and Instagram.May the best plant win...🌿🏆#RainGardenRumble2025
Learn about freshwater jellyfish in Wolf Lake!! #IISGfunded researcher Nadine Folino-Rorem of Wheaton College is speaking to Calumet Revisited on Mar 4, 2025 at 5:00 PM Central, and you can listen in! Request a Zoom link: booscommunications@gmail.comLearn more about this research at the link in bio.
Reminder to apply by March 5!!IISG has a new funding opportunity for promising two-year research projects addressing issues relevant to the southern Lake Michigan ecosystem and the surrounding communities in northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana.The competitive grant program funds research projects aligned with the goals outlined in the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant Strategic Plan 2024-2027. These goals include Healthy Coastal Ecosystems, Resilient Communities and Economies, Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture, and Environmental Literacy and Workforce Development.Learn more at the link in bio.
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