Last month, the U.S. EPA awarded University of Illinois at Chicago and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign first and second prizes in their Campus RainWorks Challenge. The national competition recognizes student-led green infrastructure plans and projects to manage stormwater on campus. Eliana Brown, has been following the UIUC plan from the beginning. 

The first time I heard that landscapes could be designed to improve water quality, it was a revelation. I knew about the highly-effective bioremediation treatment cells at industrial facilities. But, the fact that the landscapes we walk through in our daily lives could have that power was exciting. What came to be known as “green infrastructure” is an elegant blend of landscape architecture and civil engineering that places of higher learning should embrace.

 
The EPA Office of Water seems to agree. Since 2012, it has invited students to design innovative green infrastructure projects to show how managing rainfall in a more natural way can benefit their community and the environment. 
 
Because I’m fond of the small creek running through the University of Illinois’ engineering college—known as Boneyard Creek—I have always wanted to see an entry from my campus. This year, I got my wish and then some. U.S. EPA announced on Earth Day that “Reverse Engineering: The Engineering Campus as Catalyst,” a master plan designed by a multi-disciplinary team of UIUC students under the direction of landscape architecture instructor Tawab Hlimi earned 2nd place. According to the EPA, 64 teams from 23 states submitted entries.
 
The plan focuses on improving water quality in Boneyard Creek by installing green streets, roof catchments, bioswales, and rain gardens in the surrounding area. Native plants and pollinator habitats are also proposed to boost the creeks’ ecological role and create more recreational opportunities. 

Building off this success, Hlimi and teaching assistant Faezeh Ashtiani showed the plan along with the work of their spring semester students in an exhibit called “Reverse Engineering: Reconfiguring the Urban-Riparian Interface” at [CO] [LAB] in downtown Urbana. Students expanded on the Campus RainWorks plan upstream and in other parts of campus, including three visions of Dorner Driver Retention Pond that add water quality filtration to the existing water storage function.

Looking to the future, Hlimi has applied for a Student Sustainability Committee grant to build a multi-purpose demonstration rain garden. 
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Four science educators from Illinois and Indiana have been selected for the 2025 Shipboard Science Immersion on Lake Michigan July 7-13. The educators will spend a full week alongside researchers aboard the EPA research vessel Lake Guardian. Afterwards, they will bring Great Lakes science back to their classroom. Learn more and meet the four incredible teachers representing Illinois and Indiana at the link in bio.
🌿 Educators—Explore Restoration in Action! Join us Thursday, July 31 at Purdue Northwest (Hammond, IN) for a FREE full-day workshop diving into the transformation of the Grand Calumet River Area of Concern.🚍 Tour restored sites🧠 Engage with VR curriculum📚 Earn 6 PD hours🥐 Breakfast & lunch included🔗 Register now at the link in bio and bring real-world science to your classroom.Register by July 21st.
Attention STEM educators! Our new aquaponics curriculum is here! Designed for 9-12th grade classrooms with operating aquaponics systems, this curriculum, created by educators for educators, teaches STEM concepts through the lens of aquaponics, aligning with NGSS and Great Lakes Literacy Principles. Learn more at the link in bio.
Big news from Illinois‑Indiana Sea Grant! We’re thrilled to announce Dr. Stuart Carlton, our Assistant Director since 2018, will step into the Director role on July 14, 2025. Join us in congratulating Stuart, and read on at the link in bio to find out more about the transition!
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