Kara Salazar is IISG’s new sustainable communities extension specialist, located in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. She will design an extension program to empower communities to sustain natural resources. Kara will develop products, programs, and resources that will assist communities in identifying a range of issues that impact their sustainability and in making informed land use and policy decisions. These sustainability issues include recycling, lawn management, green infrastructure, water conservation, natural resource based planning, alternative energy strategies and more.
 
Kara has a M.P.A. in natural resource management and nonprofit management from the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She also received a M.S.Ed. degree from the IU School of Education at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) as well as a Certificate in Fundraising Management from IU.  She came to Sea Grant and Purdue Extension from an education outreach position in the Department of Earth Sciences, Center for Earth and Environmental Science at IUPUI.

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Find us at Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, March 27–29! We’re linking Subnautica with Great Lakes science through fun, hands‑on activities about food webs, invasive species, and aquaponics.Come geek out with us! 🔗 in bio for event info
Coastal protection is not limited to concrete, rocks, and steel. Coastal protection solutions exist on a spectrum, ranging from softer “green” solutions to harder “gray” structures.Nature-based coastal solutions fall between green and gray techniques, providing multiple benefits to people and habitats.Our three-part video series, Nature-Based Coastal Solutions in the Great Lakes, is now available to watch. Learn how nature-based coastal solutions, including nature-driven and hybrid approaches, can protect shorelines while supporting ecosystems and communities.Watch the 3-part video series at the link in bio.(Photo credit: Liz Spitzer, Illinois State Geological Survey, Coastal Research Group)
Managers and researchers can be faced with a need to classify the risk of new crayfish invaders. Rapid assessment tools, such as the Science-based Tools for Assessing Invasion Risk (STAIR), can assist in this process by providing a streamlined framework for analysis and decision-making.Join us for an ICC webinar with John Bieber from Loyola University Chicago to learn how rapid assessment tools are used to classify invasive species risk and how STAIR can support invasive crayfish management.Learn more at the link in bio.