NOAA Sea Grant and the NOAA Marine Debris Program announce the funding of six new, creative projects to tackle marine debris challenges across the country. This year’s projects focus on preventing the introduction of marine debris into marine, coastal and Great Lakes environments.
Marine debris can include the trash we throw away every day—such as plastic bags, cigarette butts, foam take-out containers and balloons—that end up in rivers, lakes or oceans. It can also range greatly in size from small pieces of plastic that can’t be seen with the human eye, to large derelict fishing nets and abandoned vessels. These items become marine debris as a result of littering, dumping, ineffective or improper waste management, and disasters, and can have many adverse effects on wildlife, the environment and coastal communities.
“By preventing marine debris, we can reduce the impacts of this global problem,” stated NOAA Marine Debris Program director Nancy Wallace. “We are pleased to partner with NOAA Sea Grant to provide support for projects that will help stop trash and fishing gear at their source.”
The six competitively selected projects cover the southeast Atlantic, Pacific and Great Lakes waters, coming from Florida, Georgia, Hawai’i, Illinois-Indiana, Puerto Rico and Wisconsin Sea Grant programs. Project activities include incorporating data of marine debris items removed from marinas into outreach and education materials, repurposing shrimp trawl nets into marine debris collection bags, developing a coordinated marine debris messaging campaign for the Great Lakes region, creating comprehensive curricula related to marine debris prevention, outreach to prevent recreational fishing debris, and using storytelling to inspire new audiences. These marine debris projects were awarded $300,000 in federal funding and are matched by non-federal contributions, bringing the total investment to approximately $600,000.
In the Great Lakes region, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is focusing on reducing plastic pollution through outreach and an educational campaign. Pollution Prevention Specialist Sarah Zack has been granted $49,850 in new funding to develop a coordinated, regional and binational (U.S. and Canada) marine debris messaging campaign for the Great Lakes region to prevent the introduction of marine debris into the Great Lakes ecosystem. This comprehensive awareness and prevention campaign will provide audiences with the necessary calls to action to make informed decisions about their use and disposal of plastic goods. Development of a focused messaging campaign and “prevention kits” will be coupled with a strategy for outreach and distribution for the entire Great Lakes region.
“Plastic trash is the most commonly found type of marine debris on Great Lakes beaches,” said Zack. “I’m excited to be working with NOAA and Great Lakes Marine Debris Action Plan partners to develop messaging that will reach people with an effective call to action to reduce plastic debris on shores throughout the Great Lakes region.” Follow Zack and her team on their Great Lakes Pollution Prevention Twitter page, where they share tips and tricks for reducing, reusing and recycling plastics.
“The continued effort between Sea Grant and the Marine Debris Program leverages the strengths of both programs to effectively address marine debris challenges nationwide,” noted National Sea Grant College Program director Jonathan Pennock. “We look forward to seeing the implementation of these new and creative strategies for marine debris prevention.”
This is the second year that Sea Grant and the Marine Debris Program offered a joint funding opportunity. Projects funded in the first year of this partnership aimed to reduce marine debris across the U.S.
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue Extension.
Shiba Kar is the new assistant dean and program leader for natural resources, environment and energy for University of Illinois Extension, as well as the associate director of Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant.
Illinois communities face increasingly complex environmental and energy challenges that require more resources and fresh thinking about solutions. To help Illinois residents and businesses navigate these complicated issues, Illinois Extension has created a new pathway to connect campus resources with clients and partners across the state.
Shiba Kar has been named the inaugural assistant dean and program leader for natural resources, environment, and energy for University of Illinois Extension. Kar will provide strategic and functional leadership for Extension staff serving Illinois food, agriculture, and outdoor industries.
The appointment underscores Extension’s renewed commitment to building more resources that support clients and stakeholders across the state. Over the past decade, natural resources and environmental content has been in high demand, particularly programming exploring sustainable energy, air and water quality, land usage and accessibility, and the outdoor economy.
One of Kar’s early priorities will be a strategic assessment of capacity and coverage of vital content areas. While much of the team’s efforts are linked to innovation and advancement, Kar will also administer a portfolio of legacy programs, including the Master Naturalist program, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and the Energy Education Council. Kar will also oversee the University of Illinois Arboretum, the planned home of Extension’s expanded on-campus presence.
“Dr. Kar’s expertise brings a new dimension to the multidisciplinary approach Illinois Extension uses to evaluate and address statewide issues,” says Shelly Nickols-Richardson, associate dean of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) and director of Illinois Extension. “We are excited to see how he leverages his technical knowledge and environmental policy experience to drive momentum and bring new vision to both our emerging and heritage content areas.”
As a long-term advocate for natural resource sustainability and its connection to community development, Kar’s work aligns with Extension’s mission to put learning and discovery into practice. He is an experienced researcher and program development specialist. He can also design and evaluate strategies that encourage adoption of energy and environmental best practices among farmers and rural communities.
Kar’s professional and educational experience spans three countries – Bangladesh, Australia, and the U.S. – so he brings a global perspective to this role. He also has a wealth of experience in understanding social and economic impacts of energy and environmental policy. Because local issues are often shaped by both state and federal policy, Kar is well suited to lead a team of experts in nutrient loss reduction, invasive species, sustainable communities, and soil and water quality, among other topics.
“Dr. Kar brings a diverse, global perspective that strengthens our ability to understand, adapt, and model best practices in energy and environmental sciences across the state,” says ACES Dean Kim Kidwell. “His work with state and federal energy, climate, and environmental policy is a significant asset for the communities and clients we serve.”
Kar is one of two new assistant dean positions created by Illinois Extension to increase high-level resource development for the organization. Travis Burke will serve as assistant dean and program leader for agriculture and agribusiness. Both will focus on collaboration as a key to expanding Illinois Extension’s network of committed faculty specialists, community partners, and trained volunteers.
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue Extension.
Writer: Samantha Koon, Illinois Extension Director of Communications
Most people who grew up around the Great Lakes Basin have, at some point, wrapped their fingers around the smooth metal of a fishing pole. Enjoying one of the biggest recreational activities in the Midwest, anglers have often relied heavily on word of mouth, repeated success and even superstitions to find the best places to cast a line. Now, they can also use Fish Atlas, a tool developed by Purdue University and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, to help them find hot spots for salmon and trout in Lake Michigan.
Fish Atlas is meant to help scientists, developers, land managers, fishers and anglers to look at spatial trends of five popular species: Chinook salmon, coho salmon, brown trout, lake trout and rainbow trout. It was developed in 2016 to make available to the public the historical data that has been collected by fisheries agencies, showing catch rates by location over time. Originally going back to 2012, the improved tool now incorporates data from 1993 onwards, adding 19 years of charter boat data to public access.
Developed by Mitchell Zischke of Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and Purdue University’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, this clear and versatile method of visualizing fishing data in Lake Michigan offers a wide variety of people the chance to locate fish they might otherwise be unable to catch. Before Fish Atlas, people could request data from fishing agencies, but the information was neither publicly available nor easily accessible.
Users can now filter this historical data by species and time period. After selecting a species, the user will see a colored grid. Each square represents 10² kilometers of Lake Michigan and is color coded according to the number of fish caught there during the selected time period. Charter boats and other recreational fishing boats can use Fish Atlas to look at the lake as a whole and understand fish movements beyond just their specific launch area, allowing them to more accurately plan trips.
The revitalization of Fish Atlas has done more than improve the success of fishing trips; the partnership between fisheries and academia has been strengthened to encourage more open communication among different entities studying Lake Michigan fish. In the future, data will be updated yearly to encourage the most accurate readings. Zischke said, “If you start looking at different species and how their catch rates vary across the lake with the season, different species have quite different movement patterns.” One example of this is fish that move from being extremely concentrated in one part of the lake to spreading out over the course of an entire summer.
Beyond the direct impacts in Lake Michigan, data on species movement can be applicable to the other four Great Lakes. Salmon and trout are found in all five lakes, so learning how they move in each lake can help people understand these ecosystems more completely. Mapping tools can also be used in public engagement, which means that Fish Atlas can help increase interest in Lake Michigan among local communities—possibly connecting people to the local environment, enhancing their sense of place and desire to take care of the lake’s natural resources. Zischke hopes that the Fish Atlas data visualization project for the Great Lakes will someday be used as a model for ocean systems and movement.
In the future, Zischke hopes to enhance the visualization aspect of the current Fish Atlas model to include time series data, which would allow the user to see catch rates over time, as opposed to the current model which focuses more on catch rates through space. By combining the two, users will be able to find the most accurate data on fish migration patterns.
For those catching fresh fish this summer, Zischke recommends fish tacos garnished with local vegetables. You can find this and other Sea Grant favorites on the Eat Midwest Fish recipes page.
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue Extension.
When searching for a job, recent graduates who gained experience in their field through internships, fellowships or part-time work as a student have an advantage over their peers. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) strives to provide these meaningful experiences so that the young professionals who will one day be responsible for working with communities on Great Lakes issues will be prepared, knowledgeable and confident in their abilities. IISG’s most recent cohort of interns are wrapping up their summer of remote work and have completed professional development trainings as part of the internship program. Read about their experiences below.
Sandra Bjerga: Social Media and Communications Intern
Sandra Bjerga has been IISG’s Social Media and Communications Intern for the Red Oak Rain Garden (RORG), working closely with Eliana Brown, Layne Knoche and Kate Gardiner. She recently graduated from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign with a major in Communication and a dual minor in Public Relations and Psychology. This summer, she has been helping promote RORG on social media platforms and assisting with major projects such as Mulch Madness, a fun gardening twist on March Madness. Using social media and the RORG website, Sandra has worked on communication pieces for the 54 native plant species in the garden.
Fun fact: Sandra has never been to the ocean. “Crazy, right?!”
Kamryn Dehn: Youth Education Intern
Kamryn Dehn has been working with Megan Gunn as the Youth Education Intern. She has completed a variety of projects, including assigning standards to lesson plans in the Freedom Seekers curriculum, social media posting for the Purdue Research and Extension Experiential Learning for Undergraduates (REEU) – Diversity in Faces, Spaces and Places of Natural Resources Sciences program, and helping develop the new Lake Michigan One-Stop-Shop curriculum. Kamryn graduated this summer from Purdue University with a degree in Interdisciplinary Agriculture. She will be attending the University of Miami in the fall through their Master of Professional Science program focused on marine mammal science, with the hopes of narrowing down her career with interests in wildlife crime enforcement, environmental education, primatology and cetacean cognition. She is also passionate about environmental justice, especially for indigenous groups, and wants to advocate for the inclusion of more indigenous perspectives in science.
Fun fact: Kamryn almost decided on musical theatre as her major, but she loved science and marine biology way too much!
Amanda Heideman: Sustainable Communities Intern
Amanda Heideman has been the Sustainable Communities Intern working with Kara Salazar. This summer, she has been working on a variety of extension education and training materials, including an environmental planning course using Brightspace. Amanda will be a senior this fall at Purdue University, majoring in Natural Resources and Environmental Science with a minor in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. After she graduates in December, she hopes to do more work with communities and aquatic ecosystems.
Fun fact: In Amanda’s free time, she enjoys hiking, getting coffee and rock climbing!
Allison Milicia: Climate Communications Intern
Allison Milicia has been IISG’s Climate Communications Intern working with Veronica Fall. A native of Fairfield, Connecticut, Allison is a Junior at Purdue University, majoring in Biology with a minor in Psychology. She is excited she spent the summer internship combining her love for science with her interest in communication and outreach. Allison has been working to produce high-priority communication products identified during the Virtual Lake Levels Workshop that took place in October 2020. She has also been attending a variety of webinars and conferences this summer, including a facilitation training led by NOAA’s Office of Coastal Management.
Fun fact: Allison loves to read, bake and work out. She also enjoys watching sports and is a Buffalo Bills and New York Yankees fan.
Sean Welch: Water Quality Intern
Sean Welch has been working with Eliana Brown, Kate Gardiner and Illinois Extension as a Water Quality Intern, focusing on the Illinois Nutrient Loss Reduction Strategy (NLRS). This summer, he created three teacher guides and a suggested pathway for the Land to Water: Nutrient Explorer along with providing work on appendices and editing for the NLRS Biennial Report. Sean will be a senior this fall studying Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communications at the University of Illinois. After graduation, he plans on teaching high school agriculture in Illinois. He has experience with Water Quality Extension, and he recently presented at the UCOWR/NIWR Annual Water Resources Conference.
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue Extension.
Great Lakes scientists from all over the basin came together online for the second virtual International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) conference in May, so the hosts of Teach Me About the Great Lakes took the opportunity to interview the conference’s two top award winners.
In this podcast episode—“Science Is a Team Sport”—Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s Stuart Carlton and Carolyn Foley interview Dr. Henry “Hank” Vanderploeg and Margaret Lansing, who were recognized for their accomplishments at the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL). They talk about what makes for good science collaboration and communication.
Hank Vanderploeg
Vanderploeg, a research ecologist and GLERL’s Ecosystem Dynamics Branch Chief, received IAGLR’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on invasive invertebrates. He told host Carlton that his interests developed at a conference when he was “asked by the organizers to understand and then predict the consequences of a wave of invasive species that was likely to have a significant impact on the Great Lakes.” Since then, Vanderploeg has come to understand the complicated ecology of invasive species in the Great Lakes, and he warns about new creatures well on their way.
Margaret Lansing
Lansing, GLERL’s Information Services Branch Chief, received the Jack Vallentyne Science Communication Award for important and sustained efforts to inform and educate the public and policy on Great Lakes issues. For over 30 years, she has created ways for science communication to transcend disciplinary journals and reach the public. In this episode, she shares how her interest in communication developed and why public knowledge about the Great Lakes and science in general is so important.
Teach Me About the Great Lakes is a monthly podcast in which Carlton—a social scientist who grew up in the South near the Gulf of Mexico—asks people to explain the biology, ecology and natural history of the Great Lakes. A new episode will be released on the first Monday of each month. The latest episode is embedded below.
Love this episode and want to hear more in the future? Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or use the RSS feed in your favorite podcast player.
If you have questions you want answered about the Great Lakes, reach out to @TeachGreatLakes on Twitter or email Stuart Carlton at jsc@purdue.edu.
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue Extension.
Freedom Seekers were environmentalists who learned to navigate the land as they escaped slavery. Songs like “Wade in the Water” and “Follow the Drinking Gourd” remind us that history has always been connected to the land we occupy. The lessons featured in this free curriculum, Freedom Seekers: The Underground Railroad, Great Lakes, and Science Literacy Activities, acknowledge the enslaved Africans who had to rely on environmental science principles in their quest for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These lessons provide educators with cross-curricular teaching opportunities for middle and high school students.
“I didn’t realize that the Great Lakes were linked to the Underground Railroad at all,” said Megan Gunn, aquatic education specialist with Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources. Gunn worked with partners across the region to finalize the curriculum. “I grew up near Lake Michigan and never learned how my cultural roots were so closely connected to the natural world, so I’m excited for the next generation to have this educational opportunity.”
The Freedom Seekers curriculum is a collaborative project between several organizations and schools throughout the Great Lakes. It is part of a professional development effort for educators to increase their knowledge of the Great Lakes and environmental issues while incorporating Environmental Justice Education (EJE) approaches to K-12 teaching. These EJE approaches leverage cross-curricular connections that focus on increasing the awareness of local issues and history in the Great Lakes region.
These lessons introduce an innovative way students can engage in place-based learning by discovering their local history with the Underground Railroad and its connection to the Great Lakes. Curriculum topics include maritime connections to the Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman, how to conduct historical research, how race and historical US Census data connect to the Underground Railroad, and famous Black scientists and inventors.
“We hope you find this resource to be thoughtful and useful for connecting educational materials on the Underground Railroad, Great Lakes literacy and science teaching,” said Monica Miles, former coastal literacy specialist for New York Sea Grant and the person responsible for dreaming up this project. “These activities are meant to be a launching point for students to continue to engage in robust, well-rounded conversations about the Great Lakes, an area with rich environmental resources and cultural history.”
Connected to the Center for Great Lakes Literacy (CGLL) and its Great Lakes Literacy Principles, these lessons were designed and assembled by the people and organizations listed below as a collaborative effort to share the interconnections humans have with the land.
“We are excited to offer this curriculum through the Center for Great Lakes Literacy network,” said Meaghan Gass, Michigan Sea Grant Extension Educator and CGLL partner. “Using Google Documents, we hope it will be easy for educators to integrate this content into their classroom—either in-person or virtual—this school year, and we hope students enjoy learning more about Freedom Seekers and helping to share their story in the Great Lakes basin.”
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) is now accepting applications for the IISG Scholars programs. These are professional networking and development opportunities for faculty and graduate students from higher learning institutions in Illinois and Indiana who wish to develop extension, education or communication capacities related to their scholarly interests. Awards are issued for one year, and activities should be completed during that year.
One of IISG’s long-term goals is to help build a community of researchers and outreach professionals focused on critically important Lake Michigan issues. The IISG Scholars programs are designed to help build this community by introducing researchers to the issues and the stakeholders affected by them. In addition, the programs are intended to help graduate student scholars further the impact of their research as well as help faculty scholars develop innovative, fundable proposals for future work in the region.
Faculty Scholars Program
This will be the third year of the IISG Faculty Scholars program. Read what faculty scholars have worked on in these descriptions of previous projects. IISG expects to support 3–4 Faculty Scholars in 2021.
For faculty, specific deliverables depend on a given scholar’s interests but include products such as literature reviews, needs assessments and proposals to external funding agencies. Faculty scholars are expected to participate in networking activities with IISG staff and stakeholders throughout their tenure.
Graduate Student Scholars Program
New in 2021 is an opportunity for graduate students to seek funding to support their research and participate in professional development activities. IISG expects to support 6–8 Graduate Student Scholars in 2021.
For graduate students, deliverables depend on the student’s primary research interest, as the funding is primarily intended to help the student improve their research. Graduate student scholars are expected to take part in professional development activities throughout their tenure.
How To Apply
Applicants for both opportunities (faculty or graduate students) should submit materials to iisgres@purdue.edu by 5 p.m. Central Time on March 12, 2021. Interested applicants should register for an informational webinar to be held on Tuesday, February 16, 2021, at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. The recording will be shared on our Funding Opportunities page.
For More Information
A full description of each program can be found in the full Request for Applications. Questions regarding eligibility or submission requirements may be directed to Carolyn Foley at cfoley@purdue.edu or by phone at 765-494-3601.
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue Extension.
Fish is part of a healthy, balanced diet, but it is sometimes difficult to find fish locally as well as know what to look for and how to cook it. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) has created Eat Midwest Fish to provide people with tools to make incorporating fish into their diet easier. The website includes a fish finder map that shows users where fresh seafood is produced near their location, recipes submitted by IISG staff to inspire creativity in the kitchen, how-to cooking videos, nutrition information, an introduction to aquaculture and more.
“People need more healthy choices to add to their diets, so we wanted to create a way to connect them with local farmers who can provide them with fresh fish,” said Amy Shambach, IISG’s aquaculture marketing specialist. “We hope the Eat Midwest Fish website helps people realize the wide array of benefits that fish provide, both nutritionally and economically. Buying local fish means putting money back into the local economy and supporting jobs in your community. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Shambach’s idea for the website grew from her love of the Eat Wisconsin Fish program, which has been around since 2013. With Wisconsin Sea Grant’s blessing and funding from the North Central Regional Aquaculture Center, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant established Eat Midwest Fish as a similar resource that offers many of the same tools—plus new ones—to the broader audience of the Midwest.
As you drive through the Midwest, also known as “America’s Breadbasket,” it is not uncommon to pass by dense fields of wheat, corn and soybeans or livestock operations that have long been a part of America’s agricultural landscape. A sight that might be a little more unexpected, though, is a roadside sign advertising fresh shrimp for sale near a nondescript barn. And that is exactly what you will find in rural Fowler, Indiana.
Unlike corn fields, which go back to the mid-nineteenth century, the first documented saltwater facility came to the Midwest in 1981. The region has a great history of establishing and expanding farms to help feed America, and shrimp have become part of that story.
Commercial shrimp operations have been around the U.S. since the late 1960s, when a company in Florida purchased the rights to use advanced farming methods developed by a researcher in Japan. But, early on, farms were limited to southern states and Hawaii because shrimp needed to be grown in ponds where the climate was warm and saltwater was plentiful.
The young industry grew as technology and expertise spread across the country and around the world thanks to organizations such as Sea Grant and the World Mariculture Society, now known as the World Aquaculture Society, which played key roles in disseminating the science.
For shrimp production to move inland to places like rural Indiana, however, the industry had to make some significant technological leaps. Marine shrimp have a complex life cycle, which requires a variety of food and environments as they grow from larvae into adulthood. To help producers shift from farming in outdoor ponds to indoor tanks, researchers needed to identify and mimic shrimp’s natural environment, nutritional needs and level of water quality required to produce healthy shrimp.
Howard Turney, a pioneer in the industry, established a shrimp farm outside of Chicago in 1981 and made history as one of the first U.S. farmers to grow shrimp in an artificial recirculating seawater system.
Since then, many farmers have tried their luck with indoor shrimp farming. Some have failed, while others have proven successful and become sources of inspiration for future farmers. And that is why the shrimp sign near the nondescript barn in the middle of a small Midwest town is significant.
That barn is the home of RDM Shrimp, a pillar in the aquaculture industry and the first stop for Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s Local Farmers, Local Fish video series.
Since the husband and wife team who own this operation opened their doors in 2010, they have been raising Pacific white shrimp for the consumer market and teaching others how to do the same.
Co-owner Karlanea Brown speaks about shrimp with passion and has a goal of making Indiana the “shrimp capital of the world.”
When the Browns got their first shrimp, they were one of two marine shrimp farms in the Midwest. Today, there are more than twenty.
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue Extension.
IISG is hiring an experienced communication coordinator to oversee communication and lead efforts to develop and maintain programs and products that promote science-based knowledge and highlight IISG’s research, outreach and education efforts. Learn more at the #linkinbio.
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