We recently shared results from an Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG)-funded research project that involved extensive data collection and analysis of Chicago beach sand—this project will provide key information to resource managers as they take on the challenges of shifting lake levels.

Robin Mattheus led a team of Illinois State Geological Survey scientists that found that when it comes to rising lake levels, solutions need to be site-specific. Any given beach may have its own dynamic, influenced by the direction it is facing, the design of the surrounding infrastructure, and other factors.

The research also revealed that knowing what’s happening with the sand that sits at the bottom of nearby waters is very important in understanding what changes take place on the beach.

The team’s report, which will provide beach-by-beach information for local managers to address sand issues at their particular site, is a great example of how we fund projects that can have on-the-ground impact.

If you have a project in mind, we will soon announce our latest request for preproposals for two-year research projects focused on southern Lake Michigan and surrounding Illinois and Indiana communities. We plan to fund multiple applied projects that will take place in 2026–27 at up to $200,000 each.

In addition to research that is in line with our strategic plan goals, we are interested in funding projects that tackle some specific issues, for example, helping communities adapt to changing lake levels, analyzing contaminant levels in fish or shellfish, or addressing socio-economic concerns in efforts to restore degraded coastal sites.

A second RFP, which was announced recently, will target the 2025 Lake Michigan Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI) priorities. CSMI is a program in which every year, scientists converge on one of the five Great Lakes to collaborate in an intensive research effort—2025 is Lake Michigan’s field year.

The research priorities, which were developed by a team of resource managers called the Lake Michigan Partnership, include learning more about the food web, nearshore dynamics, and winter processes. Funded projects will take place in 2025–27 with support of up to $150,000.

In other news, in January, we will make available a new high school curriculum called Aquaponics: Farming Fish, Growing Greens. Aquaponics, a method for raising fish and plants together, can provide a hands-on way for students to learn scientific concepts while they are introduced to sustainable agriculture. This new curriculum can help educators make these connections.

The IISG aquaculture team has been working with high schools in the two states to provide donated equipment and help set up aquaponics systems for some time now. One especially exciting example is the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences. With help from IISG’s Andrew Coursey (now in Missouri) and some additional funding, the school upgraded and grew its aquaponics system to be a key component of its Urban Agriculture Laboratory.

Schools that already have aquaponics systems and those that are considering developing aquaponics can benefit from this new curriculum, which systematically provides STEM lessons and activities. To learn more, contact Amy Shambach.

We hope you have a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year.

At the 2024 University of Illinois Extension Conference last month, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s Ashley Belle, Janice Milanovich and Kristin TePas were presented with an Inclusive Excellence Team Award.

The three were honored for their work organizing and implementing the Calumet Stewardship Day, an opportunity for grade school students to spend time in a restored nearby natural area, learning about science and nature.

Belle, in her role as an IISG Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOC) specialist, provides outreach and education to empower stakeholders in AOC communities to interpret and apply science and engineering-based information to sediment remediation projects.

Along with The Nature Conservancy, she led the planning of the 2023 and 2024 Calumet Stewardship days that took place in Seidner Dune and Swale Nature Preserve in Hammond, Indiana. The site is part of the Grand Calumet River AOC, which has undergone several stages of cleanup and restoration.

The two stewardship days were attended by 120 4^th and 5^th grade students from the School City of East Chicago, where a significant portion of the population is classified as economically disadvantaged and most are Hispanic or African American.

The youth rotated in small groups through as many as six hands-on learning activity stations. Milanovich and TePas, both part of IISG’s education team, engaged students in hands-on water quality activities. They taught students how to use a Hydrolab—equipment used by scientists, to read water quality parameters—as well as how to record data in the field and interpret data to determine the health of a waterbody.

Other stations, led by scientists and environmental experts in the region, included bird watching, dune and swale habitats, fish health, and freshwater mussels. Megan Gunn, who is part of IISG’s Purdue University team, focused on macroinvertebrate identification. 

“The stewardship day is a field-based learning experience that connects students to the natural environment and creates a sense of belonging, as they learn about the health of the river,” said Belle. “This can build support for the long-term protection of natural resources in the community.”

With dramatically variable Lake Michigan water levels, bigger storms and stronger winds, the effects of climate change have made managing sand along Chicago area beaches more challenging. And there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, according to Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant-funded research.

“A change in lake level can alter how sediment is routed along the shoreline and influence where it is trapped,” said C. Robin Mattheus, Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) coastal geologist. “Sand management is ongoing and understanding how and when sediment is mobilized is key to effective planning.”

As part of the Sea Grant study, Mattheus and a team of ISGS scientists monitored sand distribution along 18 beaches and in nearshore waters over the summers of 2022−23. This project was the first regional, high-resolution sand assessment along the Chicago shoreline.

“The massive data-collection effort of the past two years will help us understand shoreline dynamics more holistically. Knowing the offshore distribution of sand and how it moves around can help us understand what kind of future changes to beach environments are possible,” said Mattheus.

Left to right, Mitchell Barklage, geophysicist, and Liane Rosario, geospatial scientist—both with the Illinois State Geological Survey—gather ground penetrating radar data as they measure sand thickness on Chicago beaches. (Photo courtesy of Robin Mattheus)

The team used a variety of technologies and tools, for example, sonar, drones and underwater grabbers to sample sand, combining what they learned with historical data and previous studies that provided guidance on their approach to data collection, filled in information gaps and supplied context for their data.

The researchers found that knowing what’s happening with the sand that sits at the bottom of nearby waters is very important in understanding what changes take place on the beach. For example, all Chicago beaches became smaller when the lake level rose to its 2020 high. Some lost sand overall, however, some gained sand in their nearshore waters. Those beaches are recovering more quickly now that the lake level is near average.

When it comes to rising lake levels, solutions need to be site-specific. “Any given beach may have its own dynamic, influenced by the direction it is facing, the design of the surrounding infrastructure, and how much sand is being supplied from the updrift,” said Mattheus.

“In addition to the impact of lake levels, we have built peninsulas, groins, and jetties into the lake so sand can get caught up in a lot of different places,” he added. “We are just now starting to understand these regional versus site-specific influences on beach and lakebed dynamics.”

The sand along the Chicago shoreline drifts from north to south, with some getting hung up around structures along the way. Two popular beaches can help tell the story of sand distribution here—Montrose Beach near Uptown on the city’s north side, and Rainbow Beach, adjacent to the South Shore neighborhood.

Sand is plentiful along Montrose Beach because it has been trapped for nearly 100 years by a structure that was overbuilt. This pier extends into the lake by more than 650 yards, effectively trapping sand as it moves southbound.

The trapped sand feeds the beach, helps to grow dunes, and makes for shallow nearshore waters. It is also beneficial to the bird sanctuary on-site as well as the portion of this large beach that is set aside as habitat for piping plovers. In some recent years, these tiny shorebirds that are endangered in the Great Lakes have summered there, raising their young and becoming local celebrities.

Chicago’s south side beaches, including Rainbow Beach, tend to have less sand offshore that might move onto the beach than those on the north side. Rainbow Beach also has some specific features that reduce the potential for sand to come ashore.

“Rainbow Beach is much more enclosed by infrastructure than Montrose Beach,” said Mattheus. “The offshore geology is also different, so Rainbow Beach has evolved very differently than Montrose Beach, despite shared storm and lake-level histories. So, while the dune areas at both beaches were reduced in size during 2013−2020 lake-level rise, the dynamics of beach and dune recovery are very different, as a function of sand supply.”

The geology of its nearshore waters is just one reason Rainbow Beach on Chicago’s south side has less sand than Montrose Beach.

Mattheus and his team are compiling an extensive report that will provide beach-by-beach information for local managers to address sand issues at their particular site and have a better understanding of what to expect with changing lake levels. He envisions beach managers sharing information with others whose beaches behave in a similar fashion.

“A regional study such as ours provides the basis for grouping beaches into different types, based on shape, orientation, types of structures, and sand availability or supply. We hope our dataset can kick-start some discussions and entice future collaborative efforts to advance our understanding of coastal dynamics along the urban lakefront.”

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Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is one of 34 Sea Grant programs supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in coastal and Great Lakes states that encourage the wise stewardship of our marine resources through research, education, outreach and technology transfer. In partnership with the University of Illinois Extension, and Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant brings science together with communities for solutions that work.

It’s a familiar story. Local decision-makers consider plans to clear a stand of old trees to install a parking lot or some other development and residents unexpectedly, strongly push back. What may have seemed like a bottom-line decision suddenly pits different needs and values in the community against each other.

While the value of development can often be quickly summed up in dollars that enhance the local economy, the value of a stand of trees is not so easily calculated. And yet, natural environments, such as the trees in question, most certainly offer benefits to people—they reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, absorb rainwater, and provide a nice place to recreate, to name just a few. 

These benefits can be described as ecosystem services, a term developed as part of a process to help communities enumerate and quantify the many services that nature provides that benefit people.

“Understanding and assessing ecosystem services can improve decision-making by providing a more complete picture of the benefits and potential tradeoffs involved in making land use choices,” said Margaret Schneemann, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) water resource economist.

Schneemann along with Leslie Dorworth, IISG aquatic ecologist, have developed a program to introduce the concept of ecosystem services to local decision-makers and to walk them through the steps involved in defining and assessing the value of nature’s benefits as part of the planning process.

“Recognizing and valuing these services encourages decision-makers to implement best management practices to make sure these benefits continue to be available,” said Dorworth.

For local resource managers or land managers, the process begins with identifying and mapping local ecosystems that are used by the community—to compile an inventory.

“The next step is to develop an understanding of the value of local ecosystem services to the community and how the community is actually using those ecosystems,” said Schneemann. “When you’re looking at a potential action that would impact those ecosystem services, you can convey the tradeoffs to the public in a transparent way.”

Making better decisions with regard to ecosystems and their benefits to people includes understanding how they work from a biological perspective. Many community members, or even decision-makers, might value local brook trout, for example, but are unaware of the need for sufficient habitat and the organisms that make up a healthy food web that support these fish.

“Because people may not understand the biological relationships in an ecosystem, they might support a plan or decision that is counterproductive to the ecosystem services they want,” said Dorworth.Schneeman sees value in doing an economic study, but if a community’s efforts stop short of that, the work is still useful for addressing tradeoffs and making informed decisions. Important questions and answers can be brought forth.

“If we cut down an oak forest, what are we impacting? What’s going to change in the community? The frequency of flooding? The bird watching? People’s heritage or cultural values? Writing all that down and mapping that all out can help unpack all those connections,” said Schneemann.

Schneemann and Dorworth are designing a pilot workshop to start at the basics—identifying and mapping ecosystems, defining ecosystem services, and understanding whether a potential action involves ecosystem services. The first workshop will take place in 2025. The website, Valuing Ecosystem Services, also provides an introduction to related concepts and links to resources. 

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Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is one of 34 Sea Grant programs supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in coastal and Great Lakes states that encourage the wise stewardship of our marine resources through research, education, outreach and technology transfer. In partnership with the University of Illinois Extension, and Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant brings science together with communities for solutions that work.

The 2024 issue of Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s magazine, The Helm, is now available. This annual publication is a collection of program research, outreach and education success stories, as well as ongoing activities to address coastal concerns. This issue describes IISG-funded research to help reduce drownings in Lake Michigan, especially for Black youth, introduces a community planning approach to assess the value of natural environments, and reflects on our 14-year intern program. 

Here are some headlines from this issue:

• Swimming Safer: Sharing knowledge, data, and resources
• IISG interns can have invaluable real-world experiences
• Spelling out nature’s benefits helps inform land use decisions
• Largemouth bass in the busy Chicago River are seeking out natural areas
• We’re funding new research to address emerging coastal issues

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Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is one of 34 Sea Grant programs supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in coastal and Great Lakes states that encourage the wise stewardship of our marine resources through research, education, outreach and technology transfer. In partnership with the University of Illinois Extension, and Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant brings science together with communities for solutions that work.

For several nights at the end of October at the Red Oak Rain Garden on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, 57 jack-o’-lanterns glowed and smiled or snarled in their way, while a nature-based art show celebrated the temporary aspects of seasons and memory.

Around 400 visitors joined in to help celebrate Halloween and explore “Illuminating Art in Nature,” a whimsical exhibit of 16 art student-created sculptures evoking fleeting childhood memories and nostalgia that were displayed around the garden’s fall foliage. The student artists represented two university classes in the Department of Fine and Applied Art and they were involved in both creating art and curating it.

The jack-o’-lanterns lining the garden border were created by students living in Unit One Allen Hall, a nearby dorm, showcasing a diverse array of designs. While some pumpkins drew inspiration from the Red Oak Rain Garden’s native plants and the wildlife that benefits from the garden, such as owls and bats, others featured traditional jack-o’-lantern faces and a variety of creative themes. A winning pumpkin was chosen on Halloween.

“The entire event was designed to use and promote sustainable practices,” said Eliana Brown, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant stormwater specialist and the garden director. “It incorporated biodegradable materials, including pumpkins and the sculptures’ natural elements, which have been composted.”

“Illuminating Art in Nature” was presented by the University of Illinois Extension, specifically the Red Oak Rain Garden team. The garden’s mission is to be a venue for exemplary rainwater management and to provide outreach, education and service learning as well as opportunities for on-campus research.

You can learn more about “Illuminating Art in Nature” by visiting the Red Oak Rain Garden blog or see photos of the art in the event guide.

Photo by Fred Zwicky/University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

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Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is one of 34 Sea Grant programs supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in coastal and Great Lakes states that encourage the wise stewardship of our marine resources through research, education, outreach and technology transfer. In partnership with the University of Illinois Extension, and Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant brings science together with communities for solutions that work.

In September, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s aquatic invasive species (AIS) team helped plan and run the Cosplay for Science event in Urbana, Illinois. The goal of this gathering was to teach kids and families about invasive species using a Dungeons & Dragons approach. Over 100 attended this first-time event.

As part of the festivities, Karter Burgdorf, IISG AIS outreach assistant, helped teach attendees about the importance of raising public awareness about invasive species.

You can learn more from University of Illinois graduate student Avalon Feiler’s descriptive blog post on the university news site. Here is a sample:

“It’s a blazingly sunny September Saturday afternoon at Riggs Beer Company, a family-friendly brewery located on the edge of Urbana. It’s not surprising to see crowds of families basking in the dog days of summer with their food truck lunches and locally brewed pints of beer. Unexpected, however, are the patrons donning medieval and fantasy garb, accompanied by young children, some in princess dresses and others carrying around foam swords. 

These aspiring adventurers are here on a quest, recruited to take part in a training regimen to combat the incursion of invasive species from the Feywild, a magical plane that exists adjacent to our own that is full of weird and wonderful wildlife. Or, at least, that’s the lore a mix of Illinois graduate and undergraduate students, alumni and colleagues are presenting, hoping to attract people to a new and unique scientific outreach event.

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Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is one of 34 Sea Grant programs supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in coastal and Great Lakes states that encourage the wise stewardship of our marine resources through research, education, outreach and technology transfer. In partnership with the University of Illinois Extension, and Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant brings science together with communities for solutions that work.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program is thrilled to announce the finalists for the 2025 class of the Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship. This year, for the first time in program history, all eligible Sea Grant programs are represented by a diverse cohort of 88 early-career professionals who will spend the next year working alongside federal agencies or legislative offices in Washington, D.C., applying their academic expertise to critical marine, coastal and Great Lakes policy issues. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant will be represented by three Knauss finalists.

As in previous years, this year’s finalists were selected through a competitive process that involved review panels composed of national experts in marine science, policy and education. Over the past 45 years, the Knauss Fellowship has supported more than 1,680 students who have significantly contributed to environmental policy and management and built lasting careers. 

“This year’s Knauss Fellowship cohort exemplifies the passion and expertise necessary to address the evolving challenges facing our coasts and oceans,” remarked Dr. Jonathan Pennock, Director of the National Sea Grant College Program. “We are confident that their dedication to serving through science will lead to innovative solutions that sustain coastal and marine resources and communities for future generations.”

The Knauss Fellowship is a one-year paid opportunity for current and recent graduates from advanced degree programs to apply their scientific knowledge and experiences to current issues in science, policy, and public administration. Students who are enrolled in or have recently completed master’s, Juris Doctor and Doctor of Philosophy programs with a focus and/or interest in marine and coastal science, policy, or management apply to one of the 33 eligible Sea Grant programs.

The 2025 finalists represent 70 universities across the country—including 10 minority serving institutions—comprising 44 master’s students, 41 Ph.D. candidates and three J.D. candidates. They are geographers, ichthyologists, ecologists, lawyers, environmental managers and more. They represent communities across the nation and are committed to making meaningful contributions to marine policy.

Two Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant finalists have been placed in executive positions—Alexandra Skinner, a master’s student in environmental science at Indiana University will work in the NOAA Office of International Affairs; and Emily Johnson, who is working towards her master’s degree in biology at Loyola University Chicago, will be in the NOAA Research Office of International Activities. Matthew Sheffield, a J.D. candidate at Indiana University, will be placed in a legislative position.

At the recent Sea Grant Week, a national meeting that was held in Savannah, Georgia, several Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) projects were featured as part of a research overview. One of these studies brought middle school-aged children into a University of Illinois Chicago laboratory to help in the quest for new sources of antibiotics. These youth learned about STEM (science-technology-engineering-mathematics) from a new and exciting perspective and their work led to the discovery of a new compound that has shown activity against cancer.

Now, we are committing $890,000 of funding for five new two-year research projects. These studies will inform decision-making for some of the region’s pressing coastal issues including: the prevalence of contaminants (especially PFAS) in southern Lake Michigan waterways; vulnerable shorelines, specifically, the impact of two artificial reefs in nearshore waters along northern Illinois; and planning for a sustainable water supply in the south suburbs of Chicago. Researchers represent the University of Notre Dame, Illinois Institute of Technology, and University of Illinois’ Prairie Research Institute.

In other funding news, IISG and Northwestern University were awarded $2.48 million from NOAA to support research to develop efficient, scalable, and cost-effective technologies for characterizing and preventing microplastic pollution as well as removing microplastics from aquatic ecosystems.

Furthering aquaculture outreach, the National Sea Grant Office has awarded $750,000 to Great Lakes Sea Grant programs to continue the work of the Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative. Project objectives include increasing the public’s aquaculture literacy and co-creating a Great Lakes seafood brand to highlight locally raised seafood.

We have some personnel updates, too. As our new buoy specialist, Les Warren will keep the buoys in tip-top shape, deploying and retrieving them each year and engaging in related outreach. Les splits his time in Purdue’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources engaging in educational activities and supporting aquatic ecology research.

Our new stormwater outreach associate is Madelyn Craft. A recent University of Illinois graduate with a degree in sustainable design and the volunteer coordinator for the Red Oak Rain Garden, Maddy will work closely with the stormwater team, helping to develop, deliver, and evaluate a USDA-funded green infrastructure maintenance curriculum.

Dominique Turney, who serves as our Great Lakes science liaison, has now added fisheries outreach to her IISG duties. She is continuing our longstanding workshops that connect fishers in the greater Chicago area and beyond with the latest Lake Michigan fisheries research and news. The next in-person event will take place on November 6 in Portage, Indiana and the virtual version will be on November 14.

Other upcoming events include:

• The final stop of the Aquaculture Field Day tour focused on avian predator management will take place on October 5 at the Michigan Wholesale Walleye Farm. At this free half-day event, researchers from Kansas State University and Lake Superior State University will share the results of their study evaluating laser and acoustic technologies as bird deterrents.
• The aquatic invasive species team will join IISG educators to host an exhibit booth at the Illinois Science Teaching Association annual conference on October 14 to introduce The Crayfish Curriculum. IISG educators will also lead a session on The Watershed Game, a hands-on team activity that helps students understand community relationships between water quality and land uses.

Finally, I’d like to share a happy ending to the work of one of my previous graduate students. After much delay, Marissa Cubbage, who was co-advised by IISG’s Paris Collingsworth, will share her research results in early October with the audience that matters most in this case, the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians who have a historical and cultural relationship with the fish she studied: lake whitefish and cisco. She will describe the diet and availability of food for these larval fish in beach environments along northern Lake Michigan.