The 2025 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 covers this year’s Shipboard Science Immersion that took place on Lake Michigan, our long-standing team engaged in AIS prevention outreach, our new specialists diving into coastal resilience issues, and past and present program leadership.

Here are some headlines from this issue:

• Educators engage with Great Lakes scientists aboard the Lake Guardian
• IISG looks back on 30 years of AIS outreach
• Coastal communities face challenges in managing beach sand and structures
• Stuart Carlton is the new IISG director
• Tomas Hook reflects on his Sea Grant legacy

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) has created another resource for students in the Great Lakes region to engage with real-world, professional water quality testing equipment. Currently, the Know Your H₂O Kit is being pilot tested in five classrooms, and for one Ohio teacher, it’s a hit for her and her students.

“The lessons have been incredibly useful,” said Shari Insley, a science teacher in North Olmsted, Ohio. “They not only aligned well with our Ohio 7th-grade science curriculum but also brought concepts to life in a way that deepened students’ understanding. For many students, this was their first time using scientific tools to test real water samples, and it sparked curiosity about local water systems and environmental stewardship.”

Over several weeks, her students collected and analyzed water from different areas around the school campus, testing tap water and aquarium water, they checked for ammonia, iron, nitrites, pH, and temperature. The students also engaged in a series of mini labs focused on water’s physical properties. From surface tension to cohesion, these labs helped students understand why water behaves the way it does in nature.

“The water testing activity was a clear favorite—it was hands-on, data-driven, and allowed students to act like real scientists,” said Insley.

Photo courtesy of Shari Insley.

The Know Your H₂O Kit provides the opportunity for educators to borrow water monitoring equipment that is also used by aquaculture farmers—IISG developed this kit to provide farmers with technical support. In the classroom, it provides the opportunity for students to experience hands-on activities that reinforce concepts they are learning from books and lessons.

“Water quality is such an important factor in the health of water-based ecosystems, whether they are in the wild, on the farm or in the classroom,” said Amy Shambach, IISG aquaculture marketing outreach associate. “Supporting educators and farmers with the resources to learn about water quality monitoring is a perfect fit for what Sea Grant does well—science-based outreach and extension.”

Each kit comes with tools to measure dissolved oxygen, temperature and pH; chemical tests to measure other important water quality parameters such as ammonia, nitrite, and alkalinity; and a lab pack.

The kit is free to borrow for up to nine weeks. Preference is given to educators who have attended the IISG Aquaponics/Aquaculture Teacher Training or completed the IISG Water Quality Teacher Training. If you would like more information about upcoming trainings or want to schedule an online session, email iisg@purdue.edu.

To borrow the kit, visit the IISG website. If you would like to take part in the pilot testing, contact Amy Shambach or Julie Fiorito.

Friends,

Now that I’ve started as director, we want to take this blog in a little different direction. Instead of me writing about the happenings at IISG and beyond, we thought we’d take the opportunity to share the perspectives—and voices—of the people who make this program great. So Renie Miles, our strategic communicator, and I are going to sit down with IISG staff and talk about some of the amazing work they’re doing. We’re calling it Sea Grant Chats, and we’re excited to get started.

For this first post, we’re talking about our education work with Kristin TePas, IISG’s Great Lakes literacy and workforce development specialist, and Janice Milanovich, our Great Lakes educator. Thanks for reading, and take it away, Renie!

-Stuart Carlton

Renie: Stuart, how has being a former teacher influenced and informed your perception and insights related to Sea Grant education efforts? What are we getting right?

Stuart: First, it has given me unbelievable empathy and respect for people who are successful teachers. That might be the hardest job in the world. The people who can do it, well, I just have unending respect for them.

When I was teaching I realized that teachers have few resources and some hard limits. Two big limits are time and budget: there are never enough of either, right? What I think we do really well is help teachers who have limited time and limited money have cutting-edge, world-class resources.

Another great thing is that our resources are trusted. Educators know they can trust Sea Grant because we have a 40-year history of providing excellent products. They know they can use them because they’re high-quality materials that have been reviewed by scientists and educators and the standards have been aligned. They know it fits their budget because we rarely charge and when we do, it’s the bare minimum. Teachers are superstars and so what we can do is help these superstars continue to do good work.

Also, we can provide them with materials that they might not otherwise have. A great example is the Limno Loan program where we loan out data sondes. Or we loan out fancy water quality testing tools. We do this through our aquaculture program as well and we do this for the low, low price of zero dollars.

I think that’s a really great thing and so when I think about my time as a teacher, if I’d had resources like these high-quality, vetted, trustworthy, affordable resources, it would have made my job a lot easier. I still wouldn’t been a superstar, that wasn’t in the cards for me, but I would have been appreciative.

Renie: The Shipboard Science Immersion that took place this summer on Lake Michigan is an incredible professional development opportunity for educators to work side-by-side with scientists. Why do you think these sorts of opportunities are so important for educators, but especially for their students?

Kristin: I think the experiential piece is what is so important—the educators are actually helping the scientists out with their investigations. We’re not having them out there doing activities just to go through the motion. All of this makes the educators feel like they are real scientists, which they are. I think it gives them more confidence in their understanding of what it’s like to do research and in the scientific process, and thus gives them more confidence in teaching their students. The experience also gives them more credibility in their students’ eyes.

Renie: And so how does this translate to be beneficial for students?

Kristin: I think for the educators the experience modeled how it feels to be a student. They realize what it’s like to be learning all these new things and feeling a little uncomfortable. It’s just how their students might feel so I think it brings a new perspective for the educators when they get back to the classroom. It also increases the educators’ interest in doing “inquiry-based learning” because they realize during that week of research how much they’re learning organically by investigating different questions. That’s something they can do with their students. The immersion provides a model for how to bring this back to the classroom at a smaller scale so the teachers feel more comfortable doing it.

It also just reignites their passion for science, which helps when they’re teaching it—they get all jazzed again about how cool science is.

Janice: Thinking back to my most favorite teachers, they were always colorful and had the best stories. I feel like storytelling is such a great way to teach. If the educators can share their real experiences with science with their students, it can help illustrate that a particular principle, which might seem pretty mundane, is important, through this real-world context.

Renie: Let’s talk about the Center for Great Lakes Literacy (CGLL) and the opportunities that come from that. How has having this group of Sea Grant educators, Great Lakes wide, working together been good for teachers, students, and sharing of information?

Stuart: I think you just started in the exact right place, which is this network of people. What’s great about CGLL is that it brings together all these education specialists at the different Sea Grant programs. There are 25 education experts throughout the Great Lakes and they’re all coming together to talk about these issues.

If one person who is working on one education issue in one area becomes connected to the group, all of a sudden, the knowledge base is expanded, the support network is expanded, and the impacts are expanded. To me that is a key thing behind CGLL.

The CGLL meetings—their webinars are the best ones that I sit in on. They’re so well-run and positive. It’s like a spiritual hug every three months. The group is super experimental in the way they run the meetings and are always trying out new ideas.

They’re doing what in the programming industry they call dogfooding—they’re eating their own dog food. They try out techniques in their webinars before they share them with educators.

Kristin: Everyone brings different skills so it just expands your access to different skill sets. Some people are from a formal background, some people are non-formal. Some know a lot about invasive species or water quality or marine transportation and so we can leverage each other’s skill sets but also resources. If one state develops a lesson plan, we all can use it. Instead of just having an education team of four we have a team of 25.

Janice: There’s an interesting anecdote about an Illinois educator who, through CGLL, found out about a workshop in New York and traveled there to attend New York Sea Grant’s professional development program over the summer. Also, I want to mention the new CGLL website that showcases the resources that Kristin was mentioning. Educators can filter and sort and find just what they need.

Stuart: I would add the development and focus on Great Lakes literacy principles, which are adapted from the ocean literacy principles. The Great Lakes has 10,000 miles of freshwater coastline and six quadrillion gallons of water, but it still feels, in a lot of places, including the science classroom, that the Great Lakes are kind of an afterthought. And so, thanks to CGLL for developing these resources and aligning them with both standards and these literacy principles; it really helps teachers harness this amazing freshwater resource.

Renie: What is on your mind as Sea Grant education work goes forward?

Kristin: I think we are evolving as education evolves. We had all these previous lessons, but now with the Next Generation Science Standards and learning new teaching methods, things are changing. We also realize that teachers more and more have less time so how can we increase our support?

One approach is offering them small funding opportunities so they can buy supplies or cover field trip costs. We also do check-in calls, at least with the shipboard folks. Our workshops are not just one-offs—we are trying to support those educators more and more because they have a lot more barriers.

Janice: Future focus using the sustained engagement model, right? It’s keeping folks evolving and helping each other and being a conduit to share new ideas amongst each other. I think that’s a constant in education. They say don’t reinvent the wheel—here use this and learn from me—so how can Sea Grant help facilitate that?

Kristin: Yeah, it’s like community of practice.

Stuart: Generally speaking, the best teachers are the ones who are constantly adapting. What’s so cool about what y’all do is that you are adapting with them. You are helping to interpret and make sense of new approaches and facilitating a broader community of practice for teachers who, again, are superstars, as they continue to adapt. And it’s important to prepare for what’s next because education is constantly changing because society is constantly changing.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) is seeking a talented and passionate person to join our team as a research & reporting administrator. This is an exciting leadership opportunity for someone interested in managing a competitive research portfolio and leading our annual reporting process to make a real impact on the health and vitality of our Great Lakes ecosystems and communities. The successful candidate will be responsible for overseeing our research competitions, spearheading data collection and reporting for our ~$5 million program, and supervising a small team of dedicated staff.

IISG is part of a national network dedicated to the sustainable use of Great Lakes and marine resources. We bring together scientists, educators, and community leaders to address pressing coastal issues in four main focus areas: Healthy Coastal Ecosystems, Resilient Communities and Economies, Environmental Literacy and Workforce Development, and Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture. Our work is collaborative, science-based, and focused on creating tangible benefits for the environment and the millions of people who depend on these crucial water resources. 

This full-time position will be located at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. For more information, including the complete job description, qualifications, and application instructions, visit the Purdue Jobs Board.

IISG will begin reviewing applications on October 6, 2025, so submit your materials for full consideration. If you have any questions about the position, contact IISG Director Stuart Carlton via email.

Most people think of jellyfish as only found in salty seas—perhaps some folks have stinging memories of encounters in ocean waters or have spent time observing these exotic and delicate creatures in seaside aquariums. But it turns out there are also freshwater jellyfish. They are native to China’s Yangtze River but are now found on every continent, except Antarctica.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant funded a research team led by biologist Nadine Folino Rorem at Wheaton College and Paulyn Carwright at the University of Kansas to study Craspedacusta sowerbii and analyze the local environmental conditions where these jellyfish are found. This species has been living in the Great Lakes region for decades, including in Illinois and Indiana waters.

“We’ve been trying to figure out the cues that control some aspects of the Craspedacusta life cycle,” said Rorem. “Our objective was to assess where jellyfish fit in food dynamics, and competition dynamics as well.”

The team also studied the jellyfish in the lab, experimenting with a range of water temperatures related to their lifecycle stages, and how they grow and transition through those stages at different temperatures.

“Since scientists are seeing increases in jellies in marine environments due to increases in water temperature, we’re thinking we’re probably going to see a similar situation with Craspedacusta,” added Rorem. The concern is that the jellyfish might become more of a threat to local aquatic food webs.

Rorem’s team found that Craspedacusta are indeed more likely to thrive in warmer waters.

Freshwater jellyfish are smaller than many ocean species—they start out microscopic in their younger polyp stage and grow to be a nickel-sized medusa or jellyfish. When a polyp transitions into a medusa, the more typical jellyfish form, it can grow to the size of a quarter. Because they are so small, these jellyfish do not have the ability to effectively sting people.

The researchers spent a good deal of time in the field, tracking down reported sightings of this organism. Rorem traveled to a lot of places, including Coal City, Illinois and Hammond, Indiana, knocking on doors to get permission to sample in backyard drainage ponds and other water bodies. The team spent some time in Wolf Lake, which straddles the Illinois and Indiana border near Lake Michigan—in both lakes, jellyfish in the polyp stage have been spotted.

According to Rorem, the reason that jellyfish in the medusa stage have not been detected in these waters is because they are not that abundant or they are not surviving, which she attributes to the possibilities of predation or other ecological factors, such as variation in water chemistry.

The team collected samples to assess the environmental conditions where the medusae are present and to bring them back to the lab for further study. Because the jellyfish polyps typically grow on surfaces, researchers also brought back pieces of wood and rocks to look for these tiny, transparent organisms.

Jonathan Zhu, a student at Wheaton College, looks for freshwater jellyfish in water samples from Illinois and Indiana ponds and rivers.

This time-consuming effort led Jonathan Zhu, a Wheaton College student, to develop a much more efficient way to sample for jellyfish polyps, and other species as well. When they placed plastic and glass microscope slides in strategic locations in the water for several months, they found Craspedacusta polyps living on these surfaces.

“This new sampling method is one of the exciting things that came out of this project,” said Rorem. “Jonathan spearheaded that—he’s one of those exceptional students that I’ve really enjoyed working with since he was a freshman.”

In the lab, the research team also worked to keep Craspedacusta alive throughout its life stages. While they were challenged in achieving ideal water movement conditions and providing the right food sources, the team was able to keep the jellyfish alive in the lab for 87 days, very likely, longer than anyone before.

They also pinpointed warmer water temperatures in which Craspedacusta would likely be more successful. “We found that different populations reacted the same to temperature factors, which means if temperatures increase, you’re probably going to see a similar response in different locations in northern Illinois and Indiana, meaning increases in some of these life cycle stages,” said Rorem.

This is my last Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) Director’s Blog post before I sign off as the program’s director. On July 14, I’m moving over to become the Head of Purdue’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources (FNR).

I’m very happy to share that IISG’s assistant director, Dr. Stuart Carlton, will be taking over as director at that time. Stuart has a long record with Sea Grant, not only as part of Illinois-Indiana, but also with Florida and Texas. I’m excited to see how Stuart, along with the rest of the great IISG team, will advance the program in new and exciting ways.

Personally, I’m excited about the new position with FNR, but it is bittersweet to leave my role with IISG. It is worth noting that because IISG sits administratively within Purdue’s Dept of FNR, I won’t be completely disconnected from the program. However, I will no longer work as directly to support this important program as I have over the last 14 years.

I joined IISG in 2011 when former director Brian Miller asked Carolyn Foley and me to help guide IISG’s competitive research program. When Brian retired in 2018, I moved into the director role (and Carolyn became the sole research coordinator).

I’m proud of the many things we have been able to accomplish during this time. We have worked to expand the breadth of communities that IISG’s research, education, and outreach programs support. We have introduced and grown programming across a variety of topics, including aquaculture, real-time buoys, water safety, and coastal resilience. Our K-12, undergraduate, and graduate programs are stronger than ever. Finally, we have grown our competitive research program to address a variety of emerging issues, and more recently, developed a graduate student scholars program to support early-career researchers.

In early May, we held a six-year external review, and this was a very fulfilling opportunity to reflect on the many milestones that the IISG team and our great partners have achieved during that time.

Of course, IISG will continue with its important work, and with the summer season upon us, we have program updates to share with you.

First, it’s Lake Michigan’s turn to be the focus for both research and education. Through the Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI), every year scientists from agencies and universities bring their attention to one of the Great Lakes to address research gaps and other priorities. IISG helps communicate science priorities and CSMI research results to resource managers and the public.

In tandem, this summer, 15 educators from Great Lakes states will spend seven days aboard EPA’s Lake Guardian research vessel to work directly with scientists engaging in Lake Michigan research, learn about Great Lakes issues, curriculums, and activities, and network with other educators. IISG and Wisconsin Sea Grant are hosting the Shipboard Science Immersion through the Center for Great Lakes Literacy.

Our aquatic invasive species team recently installed and opened for business boat cleaning stations at two northeastern Illinois locations—Chain-O-Lakes State Park and North Point Marina. These stations provide recreationalists with supplies and tools to wash their boats after a day on the water. Accidentally transporting organisms that are attached to boats and other equipment from one waterbody to another is a significant pathway for spreading invasive species.

And we can’t talk about summer without highlighting water safety. In addition to our buoys that provide continuous water and weather conditions, we have resources that include sensible tips for you and your family to enjoy a safer day at the beach. They can be found on the Lake Michigan Water Safety website and as part of the Stay Safe, Have Fun video series.

Finally, here are several upcoming IISG events:

• Join fellow 5–12 grade educators in the Indiana Dunes National Park on August 8-9 for a hands-on, overnight workshop titled Earth Systems: A Great Lakes Perspective, which will emphasize the important role of water in Earth’s systems with a special focus on the Great Lakes.
• Also, on August 9, IISG’s Invasive Crayfish Collaborative will provide educational resources at Rusty Rodeo, an annual event in North Aurora, Illinois, where families wade in the water to collect, identify, and remove invasive rusty crayfish.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) announces that Stuart Carlton will be the program’s new director as of July 14, 2025. He will replace Tomas Höök who will become the head of Purdue University’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. Höök has been with IISG for 14 years, seven of those serving as director.

Carlton has been IISG’s assistant director since 2018—as part of this role, he has provided guidance and support for program personnel and projects as well as led overall coordination and day-to-day management. Before coming to IISG, he spent four years as a healthy coastal ecosystems and social science specialist at Texas Sea Grant and three years as a communications program assistant at Florida Sea Grant.

Carlton is a natural resources social scientist who holds a PhD in interdisciplinary ecology from the University of Florida and a master’s degree in fisheries biology from the University of Georgia. In addition to his role with IISG, he is also a research assistant professor and head of the Coastal and Great Lakes Social Science Lab at Purdue, where he and his students research the relationship between knowledge, values, trust, and behavior in complex or controversial environmental systems.

“I am thrilled to see Dr. Carlton named as the new IISG director,” said Zhao Ma, interim head of Purdue’s Department of Forestry and Natural Resources. “Having known him for many years, I am confident that he will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience from his work across various aspects of the Sea Grant program. Combine all that with his scholarly expertise as a natural resource social scientist, exceptional communication skills, and—most importantly—his infectious positive energy and remarkable ability to connect with others, I know he will lead IISG into a bright and impactful future.”

As assistant director with IISG, Carlton has helped expand its aquaculture program as well as provided guidance in social science efforts in many topic areas. He is the creator and host of Teach Me About the Great Lakes, a podcast in which he learns more about Great Lakes issues by talking with experts and others, bringing the rest of us along on his educational journey.

His research and outreach interests are in the role of stakeholder values, attitudes, and behaviors in controversial environmental systems. Carlton has worked on a variety of issues, ranging from red snapper management to state service foresters’ use of climate information. His research on climate change beliefs has been cited on the Senate floor, covered by national and international media—including The Guardian and The Washington Post—and has been featured as the top post on the front page of Reddit.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) is hiring a part-time pollution prevention outreach assistant. IISG’s pollution prevention team addresses water quality issues affecting the Great Lakes coasts and the inland waters of Illinois and Indiana, specifically focusing on contaminants of emerging concern like pharmaceuticals, microplastics and marine debris, and PFAS. This outreach assistant will support the pollution prevention team by developing outreach activities and engaging with communities to share that knowledge.

This is a flexible, part-time, hourly, remote position, with the possibility to work up to 28 hours/week at $20/hour. The position is funded until January 30, 2026, with the possibility of continued support.

For more information about the position description, necessary qualifications and application requirements, review the job posting or contact IISG Great Lakes Contaminants Specialist Sarah Zack at szack@illinois.edu. No phone calls, please. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, but review of resumes will begin on June 13, 2025.

Crayfish can frequently be found in the role of classroom pet, but as with many school critters, they can pose a threat if they are released into local waters—non-native species can prove to be invasive, pushing out native crayfish. A new curriculum brings that lesson directly to students, and teachers too.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant introduces Investigating Crayfish and Freshwater Ecosystems, a curriculum that is full of information about the importance of native crayfish, and the dangers posed by invasive ones and about Great Lakes ecosystems. The lessons are designed for grades 6–12 but include adaptations for grades 2–5. They are aligned with Next Generation Science Standards, Common Core State Standards, and the Center for Great Lakes Literacy Principles.

The curriculum is a product of IISG’s Invasive Crayfish Collaborative, an initiative focused on improving collective management and outreach capabilities through new crayfish research and outreach projects. The new curriculum can help educators across the Great Lakes region engage students in thinking critically about crayfish and freshwater ecosystems.

It’s comprised of nine hands-on lessons that engage students in activities in the classroom and then out in the field where they can take part in real-world identification and monitoring of crayfish species. With their new skills and knowledge of crayfish, students can report their sightings with photos to iNaturalist, an app used by a network of naturalists, community scientists, and biologists to share images from the field.

“In my experience of more than 30 years of working with kids, the magic is really there for teaching and learning when you can connect to nature and to real things happening in the community,” said Rick Reynolds who is founder of Engaging Every Student and author of the original version of the curriculum, focused on the crayfish population in the Pacific Northwest.

Working with Natalia Szklaruk, IISG aquatic invasive species educator, they adapted the lessons for the Great Lakes region.

Beyond classwork opportunities, the lessons also prepare educators and their students to participate in the Invasive Crayfish Collaborative’s crayfish study–this community science project is aimed at collecting data to help managers understand the crayfish distribution across the Great Lakes region.

At the recent workshop, these educators are exploring Lesson 4 of the crayfish curriculum, working together to match photo cards with crayfish species descriptions.

In April, IISG held a workshop at the Indiana Dunes National Park where about 20 formal and non-formal educators from Illinois and Indiana came to spend the day learning about and exploring the new curriculum.

“We practiced several lesson plans and activities, including an introductory activity called The Web of Life to learn more about the educators and about how when one species exits, it really causes a ripple effect across the whole web,” said Szklaruk. “Later, the educators engaged in sampling in a nearby creek, which was the day’s high point. They even caught a few small crayfish.”

To learn more about the curriculum or to download it, visit the Invasive Crayfish Collaborative website.