October 25th, 2013 by Irene Miles
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ Coastal Management Program, aimed at protecting and managing the state’s Lake Michigan shoreline, recently announced the recipients of an inaugural round of grant funding.
Among the projects selected for their ability to restore, protect, and maintain the beauty of the Lake Michigan shoreline, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s “AIS Outreach to Coastal Constituents” project was chosen for its ability to positively impact the Lake. The project, which seeks to continue spreading information and education about invasive species and their dangers to the Great Lakes, will help consumers, businesses, and residents better understand the dangers of invasive species and the simple steps that can prevent their introduction or spread.
Sarah Zack, IISG Aquatic Invasive Species Specialist, looks forward to beginning this outreach project. “This award will allow the IISG AIS outreach team to educate a wide variety of people throughout the Lake Michigan coastal area about the threat AIS pose to our waters, since it provides for outreach to diverse groups – including water gardeners and recreational water users. We’re very excited to get started.”
The project will also build on the “Be a Hero – Transport Zero” campaign, which has already informed thousands of people in the Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana areas about these aquatic invaders.
Look for further developments and information about these damaging species and how everyone can help prevent their transportation and spread throughout Illinois’ waterways.
October 23rd, 2013 by Irene Miles
The Great Lakes are beautiful, of course, but it’s not often that we get a view of the Lakes that lets us see them in a different way. That’s just what happened a week and a half ago, though, when astronaut Karen Nyberg shared a picture she took of the Great Lakes – from outer space.
“Last Sunday, Oct. 13, American astronaut Karen Nyberg tweeted this excellent photograph of the Great Lakes taken on Aug. 23 from her vantage point orbiting the Earth aboard the International Space Station.
She posted the image on Twitter about 4:40 p.m., generating a cascade of re-tweets. As spectacular photos are wont to do, the image has spent the meantime making rounds on Facebook and other social media platforms.
The image shows four of the five Great Lakes. The sun’s glint brightens lakes Erie and Ontario to the east, while lakes Michigan and Huron are seen in shades of deeper blue. Lake Superior and most of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are not in the frame.”
Check out the picture at the link in the quote and some additional photos from Karen Nyberg included in the MLive.com link.
October 22nd, 2013 by Irene Miles
Allison Neubauer, a University of Illinois Senior, was a summer intern with IISG’s Kristin TePas. Among the projects Allison worked on, she was part of the effort to develop a new website for the research vessel Lake Guardian. She wrote in to tell us more about her work this summer and her plans for the future following this internship experience.
“As an indecisive, undeclared sophomore I enrolled in a course titled Environmental Sustainability. Though I registered with low expectations, I found myself completely captivated by the readings and discussions we had in class. By the end of the semester I knew environmental sustainability was a passion I wanted to pursue, and I declared a major in Earth, Society, and the Environment. I also added a Geography and GIS Major and Business Minor along the way. Studying and working in these fields has afforded me the opportunity to engage in a wide range of academic and extracurricular experiences that have truly shaped my outlook on the world and secured my commitment to responsibly addressing environmental issues.
My internship with the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant this summer has been the most rewarding experience of my collegiate career thus far. As the Great Lakes Education Intern I worked under the leadership of my mentor Kristin TePas to develop a website for the U.S. EPA research vessel Lake Guardian that effectively communicates the ship’s research and educational activities to the general public. The Lake Guardian is a unique and extremely valuable resource that has facilitated Great Lakes research for over 25 years, which in turn promotes better understanding and awareness of environmental issues affecting the lakes.
Kristin and I, through the creation of a user friendly Lake Guardian website, hope to expose teachers, students, and the general public to current Great Lakes research projects and inspire communication between scientists and their communities. By interviewing our target audience we determined what people wanted to see on the website and then developed some of the items they requested, including a ship specifications chart, science equipment videos, an ‘Ask a Scientist’ form, FAQ page, Science and Marine Career videos, as well as a YouTube channel and Flickr gallery to give a sense of life and work on the ship. The overarching goal is for the Lake Guardian site to be a fun and engaging way to compel people to be invested in the health and vitality of the Great Lakes.
My experiences this summer have opened my eyes to the importance of protecting the Great Lakes, which had not previously been in the forefront of my environmental concerns. Even growing up in Chicago I took Lake Michigan for granted because I did not understand how fragile the Great Lakes ecosystem truly is, or how critical the Lakes are to people’s livelihoods. Increasing awareness is vital to conserving the Great Lakes, and my position with Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant this summer gave me great exposure to environmental outreach. I have thoroughly enjoyed my work, especially all the valuable input I received from an assortment of teachers, scientists, Lake Guardian crew, and Sea Grant staff. This internship has been an excellent growing experience for me. I have vastly improved my communication, planning, and organizing skills as well as enhanced my understanding of the Great Lakes.”
Allison is one of four interns who worked with IISG this summer.
October 21st, 2013 by Irene Miles
Each of the Great Lakes is a natural wonder, but the basic facts of their formation and location also makes them dangerous. Each year swimmers and boaters struggle with dangers from weather and riptides.
“According to the National Weather Service, there were seven fatalities and 14 rescues on the Great Lakes caused at least partially by currents in the water. Lake Michigan had the most incidents as is typically the case. There are a few reasons why Lake Michigan is the most dangerous year after year. First is the combination of highest population and one of the warmer waters. Second is the shape of the lake which makes it conducive to rip currents.
This year did not have as many fatalities and rescues as compared to past years. The main reason for this was the colder summer keeping the number of swimmers down.
While currents caused by rip tides are dangerous, the most often cited reason for a rescue is structural. Piers and other structures make dangerous currents and create locations for injuries.
While the swimming season may be over, another very dangerous time on the Great Lakes is here. Fall is a season I’ve found to be most dangerous, especially on Saginaw Bay. Some duck hunters and fishers take unwise risks just to shoot a duck or catch a fish.”
Read the rest of the article at the link above, and learn more about how to avoid some of the dangers from rip currents with the National Weather Service’s rip current awareness website.
October 18th, 2013 by Irene Miles
Emily Anderson graduated from Northern Illinois University this past spring and was able to put her studies to work right away as one of our summer interns. She wrote in to tell us about her experience working with Caitie McCoy on outreach and social science efforts related to sediment remediation.
“This summer I interned with Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant as the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources Intern. When I found the listing for the IISG Internship position I knew right away it was right for me. I was ecstatic to find a position that aligned with my interests in both psychology and environmental science, so I excitedly submitted my application and then waited nervously. Days after I walked across the stage as a 2013 graduate from Northern Illinois University, I relocated from DeKalb, Illinois to my new office on the University of Illinois’ campus.
Throughout the summer I traveled around the Great Lakes with my mentor Caitie McCoy and collected data on people’s perceptions of contaminated sediments. One of Sea Grant’s missions is to conduct research across the Great Lakes; as such, my job was to assist Caitie in conducting a study on two contaminated rivers slated for cleanup. In order to restore the health of the Great Lakes ecosystem and restore benefits to the local communities, the GLLA funds sediment remediation and habitat restoration in connecting waterways. The purpose of our research was to gain an understanding of how people in these communities relate to their river so that this information could be used to guide outreach efforts at these and other contaminated sites. We were also interested in the different benefits that communities receive from these waterways and how cleanup efforts might enhance those resources. In order to get a site-specific understanding we traveled to different locations and interviewed local leaders.
After learning about the background and purpose of the GLLA program, my first task was to recruit interview participants. I am rather shy normally, but conducting the recruitment communications and helping with the interviews was a great experience to break me out of my shell. I was pretty nervous during my first recruitment call, but after speaking with an extremely nice and generous person who invited us to go fishing during our interview I became much more comfortable. With help from our local outreach teams, we ended up with nearly 45 interviewees between our two sites (Duluth, MN and Sheboygan, WI).
I really love to travel, see new places, and learn new things so I have to say conducting the interviews was my favorite part of the internship. Both cities were beautiful in their unique way, and I’d definitely visit again if I got the chance. (In fact I’d consider living in Duluth despite an average of 80 inches of snowfall per year.) It was so interesting to get to listen to people’s stories and learn about the environmental issues in the Midwest. After the site visit I got right to work at transcribing the interviews which I will admit was not my favorite part of the experience but was a very valuable task and an opportunity to develop a new skill.
Before this internship most of the research I had been involved in was quantitative so the idea of data analysis guided by intuition was sort of foreign to me. At first I stumbled through the process but I found conceptual ground and eventually was able to enjoy qualitative analysis. Because of my concern for the health of the environment and my interest in social science it really gives me a great feeling to know that research like this is being conducted. In the end I feel accomplished; the study I helped with this summer will guide future outreach at the sites we visited and add to our understanding of the benefits of river cleanups. And ultimately that will help prove the real-world value and impact of programs like GLLA. This internship reaffirmed my passion for research and exposed me to a multitude of career options that are directly in line with my interests. I leave this position with a little more direction and a lot more hope for the future of the Great Lakes.”
Emily is one of four interns who worked with IISG this summer. You can read about Alice’s experience here, John’s here, and look forward to another post soon.
October 16th, 2013 by Irene Miles
Earlier this month IISG and several other organizations participated in Great Lakes Awareness Day at Shedd Aquarium. The event featured 10 interactive exhibits that introduced visitors to Great Lakes issues and showed them what they can do keep the Lakes healthy.
IISG science writer Anjanette Riley had this to say about the event:
“To put it bluntly, Great Lakes Awareness Day was a huge success. There was maybe only a moment or two during the 3-hour event that exhibits weren’t crowded with people ready to learn more about aquatic invasive species, habitat restoration, and pollution from unwanted medications and unnecessary lawn care products. In the back-lit glow of the aquarium’s Water of the World galleries, children and adults became detectives on the hunt for aquatic invaders, saw how pollutants from streets and lawns flow into waterways with the help of a three-dimensional model, tested their knowledge of pharmaceutical pollution, and drew pictures of plants and animals important to Great Lakes health. Perhaps the biggest hit of the day was Spin-Fish-Win, an aquatic invasive species (AIS) trivia game.
No matter what part of the event they joined in on, though, these Shedd visitors were clearly interested in talking about important Great Lakes issues–sharing what they know and asking questions about what they didn’t. People I talked with were particularly interested in learning more about Asian carp, asking questions like “what makes them so bad,” “what can we do to stop their spread,” and even “can’t we just eat them?” Visitors were also surprised to learn about the impact pharmaceuticals have on fish and other aquatic organisms and wanted to know how they could safely rid their cabinets of unwanted medicines. And a father and his son took advantage of an AIS art contest to clear up rumors they had heard about some invaders and get up to date on the newest species knocking on the Great Lakes’ door.
Joining IISG staffers at the event were teachers and students from area schools who came to share what they are doing in their communities to protect water quality and aquatic wildlife. LaToyia Gilbert and her students talked about bringing medicine disposal ‘dos and don’ts’ to citizens and pharmacy technicians in Gary, IN.
Latoyia was inspired to create this project based on what she learned at the recent Great Lakes B-WET workshop. Jim Doyiakos and students from Amundsen High School introduced visitors to the risks of invasive species. And Ronald Hall’s 41st Street Beach Eco Warriors from Evergreen Academy Middle School shared their experiences picking up trash and monitoring water quality at Chicago’s 41st Street Beach.
Thanks to a Shedd Aquarium teacher workshop going on that same day, some of the people who stopped by the exhibits were also teachers looking for ways to bring Great Lakes science into their classrooms. Many of these teachers took pictures of the displays or copies of the handouts so they could replicate the activities later. Others sought advice from teachers manning exhibits about potential stewardship projects they could do with their students. One teacher who helped with the event even asked if it could be repeated in the spring so her students could present their own projects.”
GLAD was coordinated by IISG as part of a Center for Great Lakes Literacy regional initiative.
October 15th, 2013 by Irene Miles
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant has just announced more than $300,000 in funding awards for three research projects taking place over the next two years. These projects seek to improve understanding of the Lake Michigan nearshore food web, uncover connections between sediment removal projects and a community’s ability to weather environmental hazards, and identify why people adopt stormwater management practices.
“We are very pleased to continue our support of outstanding research projects on topics with real significance for the region,” said Tomas Hook, IISG associate director for research. “These projects address some of the biggest concerns facing the Great Lakes and their results will help policy makers and natural resource managers preserve Lake Michigan habitats and strengthen lakeside communities.”
IISG is continuing to fund projects focused on Lake Michigan nearshore food webs with a study examining the importance of wetlands in the lives of sport fishes like yellow perch, walleye, and largemouth and smallmouth bass. Gary Lamberti from the University of Notre Dame will use location monitoring data and tissue samples from fish across the lake to pinpoint the types of wetlands species rely on the most for food and shelter. The results will help natural resource managers target protection and restoration efforts on areas critical to the overall health of the lake. Lamberti will work with Patrick Forsythe from University of Wisconsin-Green Bay as part of a larger project with Wisconsin Sea Grant.
A community’s vulnerability to environmental hazards depends on a lot of factors—things like average incomes, education levels, hazard awareness, and public engagement. Bethany Cutts and Andrew Greenlee from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will investigate how these factors change when a community becomes involved in sediment removal projects. Using towns in the Lincoln Park-Milwaukee Estuary and Grand Calumet Areas of Concern as models, Cutts and Greenlee will develop tools urban policy makers can use to identify the best ways to help communities prepare for and recover from hazards such as pollution, natural disasters, and changing weather patterns.
Linda Prokopy and Nicholas Babin will use Sea Grant funding to better understand what motivates landowners to adopt and continue practices that reduce stormwater runoff, such as using rain barrels to catch runoff from roofs or building rain gardens to absorb water and filter out pollutants. Stormwater runoff is one of the biggest culprits in lake and river pollution, and community-wide adoption of best management practices is key to protecting water quality. Armed with their findings, the Purdue University researchers will team up with the non-profit organization Save the Dunes to improve stormwater outreach and education efforts in northwestern Indiana.
Visit the IISG research page to learn about past research projects and their results.
October 14th, 2013 by Irene Miles
Last month, we announced that six teachers from the Champaign-Urbana area had won tool kits for constructing simple, remotely operated underwater robots with their students. With the help of online lesson plans, the winning teachers will use the SeaPerch robots to teach their students about topics including buoyancy, propulsion, circuitry, and biological sampling.
Along with the kits, teachers got an opportunity to learn construction techniques and practice using the equipment during one of two SeaPerch Build Sessions held in October. During the sessions, Blake Landry, coordinator of the University of Illinois SeaPerch Program, took teachers step-by-step through the build process.
The winning teachers have big plans for their robots. Some will use them to introduce their younger students to basic engineering concepts for the first time. In other classrooms, the robots will provide an opportunity for students to test their knowledge of things like simple circuits. Some teachers are even considering partnering up to start an after-school club that will compete in the national SeaPerch Challenge. With these six teachers now using SeaPerch, there is also a possibility that they may launch a regional SeaPerch Challenge.
The SeaPerch giveaway contest was funded by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant to help teachers in the Great Lakes region integrate science education with engineering and math.
Visit the SeaPerch homepage to learn more about the tool kits and the SeaPerch program.
*Photos*
Top: Blake shows Carol Smith and Geoff Frymuth how to use the tools provided in the SeaPerch teacher’s kit. Carol is a 5th grade teacher at Leal Elementary School in Urbana, and Geoff teaches 7th grade science at Champaign’s Jefferson Middle School.
Middle: Carol practices stripping electrical wires used to connect the three motorized propellers that steer the underwater robots. Stripping wires and building motors are just a few of the many engineering tasks her students will have to do when they build their own robots in the spring.
Bottom: Carol, Geoff, and Jen White, an 8th grade science teacher at Jefferson Middle School, take notes as Blake shows how to install and waterproof the motors and secure the frame of a completed SeaPerch robot.
October 11th, 2013 by Irene Miles
Alex Valencic’s fourth-grade class may be several hours away from Lake Michigan, but the lake and its issues are still front-and-center. Students here spent part of September digging into the biology of Great Lakes fish, and last week they presented their discoveries to an audience of classmates joined by IISG’s Robin Goettel and Anjanette Riley.
The presentations covered a spectrum of native and non-native species—lake trout, Eurasian ruffe, Atlantic salmon, round goby, black herring, and more. And it was clear that these fourth-graders had become experts in their chosen species. They talked about where their fish lives, its life cycle, what it eats, and what eats it. Several students showed how their fish have been affected by invasive species such as round goby and sea lamprey, which one student referred to as “an alien in the Great Lakes.” Those who chose invasive species also explained how they spread and taught the class what they could do to prevent future invasions. Others talked about the impact of overfishing and pollution on their species and the food web as a whole. At the end of their presentation, each student was peppered with questions like “how many times does your fish lay eggs?” and “what kind of plankton does it eat?”
It was also clear that the students were excited to share what they had learned. Many said they enjoyed learning about the shape and size of their fish, while others liked knowing about the predators of the Great Lakes. A handful even said their favorite part of the project was researching and presenting.
Mr. Valencic got the idea to bring Great Lakes issues to his class at Wiley Elementary School in Urbana, IL after spending a week aboard the U.S. EPA R/V Lake Guardian this summer for the annual Shipboard and Shoreline Workshop. During the week, he and 14 other formal and non-formal educators worked alongside scientists as they collected data on Lake Ontario. This year, participants collected samples from different locations to monitor water quality, studied species at the bottom of the food web, and learned more about organisms living on the lakebed. Sea Grant officials on board paired hand-on research with curriculum activities to help teachers better incorporate Great Lakes science into their classrooms.
Examining fish biology is one of two inquiry-based research projects Mr. Valencic has lined up for this year. Overall he hopes to use what he learned this summer to teach his students more about how aquatic species interact with each other and their environments.
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