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IISG’s Robin Goettel’s years of service lead to U of I award

February 1st, 2013 by
The University of Illinois’ College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences accepts nominations each year for an award that recognizes outstanding achievement by faculty and academic professionals in the college. 
 
 

The Paul A. Funk Recognition Award provides a personal award to the winner as well as funds for their department to use in support of their work benefiting natural resources and human environmental systems. 

 

This year, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s Robin Goettel won the award for her extensive educational outreach work, including the creation of numerous curricula for science teachers and others. In particular, the Fresh and Salt curriculum, the Greatest of the Great Lakes collection of model lessons, and The Medicine Chest have helped to inform, engage, and education over 100,000 students about environmental science related to the Great Lakes. 

Robin isn’t afraid to get totally immersed in her environmental education work either, as this excerpt from her nomination proves: 

“No description of Robin would be complete without a mention of Zelda the zebra mussel, a ‘spokesmussel,’ as Robin describes her. Zelda is a costume that Robin is not afraid to pull out at public events. While maybe not quite ready for Disneyworld, Zelda draws a crowd. People start with a laugh, are compelled to ask questions, and end up with a better understanding of invasive species for the unconventional approach.”

 

Those examples don’t begin to touch on the work that Robin has engaged in throughout her many years with the program–from direct engagement with students of all grade levels, to educational displays at some of the Midwest’s biggest events, to forging partnerships with other environmental organizations to better educate, inform, and engage people in protecting and preserving natural resources.


Robin’s many years of work on environmental issues, and her dedication to fostering ever higher levels of science education for students of all ages, make her a terrific and very deserving choice for this award.

Full-cost water planning guidebook now available

January 30th, 2013 by
One of the most important planning concerns in the coming years will be ensuring the smart, sensible use and long-term availability of water resources for a growing population. This is especially true in large urban areas like Chicago, which has adopted the GO TO 2040 comprehensive regional plan to address and prepare for future growth. 
 
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s Water Resource Economist, Margaret Schneemann, has developed a Full-Cost Water Pricing Guidebook for Sustainable Community Water Systems. For the past four years, IISG has partnered with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) to bring Schneemann to the Water 2050: Northeastern Illinois Water Supply/Demand Plan implementation program and launch several collaborative projects throughout northeastern Illinois.  
 
Since both Water2050 and the long-range GO TO 2040 comprehensive plan recommend full-cost pricing for drinking water to promote water conservation and address aging infrastructure, the Full-Cost Water Pricing Guidebook is designed for local decision makers interested in exploring full-cost pricing as a tool for sustainable community water supply management. The first section provides mayors, village managers, planners, board and council members, and interested residents with the reasons why such planning is important. The second section offers a basic ‘how to do it’ overview for readers interested in learning more, and the third section explores one of the most important decisions in setting water rates, designing the rate structure. Margaret has also developed a downloadable Powerpoint presentation providing an overview of full-cost pricing, available at the guidebook link above.
 
For further information about water supply issues and planning, visit our water supply page on the website, and you can contact Margaret directly for additional information and print copies of the guidebook.

In the news: DEA proposal would create drug disposal regulations

January 29th, 2013 by

The Drug Enforcement Administration has published proposed regulations regarding the proper disposal of prescription pharmaceuticals and other controlled substances.

From the DEA’s release

This rule proposes requirements to govern the secure disposal of controlled substance medications by both DEA registrants and what the Controlled Substances Act refers to as “ultimate users” of these medications (patients and animals). The proposed regulations seek to expand the options available to collect these medications from ultimate users for the purpose of disposal, to include take-back events, mail-back programs, and collection box locations.”

The public comment period is open until February 19, and people can review the entire proposal online here

For more information about why proper disposal of these substances is so important, visit our Unwanted Meds website.

CMAP wins award for water supply planning

January 25th, 2013 by
The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) was recently recognized with a National Planning Excellence award for their work developing GO TO 2040 – a comprehensive regional plan that unites and coordinates seven counties infrastructure development.
 

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s Margaret Schneeman, who works directly with CMAP, was involved in the plan development and implementation, and Martin Jaffe served on the Regional Water Supply planning group. Their efforts, combined with the expertise and work of dozens of individuals and agencies, resulted in the completion of the regional plan that will enhance sustainable development and planning throughout 284 communities in and around the Chicago area. 

 
The summarized plan can be read here, and you can visit the GO TO 2040 link above to read the complete plan.
 
The American Planning Association awards programs, individuals, and agencies that utilize and implement planning techniques designed to create more sustainable communities. Visit the National Planning Awards 2013 webpage to see the complete list of award winners, including information about the GO TO 2040 plan. 
 
You can also visit our Water Supply page to learn more about the importance of planning on water quality, safety, and availability.

In the news: Michigan Tech researchers map aquatic invasive plants around the Great Lakes

January 24th, 2013 by

Phragmites Australis, also know as the Common Reed, is a wetland plant that is not native to the Great Lakes. The invasive plant grows and spreads rapidly in the wetlands around the Lakes, and as a result can crowd out native plants that are beneficial to the local ecosystems. 

Researchers at Michigan Tech are working on mapping the spread of the plant, though, in an effort to better understand its spread and plan for managing and reducing it. 

From Upper Peninsula’s Second Wave:

“The common reed, or phragmites australis, isn’t native to the Great Lakes, but grows quickly in our climate conditions into large, tall stands that can threaten wetlands habitat.

The plant hasn’t been studied very much, or mapped, which was the goal of the Tech scientists, in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey, Boston College and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Together, teams first mapped the U.S. coastlines of all five Great Lakes using satellites.

Then, they did field studies along the coastlines to confirm the satellite findings, and plot the locations of large stands of the reed, in a first-of-its-kind map.”

Read more about the map at the link above and in the article at Science Daily.

Student efforts to protect water from pharmaceutical contamination head to Brazil

January 18th, 2013 by
The National Prescription Pill and Drug Disposal program (P2D2) has had a great deal of success lately.  After placing third in the international Volvo Adventure Award competition, the program partnered with the second place winners of the Volvo competition to start a P2D2 program in Erechim, Brazil. The P2D2 program began in 2008 as a collaborative effort between local pharmacies, law enforcement agencies, officials, and Pontiac Township High School students in Paul Ritter’s Ecology class and Eric Bohm’s Illinois Studies class. 
 
The P2D2 program’s mission is to educate the public about the harm done to the environment due to current drug disposal practices and to provide communities with an alternative disposal approach that ensures the quality of water for future generations. Their good idea has quickly caught on; the P2D2 program is now available in more than 54 counties in Illinois, 21 other states, and now goes international with the addition of the Brazil P2D2 program coordinated by Paul Hubner. 
 

“Silent Invaders” episodes on YouTube bring viewers face to face with invasive species

January 14th, 2013 by

The folks at Wildlife Forever have teamed up with several partners including the North American Fishing Club to produce a series of television programs about aquatic invasive species that are threatening our waters. 

Episode three of “Silent Invaders” offers an up-close and informative look at Asian carp, just one of several species that has either taken hold in our waterways or is threatening to spread and cause significant changes to important ecosystems. 

You can watch the entire episode online here, as well as episodes providing information about Zebra and Quagga mussels and round Gobies

IISG heads to the outdoor shows to kick off 2013

January 11th, 2013 by
Sarah Zack and Danielle Hilbrich, members of IISG’s aquatic invasive species outreach team, set up a booth and talked with hundreds of visitors at the Let’s Go Fishing Show in Collinsville, IL January 4-6. They attended the show in order to provide more information to fishermen and boaters about the dangers of aquatic invasive species, and introduce them to some simple practices that can help reduce the spread of invasives.
 
Many visitors to the IISG booth had experienced Asian carp jumping at their boats while on the water, and were very interested in ways they could protect themselves while fishing and boating in infested waters. In addition, Danielle and Sarah encouraged anyone that catches an Asian carp – accidently or on purpose – to cook it up and eat it. Asian carp have mild-tasting, white, flaky flesh that takes seasoning and marinades very well. Asian carp are a healthy choice too, since they’re low in contaminants and high in omega-3 fatty acids. Many attendees said they were willing to try cooking Asian carp, so Danielle and Sarah shared recipes with them as well as copies of Louisiana Sea Grant’s video on how to fillet Asian carp.
 
The booth was highly visited throughout the weekend, and Danielle and Sarah had the chance to hand out hundreds of Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers!™ stickers and brochures while offering people more information about invasive species. The booth was even featured on a 92.3 WIL, a popular St. Louis country radio station, and radio host Bo Matthews briefly talked with Sarah Zack about AIS prevention steps that people can take to stop the spread of AIS – inspecting for and removing aquatic plants and animals from equipment, draining all water, disposing of live bait in the trash, and drying recreational equipment before visiting another waterbody. Bo Matthews strongly supports IISG’s AIS-prevention message, and even put a Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers! sticker on the radio station truck to help spread the word.
 
 
 
 
The Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant AIS outreach team is part of the Illinois Natural History Survey Lake Michigan Biological Station, and is housed at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe, IL.

IISG service learning course culminates in water protection projects

January 3rd, 2013 by
The University of Illinois’ Learning in Community (LINC) program provides service-learning opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience in a variety of fields while earning course credit towards their degree. The program also gives various departments and units at the University a chance to expand their mission and get students involved in critical issues. 
This past fall term, the LINC Program offered a Sea Grant-focused course for eight University of Illinois students where they learned about environmental threats to local and regional waterways. They designed and executed projects based on what they had learned about proper disposal of unwanted medicines. 
 
At the conclusion of the course, students developed five activities focused on water issues, informing a larger audience about their importance and local impacts. 
 
The projects included: 
 
 – A presentation and activity for Urbana High School’s science club students
 
 – An article in the Green Observer and accompanying Facebook page about the importance of proper disposal of pharmaceuticals
 
 – Placement of brochures at the McKinley Health Center in coordination with the Directors of Health Education and the Pharmacy
 
 – A plan to spread the message about proper medicine disposal at student dormitories and to involve students in medicine collection events in 2013
 

The course and projects that resulted informed current University of Illinois students about important environmental issues, while giving them experience collaborating with each other, working with local organizations and businesses, and performing outreach to share the information they learned with residents of Champaign-Urbana.

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How Do You Track a Fish in a Great Lake? Are your students curious about how scientists track fish underwater? In this Students Ask Scientists session, discover how researchers use acoustic telemetry to track fish like yellow perch in Lake Michigan.You will meet Anna Hill, a master’s student at Purdue University, as she shares her career journey studying marine and freshwater systems.📅 Date: November 6, 2025🕚 Time: 11:00 AM–12:00 PM CT🎯 Audience: Middle school students & up + educators💻 Location: Zoom (Pre-registration required)Learn more and register at the link in bio.#TeachingTuesday#StudentsAskScientists#LakeMichigan
Join us at Illinois Beach State Park for Fall Nature Fest, a free, family-friendly event featuring guided hikes, hands-on activities, and interactive exhibits for all ages. Due to the potential for inclement weather, the fun is moving inside the Nature Center. So, stop by, stay dry, and meet specialists from the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant as you explore interactive exhibits that celebrate Illinois’ natural heritage and the beauty of fall along Lake Michigan. We will be hosting the Great Plankton Race, which is a hands-on challenge where you’ll design your own plankton model and race it against others to test your creativity and engineering skills! When: Saturday, October 18th, 10 AM to 2 PM.Where: The Nature Center at Illinois Beach State Park.Register today to receive event updates at the link in bio.
The Center for Great Lakes Literacy has launched a beautifully redesigned website. The star of the show is the Resource Library!Whether you're teaching in a classroom, leading a community program, or just passionate about the Great Lakes, the new hub makes it easier than ever to find lesson plans, activities, videos, and stewardship ideas tailored to your needs.🔗 Visit the link in bio to dive in!#TeachingTuesday
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