IISG’s Caitie McCoy attended the Seventh International Conference on Remediation of Contaminated Sediments last week to present her community outreach work with the Great Lakes Legacy Act (GLLA). The conference traditionally features environmental scientists and engineers, but that is changing. “We are starting to see more attention paid to community engagement at these types of conferences,” Caitie tells us. “Technical project managers realize that projects are easier to implement when the community understands and supports the work, and so they’re eager to learn from professionals who specialize in community engagement and stakeholder involvement.” 

Caitie presented a poster on her educational program in northwest Indiana, which taught students about the GLLA sediment cleanup at Roxana Marsh on the Grand Calumet River. Instead of presenting a typical scientific poster full of text and graphs, Caitie displayed a mural that her fourth grade students made to represent the Roxana Marsh ecosystem.

“Some of my colleagues were a bit skeptical about me presenting a fourth grade mural to a bunch of technical folks, but I’m not afraid to shake things up,” Caitie said. “I wanted to use something eye-catching that would draw people’s attention toward my poster.” And it worked. Caitie was visited non-stop during the session and talked to more than 100 conference attendees about her program. When asked if she thought her poster made an impact, Caitie replied, “I would never have dreamed that someday engineers would be asking me how to replicate my educational program at their sites, so I take that as a big success.” 

Caitie will expand her programming throughout the Grand Calumet River community in 2013, as the Legacy program begins another phase of dredging this summer.

IISG Instagram

Ready for a party? Join us on the newly-expanded Wild Mile for a celebration of our urban waterways and thriving park spaces. Enjoy local beer, food trucks, and an outdoorsy prize drawing while learning about local environmental nonprofits and volunteer opportunities! This event is free and fun for all ages!The block party is rain-or-shine, and we'll only cancel in the case of hazardous weather!This year’s community partners include @Openlands, Current Water, @chicago_enviro, @cleanupclub_chicago, @chicago_birder, Blazing Star School, @cubillinois, Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail, @chicagoshapers, @reducewastechicago, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, and @honeycombproject!Learn more at the link in bio.
📢 Show Your Support for Sea Grant! 📢Continued federal funding for Sea Grant in FY26 is crucial, and we need your help to demonstrate the nationwide support for these essential programs.🖊️ Sign the letter urging Congress to continue funding Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and all 34 state Sea Grant programs:🔗 https://forms.gle/7sPGHGyh8j8a7vfGA or link in bio
Exciting news! The call for sessions for the 2026 Emerging Contaminants in the Environment Conference has been extended! We are excited to offer the opportunity to propose a speaker or panel session during the 2026 Emerging Contaminants in the Environment Conference April 28-29.  The conference will feature traditional 15-minute presentations and a poster session on the latest in emerging contaminant research, policies, and outreach in the soil, water, and air.The deadline to propose a session is September 30, 2025.Learn more at go.illinois.edu/ecec or the link in bio
Stay safe and have fun this Fourth of July with these 5 water safety tips! Click the link in bio to learn more ways to keep yourself and others safe as you enjoy the Lake Michigan beaches this holiday.
Skip to content