woman places soil around newly planted greenery in rain garden

Angelica Weaver was determined to create a communal gardening and gathering space in the middle of her Hammond, Ind., neighborhood, even if that meant carrying buckets of water from nearby houses to water the plants while she was eight months pregnant. 

Weaver, a social worker and organizer of the InnerMission Neighborhood Farm, said after meeting Purdue Extension educators at a neighborhood meeting, she reached out about assistance in creating a fully functional garden space on a vacant lot that had no access to potable water. Kara Salazar, assistant program leader and Extension specialist for sustainable communities, and Sara McMillan, former associate professor in Agricultural and Biological Engineering, partnered with Purdue Extension to assist the InnerMission Neighborhood Farm, as well as a community garden center in nearby Michigan City. Their team was a collaboration among Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, Minnesota Sea Grant and Pennsylvania Sea Grant programs, all part of the National Sea Grant College Program, a federal/university partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and 34 university-based programs. They were awarded funds to support this work through a national competition aimed at creating water equity with their project “One Block at a Time.” 

Read the full story of how IISG helped create a green space full of life in what was once a vacant lot in an underserved community: https://ag.purdue.edu/news/2022/11/national-sea-grant-partnerships-address-water-equity-in-marginalized-neighborhoods.html.


Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a partnership between NOAA, University of Illinois Extension, and Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources, bringing science together with communities for solutions that work. Sea Grant is a network of 34 science, education and outreach programs located in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Lake Champlain, Puerto Rico and Guam.

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📢 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.
Four science educators from Illinois and Indiana have been selected for the 2025 Shipboard Science Immersion on Lake Michigan July 7-13. The educators will spend a full week alongside researchers aboard the EPA research vessel Lake Guardian. Afterwards, they will bring Great Lakes science back to their classroom. Learn more and meet the four incredible teachers representing Illinois and Indiana at the link in bio.
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