The Lake Guardian is an EPA research vessel that sails the Great Lakes. This brochure provides stats on the ship, explains the variety of research that happens aboard, and highlights the equipment that scientists use to test these waters.

A printer-friendly version of this document is available at https://iiseagrant.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Lake-Guardian-US-Letter-Size-Print.pdf.

A Great Lakes Area of Concern, Muskegon Lake in Michigan has undergone a cleanup through the Great Lakes Legacy Act. As a result, the city of Muskegon has seen environmental, economic, and quality of life benefits.

Citations:

1. Paul Isely Erik Nordman Kendra Robbins Julie Cowie. Muskegon Lake Area of Concern Habitat Restoration Project: Socio-Economic Assessment Revisited. July 2020.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.

Other Resources

• Great Lakes Commission: Assessing the Investment—The Economic Impact of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: A Case Study of Muskegon, Michigan

En Español

Revitalización de Muskegon en español está aquí.


• International Association of Great Lakes Research: Great Lakes Revival: How Restoring Polluted Waters Leads to Rebirth of Great Lakes Communities (pp. 39-46)
• Livability: Transforming Waterfronts Along the Muskegon Lakeshore
• Western Michigan Regional Shoreline Commission: Muskegon River Habitat Restoration at Veteran’s Memorial Park
• NOAA Fisheries: Muskegon Lake Nears Recovery After Years of Restoration
• MiBiz: Arts playing ‘huge role’ in shaping downtown Muskegon through pandemic
• WZZM Channel 13: A successful Muskegon festival season by the numbers
• WOOD Channel 8: ‘Hidden gem’ discovered: Muskegon Lake ripe for development
• FOX Channel 17: Great Lakes cruises bring passengers, revenue to Muskegon
• MLIVE: Marquette to Muskegon: Cruise ships bring big tourism dollars to the Great Lakes 
• Detroit Free Press: Cruise ships to visit Muskegon again after 2 years of COVID-19 cancelations

This program provides the opportunity for educators to borrow actual monitoring equipment used by scientists in the field and for students to experience collecting and analyzing real water-quality data. It is a great way to bring to life the topic of water quality for your students, and bring the outdoors to your classroom or your classroom outdoors!

For more detailed information, visit Limno Loan

A curriculum for integrating real-time buoy data as a teaching tool about Lake Michigan conditions and current issues.

This quick reference guide is a supplement resource for the Know Your H2O water quality testing kit. The guide takes you step-by-step through basic procedures for measuring dissolved oxygen and temperature using the YSI Pro 20i dissolved oxygen meter and pH using an EcoSense pH pen. It also provides testing procedures for La Motte chemical tests to measure alkalinity, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, iron, and phosphate levels in water.

This publication brings together program impacts from the 2018-2019 Sea Grant year.

This brochure is a guide to the characteristics and benefits of selected Illinois plants to help home gardeners choose native plants appropriate for site-specific conditions.

Alternative Version

A screen reader friendly version is available at: https://iiseagrant.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Accessible-Illinois-Native-Plants-for-the-Home-Landscape-Brochure.pdf.

En Español

Plantas Nativas de Illinois en español está aquí.
La publicación para un lector de pantalla está disponible aquí.

This is a quick summary of IISG’s opportunities and resources to help teachers and other educators increase their Great Lakes literacy, and ultimately that of their students.

This curriculum can engage upper elementary and high school students in Great Lakes environmental stewardship. It is designed for schools located in Areas of Concern (AOC) but can apply to any Great Lakes community where large scale environmental cleanup projects are ongoing.