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As 2019 winds down, IISG launches new resources to learn about the Great Lakes

December 19th, 2019 by

As 2019 draws to a close, I’m pleased to report that here at Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant, we’ve had a very good year, and that remained the case through the latter months.  

In October, IISG underwent its program site review, which takes place every four years. Through this process, we presented our work from our last omnibus as well as our current activities to the external site review team. The review provides a great opportunity to reflect on our accomplishments and to look forward to new efforts.

The review team was very positive in its response, which, in large part, is due to not only the hard work of the IISG team, but also the great amount of support from our diverse partners, many of whom directly participated in the review.

This fall, we expanded our communication tools and products to share information about the Great Lakes with wider audiences. Inspired by a rich collection of photographs taken by Peter Essick, who works with National Geographic, IISG led the development of a photo essay called Great Lakes Resurgence about Areas of Concern in the region. The Great Lakes Sea Grant Network collaborated to tell the stories of these degraded waterways, to describe the progress of cleanup efforts and report local impacts of coastal restoration.

IISG now has a monthly podcast series, Teach Me about the Great Lakes, which debuted in December. Hosted by Stuart Carlton, the program’s assistant director, the podcast helps Stuart—and listeners—learn about the biology, ecology and natural history of the Great Lakes. Stuart is a social scientist who grew up in the south, so he is fairly new to Great Lakes issues. The first installment dove into concerns about microplastics, which have been found in the Great Lakes and many waterways all over the world. The next episode, available in early January, will focus on the geological history of the Great Lakes.

Autumn also brought awards season for the Sea Grant program, both regionally and nationally. We are proud of Pollution Prevention Specialist Sarah Zack, who was honored with the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network Early Career Award at the regional meeting in Sault St. Marie, Michigan. Irene Miles, strategic communication coordinator, won the Communications Service Award at the Sea Grant Extension Assembly, Communicator and Research Coordinator Conference in Savannah, Georgia. Also at the Savannah meeting, Brian Miller, IISG’s former director, was selected for the William Q. Wick Visionary Career Leadership Award, one of Sea Grant’s most prestigious honors.

As we all look forward to 2020, we wish you the best in the new year. For IISG, 2020 will bring an even greater focus to Lake Michigan. Scientists from around the Great Lakes basin will converge on the lake to conduct intensive research through the Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI). IISG has just released an ESRI story map, Lake Michigan Health: A Deeper Dive, to share the results from the 2015 CSMI field year on Lake Michigan.

The Shipboard Science Workshop will also take place on Lake Michigan in the coming year. During this week-long workshop on the EPA research vessel the Lake Guardian, organized through the Center for Great Lakes Literacy, teachers from the region work side by side with scientists to study one of the Great Lakes. This coming year they set sail on Lake Michigan. We look forward to new science and stories that will emerge from both of these exciting initiatives.

Tomas Höök
Director, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant

 


Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue Extension.

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Valentine’s Day is almost here, and we’ve got you covered! Share our valentine with the one who makes your heart buoyant! 💌And catch up on all the latest IISG news at the link in bio.
Join us in welcoming IISG’s new coastal engineering and community resilience specialist, Sarah Peterson! Sarah’s chief responsibility will be to develop a coastal resilience program along the southern Lake Michigan shoreline. Read more about Sarah and her work at the link in bio.
Attention educators! Only 2 days left to apply!Got summer plans? The Shipboard Science Workshop takes place each year on one of the Great Lakes, and 2025 is Lake Michigan’s turn! Take advantage of this opportunity to work alongside scientists and fellow-educators  aboard the EPA R/V Lake Guardian to engage in real-world research and data collection, enhance your skills, and create innovative lessons. 5-12th grade formal and informal educators from all Great Lakes states are invited to apply for this FREE shipboard workshop sponsored by the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office and facilitated by Great Lakes Sea Grant Network educatorsWorkshop dates: July 7-13, 2025Application deadline: Feb. 10.Learn more at the link in bio.
🚨🚨 New episode alert!🚨🚨 Teach Me About the Great Lakes episode 105 is out!The nonprofit Freshwater Future has had much success working with local communities toward cleaner, safer drinking water. Jill Ryan, executive director, and Ann Baughman, associate director, patiently play Stuart’s favorite game, counting down the top five threats to our drinking water as they know them. SPOILER ALERT: Two of them surprised Stuart.Tune in via the link in bio.
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