May 5th, 2015 by iisg_superadmin
Last month, the U.S. EPA awarded University of Illinois at Chicago and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign first and second prizes in their Campus RainWorks Challenge. The national competition recognizes student-led green infrastructure plans and projects to manage stormwater on campus. Eliana Brown, has been following the UIUC plan from the beginning.
The first time I heard that landscapes could be designed to improve water quality, it was a revelation. I knew about the highly-effective bioremediation treatment cells at industrial facilities. But, the fact that the landscapes we walk through in our daily lives could have that power was exciting. What came to be known as “green infrastructure” is an elegant blend of landscape architecture and civil engineering that places of higher learning should embrace.
The EPA Office of Water seems to agree. Since 2012, it has invited students to design innovative green infrastructure projects to show how managing rainfall in a more natural way can benefit their community and the environment.
Because I’m fond of the small creek running through the University of Illinois’ engineering college—known as Boneyard Creek—I have always wanted to see an entry from my campus. This year, I got my wish and then some. U.S. EPA announced on Earth Day that “Reverse Engineering: The Engineering Campus as Catalyst,” a master plan designed by a multi-disciplinary team of UIUC students under the direction of landscape architecture instructor Tawab Hlimi earned 2nd place. According to the EPA, 64 teams from 23 states submitted entries.
The plan focuses on improving water quality in Boneyard Creek by installing green streets, roof catchments, bioswales, and rain gardens in the surrounding area. Native plants and pollinator habitats are also proposed to boost the creeks’ ecological role and create more recreational opportunities.
Building off this success, Hlimi and teaching assistant Faezeh Ashtiani showed the plan along with the work of their spring semester students in an exhibit called “Reverse Engineering: Reconfiguring the Urban-Riparian Interface” at [CO] [LAB] in downtown Urbana. Students expanded on the Campus RainWorks plan upstream and in other parts of campus, including three visions of Dorner Driver Retention Pond that add water quality filtration to the existing water storage function.
Looking to the future, Hlimi has applied for a Student Sustainability Committee grant to build a multi-purpose demonstration rain garden.
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September 29th, 2014 by iisg_superadmin
Caitie McCoy, our environmental social scientist, writes in today to tell us about a unique education experience:
Last week, I ventured out of the office and into the field to hit the waters of the recently restored Wolf Lake with about 200 students from Hammond, IN. The weather was perfect for two days of canoeing and environmental education. Compassion for nature starts in childhood, so when asked by some partners at U.S. EPA, I jumped at the chance to help provide youth with such a meaningful outdoor experience.
We began our first day with an energetic greeting from Wilderness Inquiry, a national non-profit that aims to get as many city kids on the water as possible. The majority of the students had never been on any kind of boat before, but a friendly sun and slight breeze helped to calm a lot of nerves.
Students went out on the canoes in waves throughout the day, learning how to paddle and touring many restoration features. There were a lot of beautiful sites to see, including an egret that sat as still as a statue for hours on an island full of colorful native plants. Goldenrod, blue asters, and red maples dotted the landscape. With all the natural beauty surrounding us, we almost forgot that we were located in the middle of one of the country’s top industrial powerhouses .
The EPA team and I stayed busy providing the students with learning experiences as they waited for their turn on the canoes. We brought the Enviroscape, and it was a hit. Students loved the interactive nature of the game and learned a lot about their local watershed and what they can do to protect it from different pollution sources. We also took them on hikes by the lake, picking up litter and identifying different plant species.
We had a lot of fun teaching, but I must admit, the highlight of my two days at Wolf Lake was jumping into a canoe and paddling around on the calm water with the students. It was rewarding to see high school students drop their guard and excitedly point out different shorebirds or hear them discuss the need to clean up the pollution in northwest Indiana, completely unprompted by an adult.
I’m grateful for our partnership with Wilderness Inquiry, and I hope to join them again next year. The opportunity is just too meaningful to miss!
September 26th, 2014 by iisg_superadmin
The U.S. EPA announced a new plan to improve water quality and restore habitats in the Great Lakes earlier this week during a meeting of region’s mayors in Chicago. The five-year plan, known as the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan II, calls for a dramatic expansion of urban stormwater management projects and a more than 1,400 ton reduction in phosphorus fertilizer runoff. It also roughly doubles the number of acres covered by efforts to control invasive species and requires that new wetlands include plants that can thrive as climate change brings warmer temperatures.
From The New York Times
It builds on a four-year initiative, begun in President Obama’s first term, that has already spent $1.6 billion on more than 2,100 restoration projects on the lakes’ American side. The added initiative, which extends through 2019, is expected to cost roughly the same.
The government says the project is the largest conservation program in the nation’s history, involving 15 federal agencies and the eight Great Lakes states. Read more
In addition to laying out new strategies, the latest phase of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative continues efforts to clean up Areas of Concern across the region, where polluted water and contaminated sediment pose a risk to wildlife and public health. Five of these largely industrial rivers and harbors have been restored in the last four years, and 10 more are slated for cleanup by 2019.
November 20th, 2012 by Irene Miles
Last week, representatives from over 260 member organizations, students, educators, were joined by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant staff at the Chicago Wilderness Congress 2012. The overall theme of the congress was “Shaping the Future of Regional Conservation,” and numerous presentations and panels offered information on green infrastructure, climate action, research, restoration, and more. 600 attendees from northeastern Illinois, northwest Indiana, and southeast Wisconsin helped make the event exciting and educational, bringing in examples of their conservation and environmental work.
IISG’s Caitie McCoy and EPA research fellow Nishaat Yunus presented “Making the Invisible Visible: Engaging Children in Sediment Remediation of the Grand Calumet River,” which fit into the coalition’s education initiative and focus. The presentation described an educational program at two schools in Northwest Indiana designed to connect local youth to the Grand Calumet River Area of Concern while building scientific literacy. One challenge was to make a seemingly “invisible” problem like contaminated sediment “visible” and relevant to children living near the river. The students participated in the educational program from early February to June 2012, and attended a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency press event about the Great Lakes Legacy Act in June. Through presentations, engaging activities, and field trips, more than 120 students in 4th and 9th grades became familiar with Great Lakes Legacy Act remediation and restoration work and important ecological concepts. The 4th grade students learned about habitats, sediment, pollution, and invasive species, and the 9th grade class learned how to perform data collection, analysis, and reporting with the water samples they collected on a field trip to the river.
At the congress, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant was also able to exhibit several education and outreach projects focused on community stewardship, including aquatic invasive species, proper pharmaceutical disposal, and habitat restoration, as well as program initiatives and accomplishments.
IISG’s Kristin TePas summed up the event by saying, “The Chicago Wilderness Congress was a great opportunity to connect with conservation practitioners in the Chicago region and to learn about the various projects occurring locally.”
You can read more about the conference, including detailed presentation descriptions, at the Chicago Wilderness website.
November 19th, 2012 by Irene Miles
The ways for aquatic invasive species to be spread or introduced to waterways run the gamut, from bait buckets to trailers to…your loyal companion.
Wildlife Forever, a non-profit organization, has launched a campaign to let hunters know how they can help prevent the spread of AIS.
From The Great Lakes Echo:
“The non-profit Wildlife Forever received a $233,830 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to help teach hunters how to prevent aquatic hitchhikers.
The campaign will teach hunters to properly clean waders, waterfowl decoys and even hunting dogs to avoid transporting invasive species. The clean, drain, dry technique is the most effective way to prevent the transport of invasive species between different bodies of waters, according to the group.”
Visit the link above to find out more about the campaign, and to see some PSA videos that were recently produced about the Clean, Drain, Dry message.
October 12th, 2012 by Irene Miles
The U.S. EPA recently awarded a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant to the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust to help them in their fight against some of the most common and invasive plant species that have taken hold in Wisconsin wetlands.
“This quest received a financial boost last week when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded a $448,663 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant to the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust. In return, the group and its partners will inventory and eliminate the most aggressive of invasive plants in wetlands and waterways in the six counties.
Graff, executive director of the land trust, said work will continue the rest of this year on locating each infestation. The organization is working with other land trusts in the region, the Wisconsin Land and Water Conservation Association and River Alliance of Wisconsin to curb the threat posed by the exotic plants.”
Follow the link above for the complete article, including information on other groups across seven Great Lakes states that received funds to help fight invasive species.
August 10th, 2012 by Irene Miles
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Community outreach specialist Kristin TePas rinses a
PONAR dredge used to collect sediment containing
benthic organisms. |
IISG staff members
Paris Collingsworth and
Kristin TePas are sailing on the research vessel
Lake Guardian this week on both Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, assisting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with its annual monitoring program. The USEPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office is responsible for monitoring the offshore water quality for all five of the Great Lakes in order to assess their health. The water quality surveys take place every spring and summer and include, among other things, assessments for phosphorus and dissolved oxygen in the open waters, as well as phytoplankton, zooplankton, and benthic (bottom-dwelling) organisms.
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IISG Great Lakes ecosystem specialist
Paris Collingsworth deploys a net to
collect zooplankton. |
From the U.S. EPA:
“The Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO) of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) is responsible for monitoring the offshore water quality of the Great Lakes to evaluate water quality over time and identify any emerging water quality problems. Comprehensive water quality surveys are conducted in all five Great Lakes in both the spring, when the water is cold and well mixed, and in the summer, when the lakes are biologically active. The R/V Lake Guardian is currently being used to conduct the summer water quality survey.”
More information about the EPA’s Great Lakes monitoring program is available
at their site.
July 31st, 2012 by Irene Miles
Fourteen teachers from throughout the Great Lakes basin embarked on the learning opportunity of a lifetime this month, taking part in a week-long workshop aboard the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s research vessel
Lake Guardian. They explored first-hand Lake Huron’s geology, limnology (freshwater science), and ecology, with a special focus on the food web as it relates to Huron’s fisheries.
The teachers worked side-by-side with scientists learning a great deal about what comprises research on the Great Lakes. They assisted with the collection of planktonic and benthic organisms, as well as gathering water quality data. They also explored Great Lakes curriculum and discussed how to integrate this information in their classrooms. You can see visit their blog and learn more at cossegreatlakes.net. This program is offered annually by
EPA’s Great Lakes National Program Office and the
Great Lakes Sea Grant Network. If you are an educator, consider applying next year for the cruise on Lake Ontario!
June 8th, 2012 by Irene Miles
IISG’s Caitie McCoy has been heavily involved in the Sheboygan River AOC project, helping to provide information to the community and to all of the agencies and individuals involved in the project.
The cleanup and remediation of the area is well underway, and a new publication answers the most common and important questions that community members have had about the project.
Available now for download, the pamphlet “A Cleaner, Deeper River Coming Soon!” addresses questions ranging from specific areas that will be dredged, disposal of the polluted materials that are removed, and positive impacts for wildlife and the community once the project is complete.
You can learn more about the work in Sheboygan on the project website.
Because I’m fond of the small creek running through the University of Illinois’ engineering college—known as Boneyard Creek—I have always wanted to see an entry from my campus. This year, I got my wish and then some. U.S. EPA announced on Earth Day that “Reverse Engineering: The Engineering Campus as Catalyst,” a master plan designed by a multi-disciplinary team of UIUC students under the direction of landscape architecture instructor Tawab Hlimi earned 2nd place. According to the EPA, 64 teams from 23 states submitted entries.
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