November 7th, 2012 by Irene Miles
Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s education team led a workshop for teachers and administrators in the Blue Island, Illinois school district recently, offering lessons, materials, and training on bringing Great Lakes science to their classrooms.
Susan Ask, who works with IISG’s Lawn to Lake program, sent along some details about the workshop and the enthusiastic reception from the teachers:
“We had a fun and energetic workshop with teachers and principals in the Blue Island School District. The workshop focused on water quality and drew on three major initiatives within Sea Grant: Lawn to Lake, the Great Lakes Field Experiences for Watershed Educators (B-WET), and Increasing Citizen Involvement and Great Lakes Literacy (Center for Great Lakes Literacy).
We began with the basic definition and ecology of watersheds, then moved to an exploration of watershed and water quality issues brought on by urbanization, landscaping practices, and waste disposal. Teachers learned basic ecology that they can teach in their classrooms. We identified point- and non-point sources of pollution and talked about available solutions for individuals and communities to adopt.
After a presentation and discussion, we toured the recently installed rain gardens in the courtyard at Blue Island Elementary School so we could see theory put in to practice. The courtyard contains a rich variety of native plants that creates a beautiful garden throughout the year while also managing and controlling rainwater. Runoff from the roofs will be collected in rain barrels all around the building, and can then be used on the landscape as needed.
The watershed model was a big hit. We used a three-dimensional model of a watershed, with rivers and lakes, houses, farms, factories, water treatment facilities and other developments, to see how water and pollutants move through the community. Teachers will be able to borrow this model for use in their classes, helping students understand the connection between people, land use, and water. But we didn’t just look at problems. The model also let us see how natural lawn care, rain gardens, rain barrels, permeable pavement, and other practices can help prevent pollution and reduce runoff.
We showcased many of the program’s Great Lakes curricula – Fresh and Salt, Greatest of the Great Lakes, and Sensible Disposal of Unwanted Medicines. Teachers broke into groups to experience some of these classroom activities and share how they might incorporate them in their lessons. They also learned how the Great Lakes Literacy Principles will be a great way to introduce current Great Lakes issues to their students.
Most of the teachers told us that they haven’t yet integrated Great Lakes information in their educational activities, but that they plan to do so now after learning more about water quality and educational resources at the workshop.
We’re very excited to see these dedicated teachers assist and guide their students to learn more about the Great Lakes, water quality, and practical stewardship of water and land.”
In addition to Susan, the workshop was also led by IISG’s Robin Goettel and Terri Hallesy. If you are interested in educational materials and opportunities for yourself or teachers in your school/district, contact Robin or Terri at the links above or visit us online to learn more.
November 6th, 2012 by Irene Miles
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The research buoy launched off the coast of Michigan City, IN earlier this fall has been brought inland for winter, but will return to the water next spring for its first full season monitoring environmental conditions in Lake Michigan’s nearshore waters.
It has been less than two months since the buoy began feeding real-time data to the IISG website. In that short time, though, the data has been used by scientists, anglers, and boaters alike to better predict weather conditions, target where to fish, and identify the safest times to be out on the lake. Many of these users have reached out to IISG with feedback on the buoy and the website.
“We have heard from so many different groups of people, from recreational paddlers to research scientists, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Carolyn Foley, IISG assistant research coordinator. “People are grateful to have data for an area that was previously not being monitored.”
More than 500 people have visited the website since it went live in early September to see real-time snapshots of lake conditions or to examine trends shown over 24-hour and 5-day periods. IISG staff members have heard from sailors, kayakers, anglers, and local residents who say they plan to regularly use the information collected on wave height, water temperatures, and wind speed before venturing from shore. Sailors from Indianapolis told IISG that the up-to-date information on lake conditions will help them more safely make their seasonal trip from St. Joseph, MI to Michigan City. The same data will also be used by fisheries researchers at the Purdue University West Lafayette campus to determine when to make the two-hour drive up to the lake for sampling trips.
The collected data has also been used by researchers to improve models used to predict weather and current changes. For example, the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Northern Indiana was able to adjust its forecast for wave heights by several feet in mid-October based on the real-time data from the buoy. Engineers from other federal agencies have also requested data to use in models designed to examine the movement of water and heat in lower Lake Michigan.
The buoy’s launch also attracted regional press coverage that continued well after it was placed in the water. Indiana TV and newspapers were joined by news outlets from Illinois and Michigan—including the Detroit Free Press—in their coverage. The launch was also featured in trade blogs such as the Environmental Monitor and recreational forums like the Great Lakes Angler Forum.
Although real-time data will not be available while the buoy is in winter storage, an archive of the information collected from early September to late October of this year will be released in the coming months. Visit www.iiseagrant.org/buoy for more information.
September 10th, 2012 by Irene Miles
A two-part article on WKSU’s website delves into recent research attempting to understand the causes of harmful and often very large algal blooms in Lake Erie. The potential negative impacts these blooms can have include depleting nutrients from the waterway, endangering fish and wildlife health, and causing economic concerns by prohibiting or discouraging recreation, tourism, and other industries.
Part one of the article delves into one major contributor identified by the research: agriculture.
“Financial viability is the bottom line for most farmers here along the Maumee River. The Maumee passes through 4.5-million acres of farmland before entering Lake Erie at Toledo. Along the way it picks up a lot of topsoil from farm fields. Attached to that soil are fine particles of phosphorus, one of the nutrients that helps crops grow, but also feeds algae blooms. No-till farming has reduced particulate phosphorus runoff by nearly 40-percent. But researchers from Heidelberg University say their thirty years of water quality data shows that another form of phosphorus – called dissolved phosphorus – has risen dramatically in recent years. And to reduce that nutrient enough to curb Lake Erie algae blooms will take a whole new set of techniques.”
The second article describes another common source of phosphorous and other problem substances – stormwater and sewage.
“The sport fishing industry, beach resorts, amusement parks – all took a hit from the 2011 algae outbreak. Connor says cities …not just farms…have to do more to stay on top of it.
Overflows from sewage systems that collect storm water and waste water are a fairly regular occurrence in Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit and other communities around the lake. And it’s a huge cost to fix it.”
There is a lot of interesting information in both articles, and the occurrence of and concern over these algal blooms isn’t limited to Lake Erie. All of the Great Lakes and other nearby waterways can be susceptible, so the results of studies such as these are important in helping communities prevent the same types of problems in their areas. Our friends at Michigan Sea Grant have produced a brochure for beach managers that outlines more information about algal blooms, and IISG has produced a card for homeowners that explains how to properly care for your lawn without contributing to the phosphorous problem.
August 14th, 2012 by Irene Miles
Many educators incorporate plants and animals into their classrooms for educational purposes, but those plants and animals have the potential to become or transport invasive species to new areas.
“The study, led by Oregon Sea Grant Extension’s invasive species expert Sam Chan, was presented at this week’s national meeting of the Ecological Society of America in Portland.
‘Live organisms are a critical element for learning and we don’t want to imply that they should not be used in the classroom,’ said Chan. ‘But some of our schools – and the biological supply houses that provide their organisms – are creating a potential new pathway for non-native species to become invasive.’”
There is more information available at the link above, and at our page about safely disposing of classroom specimens.
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.
August 7th, 2012 by Irene Miles
Seventh-grade teacher Kimiko Pettis participated in this year’s Windy City Earth Force project in partnership with Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and the Calumet Environmental Education Program at The Field Museum, where she learned about the GLRI-funded Stewardship Project Contest (PDF). Ms. Pettis was selected as one of three award-winning teachers, and her students at Thomas Hoyne Elementary in Chicago helped educate their local community about the importance of properly using and disposing of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCP).
The class’ first step was to research the subject of PPCPs, how to dispose of them, and what effects they can have if they’re allowed into the water. The class invited IISG staffers and representatives from the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum to provide hands-on activities teaching them about water quality.
Then they put what they had learned into action by making posters and flyers that they posted in local churches, businesses, and shops. They also conducted a school-wide survey about water quality to find out what their fellow students knew about the issues, and wrote letters to legislators and environmental agencies detailing what they had learned about threats to water safety.
At the end, the students produced a great video skit to share with their fellow students at the school, and they participated in the Ford Environmental Leadership Summit at the Field Museum on May 8, 2012, where they were able to display the posters and flyers they had made and engage with the attendees to talk about proper disposal of PPCPs.
Ms. Pettis and two teachers in Pennsylvania will each receive a $100 gift certificate to use for education resources as an award for their excellence in fostering student engagement and stewardship.
The contest, sponsored by Sea Grant Programs in Pennsylvania, Illinois-Indiana, and New York will continue throughout the 2012-13 school year, and complete details are included in the PDF linked above.
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!
May 23rd, 2012 by Irene Miles
Community members, stakeholders, and several agencies have been involved in an extensive cleanup project in Muskegon Lake for the last few years, and just this month they celebrated the project’s completion.
The Great Lakes Legacy Act project began with the development of a master plan and secured funding, with the goal of cleaning and restoring the lake’s natural habitats. By doing so, fish and wildlife populations can be restored, and the lake will be cleaner and safer for recreational use as well.
Caitie McCoy, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant’s environmental social scientist, has been heavily involved in several remediation and community outreach projects, including outreach for the EPA during the entire Muskegon Lake cleanup and restoratio
n.
Caitie wrote to update us on the great progress that they’ve made restoring the lake. “The project
removed 43,000 cubic yards of sediment contaminated with polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and mercury from Muskegon Lake, which flows into Lake Michigan. It also included habitat restoration in the area.”
Caitie was onsite for the project completion, and worked with John Karl from Wisconsin Sea Grant to compile video footage. That footage will be part of a video being produced about Great Lakes Legacy Act cleanup projects including Muskegon Lake. Check back here to the blog later this year when we’ll have the video posted.
(Pictured above is Dennis Kirksey of Muskegon Lake Watershed Partnership, a landowner in the area who played a large role in helping the project reach completion.)
May 10th, 2012 by Irene Miles
Sometimes, what can be considered a problem in one area of the world might prove to be a solution to a problem somewhere else on the globe. One such case is the use of Asian Carp as a high-protein food source for Haitian children impacted by the devastating earthquake in January of 2010.
From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:
“Some innovative thinking is now turning the problem fish into a high-quality protein source for the children at Zanmi Beni, run by Operation Blessing International. Researchers at NOAA’s Louisiana Sea Grant program and the Louisiana State University (LSU) AgCenter have successfully produced canned Asian carp pleasing to the Haitian palate. Ultimately, the product could deliver high-quality protein to people in need, be a boon to fishermen, provide a new opportunity for canneries, and reduce the population of an unwanted invasive species.”
Louisiana Sea Grant Fisheries Specialist Julie Anderson attended IISG’s Asian Carp summit and was able to network with several people including Carol Engle of the University of Arkansas. Carol’s work had involved developing a USDA-approved process for canning Asian Carp, making it possible to safely prepare, store, and ship the food where it was needed.
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