Field Notes

Research

The research team is in its first round of zebra mussel counts. This process involves switching out the current sampler for a clean one, taking back the old one, counting the juvenile and adult mussels, and cleaning/drying them for the next month. Last week also marks the fourth week of running lake water samples for microcystin (MC) in-house. Our research team will be participating in a proficiency testing program for MC sampling in August as another form of quality control on that data. And, as always, the team is sampling 14 local lakes weekly and 12 streams bi-weekly!

Education

This summer, Sarah, our education program specialist, and Sacia, a student team member, are reviewing and refreshing existing program content for Classroom Lake Experience, the aquatic petting zoos, and Lake Adventure Day. They are also networking and collaborating, developing future summer programs, and writing content for the local Junior Master Naturalist program. And that’s only the beginning! Sarah and Sacia have several more projects underway in preparation for this fall.

Collaboration

Dugan, our events coordinator, is organizing a variety of summer and late-summer events with local partners, including ACRES Land Trust, KCV Cycling and Paddlers for Conservation. In late July, keep an eye on our Facebook page for news about a special expedition into Bock Nature Preserve, hosted by ACRES and led by Casey Jones.