Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin

09/03/2026

Best wishes to new and returning students for a fantastic fall semester!

08/26/2026

Did you know that peatlands are natural powerhouses that clean our water, reduce flood risks, provide vital wildlife habitats, and store massive amounts of carbon. Yet, most people are unaware of these important ecological places.

Researchers and students from UW-Green Bay and University of Wisconsin-Madison are trying to change that. Read more about their research and check out the trail guides they are producing for students and community members!

https://freshwater.wisconsin.edu/wisconsins-peatlands/

08/20/2026

Summer in Wisconsin. There's nothing like it! For students in our programs, it's been a summer of new skills, new friends, new experiences and lots and lots of smiles! To our UW faculty and staff partners across the state, thanks for training the next generation and creating some great memories!

What was your favorite freshwater experience this summer?

08/10/2026

We love supporting this project. The DAM Crew exemplifies collaboration at its best. It is a cooperative effort involving University of Wisconsin-River Falls, the City of River Falls, the Kiap-TU-Wish Chapter of Trout Unlimited, the Kinni Corridor Collaborative and Inter-Fluve.

So many students have gained valuable work experience on the DAM Crew, AND the entire River Falls community is benefiting.

For a fifth year, students from Universities of Wisconsin campuses stepped into the Kinnickinnic River in River Falls to gather data that tracks the ecological health of the river in advance of an expected dam removal project. The students spent two weeks working with faculty on the Dam Analysis and Monitoring Crew, DAM Crew for short, before wrapping up the program with a group presentation of their work on Friday, July 31. Learn more at www.uwrf.edu/newsroom/2026/08/students-get-hands-experience-monitoring-kinnickinnic-river-river-falls-advance

08/05/2026

The Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve became a classroom for teachers this summer. Educators from Wisconsin and Ohio learned how to connect classroom teaching with real-world environmental challenges and solutions across the Great Lakes region.

Our support helped partners at UW-Green Bay organize a group of area teachers from the Green Bay region who were excited to participate.

https://freshwater.wisconsin.edu/lake-superior-classroom/

07/30/2026

Kudos to students in Tanner C. Knorr, Ph.D.’s REC 360: Sustainable Tourism course at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse! Their semester-long research on Lake Onalaska along the Mississippi River shows how important the lake is to the region, both economically and recreationally.

Their extensive report will be a valuable tool for the Brice Prairie Conservation Association, an organization that focuses on protecting and improving the habitat around Lake Onalaska.

📊 Key Research Takeaways:
✅ 79% of residents approve of dredging the lake.
✅ 73% support increased funding for restoration efforts.
✅ 65% approve of vegetation removal.
✅ 65% are in favor of supporting increased local taxes to fund cleanup and maintenance.

This project gave students hands-on research and community engagement experience — AND it gave local conservationists actionable data to back up future grant proposals. Win-win!

07/28/2026

High schoolers from Wisconsin and Illinois got the chance to explore freshwater science and what it could be like to attend UW-Oshkosh. They spent three days with university students and faculty, collecting and analyzing water samples, looking at algae under a microscope, hanging out in the dorms and learning just how fun a career in water can be!

Two dozen high school students from Wisconsin and beyond, received first-hand experience in the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin's Summer Freshwater High School Experience at UW-Oshkosh, introducing students to studies that can lead to careers in freshwater science and engineering.

07/23/2026

It's been so fun to follow the career paths of some of the students who interned with Jacobs Solutions Inc. on Wisconsin's Service Line Inventory Project.

We worked with UW-Oshkosh to help Jacobs quickly hire interns across the state to complement their staffing needs. It's been a fantastic partnership for everyone! Feel free to reach out if you want help identifying potential interns or entry level hires to work in water-related fields.

https://freshwater.wisconsin.edu/partnership-on-lead-pipe-project-leads-to-water-jobs/

07/22/2026

We love that the Peninsula Pulse Newspaper featured an amazing freshwater course at UW-Oshkosh. Students gained hands-on experience learning about water quality testing and recycling in two of Wisconsin's most beautiful location: Door County and Land O' Lakes.

Students from any UW school can enroll. Learn more about the course on our website!

A weeklong field program took students from creeks to wastewater plants to brewery tanks, testing water at every stage of its journey  In Door County, we are blessed to have […]