Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant

Welcome to 2026! Follow us along this week as we showcase the incredible world
of crayfish. With around 400 species of crayfish across the US and nearly half being threatened
by development, pollution, or other human-made factors, there’s never been a more important
time to celebrate these remarkable creatures.
Crayfish hold incredible significance and are recognized as key components of healthy
freshwater ecosystems. They’re small creatures with big impact!



Illinois Natural History Survey
National Sea Grant College Program
PuUniversity of Illinois Extension
Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources
Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences at Illinois

Our team will be joining the fun and bringing our plankton nets along to sample zooplankton from the lake! A great chance to see some live Great Lakes science in action.

We're one week out from our event at Steelworkers Park and we've added more friends!

We're so excited to welcome Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and West Lawn Conservation Club to the team to share their knowledge of Lake Michigan and birds with us!

Join us for this fun night out at an iconic Chicago park. Registration is encouraged but not required.

Learn more here: https://eeaoi.wildapricot.org/event-6752643

Educators got hands-on with water science this spring at our Project WET Make-and-Take Workshops! From becoming water droplets in The Incredible Journey to taking home classroom-ready activity kits, participants explored engaging ways to connect students with water systems and the Great Lakes. 🌊

Read more: https://cgll.org/resource/bringing-water-education-to-life-in-chicago/



NOAA Education
National Great Rivers Research and Education Center

Bringing Water Education to Life in Chicago Chicagoland educators explore water in Hands-on H2O: Project WET Make-and-Take Workshops hosted by Illinois–Indiana Sea Grant.

Last week was a busy one for our education team, and one of the days that stood out was our partnership with C-PASA, the Cargill-Purdue Agriculture and STEM Academy, to give high school students a full day of Forestry and Natural Resources career experiences. 🌿🐦

Students got an up-close bird-banding demonstration, learned about wood products and sustainability, explored aquatics, and discussed the role of social sciences in natural resources work. It was a wonderful mix of disciplines that gave students a real sense of how broad and varied a career in this field can be.

Thank you to C-PASA for the opportunity. Days like this are a good reminder of why career-connected learning matters. 💙

(All bird handling was performed by licensed professionals.)

Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources

From sailing to science! This summer, our staff spent an inspiring afternoon with the amazing young women of Sail Her Dreams at Montrose Harbor! Campers explored Great Lakes food webs, investigated aquatic invasive species, fished for round gobies, and gained the knowledge and tools to help protect Lake Michigan.


University of Illinois
Prairie Research
NOAA Education

Join us for an evening of science, history, and conversation this Wednesday, July 22 at Sketchbook Brewing Company.

Learn how Chicago’s waterways were built, what researchers are discovering about fish in the Chicago River today, and test your Great Lakes knowledge with trivia and prizes.

No science background required. Just bring your curiosity!

National Sea Grant College Program
NOAA Education
University of Illinois Extension
Evanston Environmental Association
City of Evanston Illinois Government
Climate Action Evanston
Go Green Wilmette
Go Green Winnetka
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Shedd Aquarium

Happy World Emoji Day! 🌊 Can you guess our programs just from emojis? Drop your guesses below and swipe for the answers. Curious about any of them? Search for them at iiseagrant.org!

Purdue Forestry and Natural Resources
National Sea Grant College Program
University of Illinois Extension

Paddle into science! In this new activity from the Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System (GLANSIS), learners become aquatic researchers as they kayak or paddle to collect floating species cards, identify aquatic nonindigenous species, and discover how these organisms affect our waterways. A fun, hands-on way to explore ecology from the water!

Learn more: https://cgll.org/resource/lesson-paddling-for-preservation-searching-for-aquatic-invasive-species/

Michigan Sea Grant

Lesson: Paddling for Preservation: Searching for Aquatic Invasive Species Paddling For Preservation introduces learners to identifying aquatic nonindigenous species and using paddling vessels for research.

Big congratulations to our 2026 Aquaculture Challenge teams! Eight teams from Illinois took part in this year’s competition, submitting four projects to the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network and Lake Superior State University competition co-chaired by Michigan Sea Grant.

Two of those teams brought home awards. Team 7th Orange from Mahomet Seymour Junior High School won both the Outreach Award for their community engagement work and the Tech Savvy Award for their monitoring plan. Their classmates on Team 7th Blue also took home the Business Experts Award for their business plan.

Over four months, these students designed and built aquaponics systems, developed business plans, and shared what they learned with their communities, all while picking up skills in chemistry, biology, teamwork, and creative problem solving. We could not be prouder of what they accomplished.

Registration opens late 2026 for the 2027 competition. If you know a student who loves hands on science, this is worth watching for.

For more information: https://www.michiganseagrant.org/educational-programs/aquaculture-challenge/