Environment

From the shores of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan to the bluffs of La Crosse, the UW System is helping to preserve and enrich the environment and abundant natural resources of our great state. Increasing energy efficiency, purifying the Great Lakes and creating habitats for endangered animals are just a few examples of the environmental goals our institutions are working toward.

  1. History — on the waves: UWL professor, visiting scholar dive deeper into freshwater history

    Photo of Penelope Hardy, associate professor of history, conducting research on oceanic history globally. This summer she works with Visiting Scholar Gillian to create a collection of primary sources on freshwater waterways. Pictures, in addition to books, have helped the two researchers think of all of the different ways people have relationships with water from ice fishing to baptisms.

    September 19, 2023

    Back in the late 1860s, Geologist John Wesley Powell traveled down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon describing natural wonders — powerful water, sandstone canyons and adventurous nights spent in caves. His finished diary, “Down the Colorado” would capture the imagination of Americans curious about life and travel out West. Powell’s trip was sponsored […]

  2. NSF grant funds UW-Eau Claire student-faculty plant pollination research in South Africa

    Photo of three biology students who worked with Dr. Nora Mitchell, an assistant professor of biology, in South Africa this summer collecting research data on plant pollination in one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.

    September 11, 2023

    Dr. Nora Mitchell, an assistant professor of biology, and three University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire biology students spent a month in South Africa this summer collecting research data on plant pollination in one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. Chase Fillion, a senior ecology and environmental biology major from Hastings, Minnesota, called the immersion a once-in-a-lifetime experience […]

  3. Students turn lot into neighborhood attraction, with help from UWM and others

    Photo of Mabel Lamb, executive director of Sherman Park Community Organization, and Steve O’Connell, a Sherman Park neighbor and member of Sherman Park ECO, preparing to cut the ribbon at the grand opening of Postage Stamp Park. (Photo courtesy of MPS/Alvin Connor)

    September 6, 2023

    Residents of Sherman Park have a new place to meet and enjoy being outdoors, thanks to students from nine Milwaukee Public Schools who helped design and build a new community gathering spot at 55th and Center streets. They’re calling it Postage Stamp Park, a nod to the post office next door to the formerly vacant […]

  4. UW-Stout’s largest solar panel array to date installed, boosting campus sustainability

    Photo of an aerial view of south campus academic buildings, displaying the Jarvis Hall Tech Wing solar panel array, lower right / UW-Stout

    September 5, 2023

    Multibuilding energy conservation project also includes lighting and weatherization upgrades UW-Stout’s largest solar photovoltaic array to date has been installed at Jarvis Hall Technology Wing, part of a multibuilding solar and energy efficiency upgrades project. Contracted under Trane Inc., Eagle Point Solar of Dubuque, Iowa, recently installed 560 VSUN solar panels mounted on individually ballasted […]

  5. Green Bay Estuary digital archives collection launch

    Photo in new Green Bay Estuary digital archives

    August 29, 2023

    The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay has a long history of significant water-related research and education programs related to the Green Bay Estuary. Since its beginning, the University has been environmentally focused, with faculty and students creating a long history of water-related research. Now, UW-Green Bay is the state lead for the designation of a Green Bay […]

  6. Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin awards $4.34 million in funding to bolster student training and workforce development in freshwater

    Photo of University of Wisconsin freshwater research (Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin)

    August 17, 2023

    Projects also support research for statewide grand water challenges including PFAS and phosphorus pollution The Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin has awarded more than $4.3 million in funding for 22 projects that will increase research and training opportunities for high school and undergraduate students and will address Wisconsin’s biggest water challenges, including emerging contaminants such as […]

  7. Water-quality monitoring program connects teens to environment – Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin

    Photo of students collecting water data: Data collected by high school students contributes to long-term monitoring of the Fox Valley watershed. (Photo courtesy of Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin)

    August 11, 2023

    When Dana Lex, a science teacher at West De Pere High School, was approached by UW-Green Bay faculty in 2006 to participate in a new water-quality monitoring program, she jumped at the opportunity to create a course that would get students outdoors. “I’ve built my environmental science class around this project, and I feel it […]

  8. UWM Freshwater Sciences grad student makes a splash in the world of aquatic education

    Photo of Pierce VanValkenburg as Mermaid Echo interacting with children attending an educational performance at Discovery World. (UWM Photo/Elora Hennessey)

    August 10, 2023

    Pierce VanValkenburg grew up on the St. Croix River, which flows along the border of Wisconsin and Minnesota and down into the Mississippi. Since a young age, VanValkenburg’s life has been centered around water. Springs and summers were full of boating with family, swimming and watching sunfish the way other kids watched TV. “We spent […]

  9. UWO, UWL biology students use new FTIR spectrometer to study microplastics at ERIC lab

    Photo of UW Oshkosh biology student in ERIC lab

    August 9, 2023

    New technology at a University of Wisconsin Oshkosh lab is allowing students to study microplastics in fish and mussels, giving insight as to what impact the materials might have on the environment and ecosystem. Students are using a new Fourier Transformed Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer to detect and identify microplastic particles in Wisconsin lakes and rivers […]

  10. UW-Madison water resources students get hands-on experience with creek cleanup

    Photo of Terry Bradshaw (left), president of the Menasha River Alliance, giving a rope technique demonstration with UW-Madison student Hannah Agner. (Photo by Bryce Richter/UW-Madison)

    August 4, 2023

    Determined to remove a log from a large pile, several Nelson Institute Water Resources Management students leaned into their ropes in a field at Badger Farms. “You don’t think that just tying a rope around the log and yanking on it is going to do much, especially for me that’s barely over five feet tall,” […]

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