{"id":12773,"date":"2025-08-25T09:37:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T14:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=12773"},"modified":"2025-08-25T09:37:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T14:37:11","slug":"bright-futures-in-freshwater-new-course-will-expose-students-to-water-careers-tackling-contamination-issues-with-hands-on-field-and-lab-experience","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/bright-futures-in-freshwater-new-course-will-expose-students-to-water-careers-tackling-contamination-issues-with-hands-on-field-and-lab-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Bright futures in freshwater: New course will expose students to water careers, tackling contamination issues with hands-on field and lab experience"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Photo<\/a>
UWL has great resources to teach water-related courses with the Mississippi River and other waters not far from campus. Faculty regularly teach lab courses with field components that take advantage of the natural surroundings.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wisconsin is fortunate to be rich in water resources, from the shores of the Great Lakes in the east to the mighty Mississippi River in the west. This abundance of rivers, lakes and streams supports a way of life centered around fishing, hunting and outdoor recreation \u2014 industries that contribute billions of dollars annually to the state\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n

But these natural treasures face growing threats.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to protect these water resources from things like invasive species and environmental contaminants,\u201d says Tisha King-Heiden, professor of biology at UW-La Crosse. \u201cSustaining wild fish populations means understanding the impacts that pollutants have on fish, aquatic invertebrates and plants \u2014 because plants feed invertebrates, and invertebrates feed fish. It\u2019s all connected.\u201d<\/p>\n

To address these challenges and prepare the next generation of scientists, King-Heiden has received grant funding from the\u00a0Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin<\/a>\u00a0to develop a new course focused on water quality and aquatic toxicology. The course will combine online instruction with hands-on field and lab components, equipping students with technical skills, professional experience and exposure to water-related careers \u2014 all essential for Wisconsin\u2019s water future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A statewide effort to strengthen water education<\/h3>\n
\"Photo:<\/a>
Tisha King-Heiden, Biology, is developing a new course focused on water quality and aquatic toxicology with grant funding from the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin. Here a student in King-Heiden’s lab studies the impact of pollutants on fish at early stages of life.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

King-Heiden\u2019s course is part of a broader $2.4 million grant coordinated by Rebecca Klaper, UW-Milwaukee Dean of the School Freshwater Sciences. The six-year grant will build capacity for water-related careers and research across the state through new university courses, outreach to recruit high school students, and expanded internship opportunities for undergraduate students. Partners on the grant come from diverse Universities of Wisconsin institutions, including UW-Eau Claire, UW-Green Bay, UW-Madison, UW-Oshkosh, UW-Parkside, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Whitewater, and UW-La Crosse.<\/p>\n

A hands-on learning experience<\/h3>\n

King-Heiden\u2019s contribution to the project builds on an introductory course in water pollution she co-developed with Elisabeth Harrahy (UW-Whitewater) and Mike Carvan (UW-Milwaukee). Now, the team aims to make the introductory, online course permanent, and expand it to include a summer hybrid course, including online content combined with summer field and lab experiences.<\/p>\n

The course will be offered for the first time at UWL in summer 2026 or 2027. It will be open to students across the Universities of Wisconsin, though it will be hosted on the UWL campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cUWL students are strong participants in summer courses and research, so we\u2019re hoping to recruit locally as we launch,\u201d King-Heiden says.<\/p>\n

At UWL, students will gain valuable field experience aboard the university\u2019s\u00a0Research Vessel Prairie Springs<\/a>, where they will collect environmental samples for toxicity testing with aquatic invertebrates and fish embryos. They’ll gather invertebrates from streams and rivers, learning field techniques that are directly applicable to careers in aquatic ecology and toxicology.<\/p>\n

In the lab, students will analyze their samples through a range of tests \u2014 from behavioral assessments to molecular assays \u2014 offering a comprehensive look at how environmental contaminants affect aquatic life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want students to understand the full picture \u2014 from field collection to lab analysis,\u201d says King-Heiden. \u201cThey\u2019ll also gain experience working in teams, managing experiments, and communicating results \u2014 skills that are just as important as technical training.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Career preparation and exposure to real-world issues<\/h3>\n
\"Photo:<\/a>
Tisha King-Heiden, Biology, received a teaching grant from the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin. The five-year project, Programmatic Funding Building Capacity for Water Careers, Education, and Freshwater Policy Connections, is coordinated with Rebecca Klaper (UW-Milwaukee) and Elisabeth Harrahy (UW-Whitewater), and involves faculty from several Universities of Wisconsin campuses.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The course aims to introduce students not only to the science of aquatic toxicology, but also to the career opportunities it presents \u2014 particularly in Wisconsin. Toxicity testing, for example, is a key area of employment in the state. Organizations like the\u00a0Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene<\/a>\u00a0generate data used by the Department of Natural Resources to establish water quality standards.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are great jobs that many students haven\u2019t heard about,\u201d King-Heiden says. \u201cThere are very few undergraduate toxicology programs, and most of this training happens at the graduate level. This course gives students an earlier entry point.\u201d<\/p>\n

The curriculum will cover both legacy contaminants like lead and mercury, as well as emerging threats such as PFAS and neonicotinoids \u2014 chemicals that are widespread in the environment but not yet fully understood in terms of their long-term impacts on fish and human health.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of our students are also interested in healthcare careers,\u201d King-Heiden adds. \u201cUnderstanding how environmental toxicants contribute to disease helps them see how this work connects to human health as well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Building a statewide network of water scholars<\/h3>\n
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\"Photo:<\/a>
At right, Ross Vander Vorste, assistant professor of biology, pictured during a Coon Creek field trip with students.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In addition to King-Heiden\u2019s course, fellow UWL biology faculty member Ross Vander Vorste received Freshwater Collaborative funding to launch a new River Studies Field Course. This immersive program will provide 10\u201320 undergraduates\u2014known as River Scholars\u2014with the opportunity to explore Wisconsin\u2019s major water challenges.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over the course of a three-day canoe trip, students will gain skills in river navigation and safety, teamwork, and problem solving. They will participate in a diverse set of instructor-led field lessons and meet industry, non-profit and agency professionals that will introduce them to careers from a variety of freshwater disciplines. \u00a0The program culminates with a day on the Research Vessel Prairie Springs, using state-of-the-art river research and monitoring equipment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Creating pathways for students to say in Wisconsin<\/h3>\n

Ultimately, the goal of these programs is to inspire students to pursue water-related careers right here in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudents care deeply about the environment and about contamination issues,\u201d says King-Heiden. \u201cBut until now, there hasn\u2019t been a clear undergraduate path into aquatic toxicology. This course helps fill that gap.\u201d<\/p>\n

And in a field where the problems aren\u2019t going away anytime soon, there\u2019s no shortage of work to be done.<\/p>\n

\u201cJobs in aquatic toxicology are exciting because you’re never doing the same thing twice,\u201d she says. \u201cI hope this class helps students get just as passionate about this work as I am.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Written by UW-La Crosse<\/p>\n

Link to original story: https:\/\/www.uwlax.edu\/news\/posts\/bright-futures-in-freshwater\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wisconsin is fortunate to be rich in water resources, from the shores of the Great Lakes in the east to the mighty Mississippi River in the west. This abundance of rivers, lakes and streams supports a way of life centered around fishing, hunting and outdoor recreation \u2014 industries that contribute billions of dollars annually to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":12775,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[104],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-12773","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-la-crosse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/12773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12773"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=12773"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=12773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}