Water Words

Summer 2025

Happy Summer!

It’s time to enjoy the beautiful Wisconsin outdoors. At the Freshwater Collaborative, summer is when the programs we invest in really come to life. Throughout the state, students are wading into rivers, taking water samples, checking water quality and training to enter Wisconsin’s water workforce.

The Freshwater@UW Summer Research Opportunities Program kicked off in May. Thirty undergraduates from around the country participated in hands-on activities at UW-Madison, Upham Woods, and UW-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences during Orientation Week. They are spending the summer conducting water research at one of the Universities of Wisconsin. Big thanks to our colleagues at Water@UW-Madison for coordinating this huge statewide effort.

Other summer activities include collaborative field courses in western Wisconsin and on Lake Michigan, a high school internship program, three high school camps, and monitoring programs in the Red Cedar Basin and near the River Falls dams. Plus, so many undergraduates will be participating in research and field work with faculty and staff across the state.

These opportunities recruit and train the next generation of water professionals in Wisconsin. Thank you to our many partners who collaborate to provide these opportunities and to the Wisconsin State Legislature for your investment.

All the best,
Marissa Jablonski

Farmers have long used biosolids to enrich fields, but recent research indicates biosolids can contain dangerous PFAS. Faculty and students at UW-Green Bay and UW-Milwaukee are working with a Wisconsin farmer to test innovative and sustainable ways to effectively adsorb PFAS from the soil. What they learn could give farmers a cost-effective tool for protecting groundwater near their fields.

Sadoff Iron and Metal Company says working with UW Oshkosh faculty and staff has been an exciting adventure — and a step toward cost savings and increased sustainability. UW Oshkosh is helping Sadoff develop methods for cleaning contaminated water on site. 

Great internships are the training ground for well-prepared employees. An internship in the fish labs at the UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences gave Teo Buisson a competitive edge when applying to jobs in the aquaculture industry.

Are you recruiting undergraduates for research positions, internships or jobs? We can help spread the word and post your positions to our website. Email the information to freshwater-collab@uwm.edu. 

Spend your summer interviewing visitors to the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast National Marine Sanctuary! Travel to recreation sites to gather important feedback that will help the sanctuary develop impactful visitor experiences. This visitor monitoring survey is led by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and West Virginia University.

Wisconsin students will interview visitors in Port Washington, Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Two Rivers. Read the job description and apply online by July 3. 

UW-Madison Extension's Water Action Volunteer program is hosting an aquatic invasive species Snapshot Day August 9. This is a statewide, one-day event connecting volunteers, water lovers, and local conservation groups in a search for aquatic invasive species. Help protect Wisconsin’s rivers, lakes, and wetlands from invasive plants and animals that impact habitat, wildlife, recreation and health. 

Learn more and register at Aquatic Invasive Species Snapshot Day Volunteers

Freshwater Collaborative courses offer students immersive field and lab work to prepare them for the workforce. Details available on our website.

As part of its Freshwater Collaborative funding, UW Oshkosh offers facilities and equipment usage to Universities of Wisconsin faculty, staff and students at no charge. This includes use of research boats, drones, and water sampling equipment. The ERIC lab also offers discounted certified lab analysis for faculty and staff. Some common water analysis are TP, TKN, chlorophyll, TSS, nitrate, arsenic, COD, coliform bacteria, and E.coli. Contact Greg Kleinheinz for more information at kleinhei@uwosh.edu

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