Students to share research March 14 at annual Fox River Watershed symposium hosted by UW-Green Bay

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 8, 2024

Green Bay, Wis.— Nearly one hundred students and teachers from participating Northeastern Wisconsin high schools will spend the day on the UW-Green Bay campus on Thursday, March 14, 2024 for the 17th annual Watershed Symposium.

The symposium brings together high schoolers and UW-Green Bay faculty researchers who partner on monitoring the health of the Fox River basin through the initiative known as the Lower Fox River Watershed Monitoring Program. The day’s activities run from 8:00 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the morning presentations in the Phoenix Rooms of the University Union free and open to the public. In the afternoon, participating students will have the opportunity to tour UW-Green Bay’s Richter Museum and compete in a quiz bowl.

Among the highlights of the annual event is the opportunity for the high schools to share reports on their respective monitoring projects. The list of student presentations for Thursday include:

• “pH and Macroinvertebrate Biodiversity of Duck Creek”
  • Duck Creek Team – Green Bay Southwest and Green Bay West High School
  • Teachers – Stephanie Schlicht and Elona Winslow

• “The Effect of the River’s Landscape on Erosion and Deposition”
  • Waupaca River Team – Weyauwega-Fremont High School
  • Teachers – Kyle Easter

• “Comparing Macroinvertebrates from the Sheboygan and Pigeon Rivers to Determine Water Quality”
  • Pigeon River Team – Sheboygan Etude High School
  • Teacher – Rose Neumeyer

• “Nitrogen Pollution in the East River due to Agricultural Runoff”
  • Dutchman Creek Team – Notre Dame High School
  • Teacher – Molly Mattke

Research done through the Lower Fox River Watershed Monitoring program gives students an opportunity to do real science in their community and learn more about the importance of water. The Lower Fox River Watershed Monitoring Program will be celebrating over 20 years of data collection, making it one of, if not the longest baseline data set for the tributaries of the Fox River. This is important to the community because it shows where possible nutrients are entering the water system and gives communities information that can make more informed decisions about nutrient containment, riparian buffers, and sources of runoff.

Partner schools involved in the Lower Fox River Watershed Monitoring Program are Green Bay West High School, Green Bay Southwest High School, Green Bay East High School, West De Pere High School, Weyauwega-Fremont High School, Appleton East High School, Sheboygan Etude High School, Notre Dame Academy, Xavier High School and Winneconne High School.

Both the symposium and Lower Fox River Watershed Monitoring Program are supported by Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, NEW Water, Cellcom Green Gifts, and the sponsorship of the UW-Green Bay Natural and Applied Sciences academic unit and the Cofrin Center for Biodiversity.

About UW-Green Bay
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is a school of resilient problem solvers who dare to reach higher with the power of education that ignites growth and answers the biggest challenges. Serving 10,300 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students as well as 67,500 continuing education learners annually, UW-Green Bay offers 200 academic degrees, programs, and certificates. With four campus locations in Northeast Wisconsin, the University’s access mission welcomes all students who want to learn, from every corner of the world. Championing bold thinking since opening its doors in 1965, it is a university on the rise – Wisconsin’s fastest growing UW. For more information, visit www.uwgb.edu.

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