Birders on Wisconsin Point look for rare jaegers. Image credit: Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant

The third weekend in September is traditionally a time for beach cleanups by communities in the Great Lakes. Volunteers scour beaches and shorelines for trash as part of the International Coastal Cleanup. Our Sea Grant staff members got in the spirit, participating in cleanups spanning across the state, from Wisconsin Point in Lake Superior, to Madison, to Manitowoc on Lake Michigan.

Marie Zhuikov and Russ Maron on Wisconsin Point. Image credit: Russ Maron

The event on Wisconsin Point featured a twist: birding. Besides being a good time to collect trash, this season offers a narrow window for Wisconsin birders to see parasitic jaegers, fast-flying pirates of the water bird world, as they migrate past Wisconsin Point from the arctic tundra to southern climes.

The “parasitic” part of their name comes from their food-stealing habits. They are categorized as “kleptoparasites,” which means they steal food from other seabirds.

The Friends of the Lake Superior Reserve (FOLSR) took advantage of the timing to invite Jaegerfest birders and FOLSR members to cleanup the beach when they weren’t on the lookout for birds.

Science communicator Marie Zhuikov and her husband have attended many beach cleanups in the past, but never one that combined jaeger-watching. On a calm and quiet Saturday morning, they joined the professional birders and their high-powered spotting scopes.

Dried bee balm flowers. Image credit: Yael Gen, Wisconsin Sea Grant

Zhuikov and her husband had better luck finding trash than birds. Alas, no jaegers were to be seen, although many ring-billed and herring gulls floated serenely in the lake. The duo moved to the end of the point and collected two bags of trash from the beach. The most interesting finds? A single Birkenstock sandal and fireworks debris.

Their efforts became even more impressive with the addition of four other bags of garbage plus a car bumper that others had collected and left bagged near the parking lot. All total, their haul weighed 160 pounds!

Their colleagues editor Elizabeth White, educator Ginny Carlton and graphic designer Yael Gen participated in a more botanical cleanup at the Lakeshore Nature Preserve on the Madison campus. They began by collecting seeds from dried bee balm plants. Gen said they pulled the seed heads off and saved them in paper bags. “If you turn one upside down and shake it, the seeds resemble ground pepper,” she said. The seeds will be used for a class and to reseed other areas of the preserve.

Titus Seilheimer and his sons with one of their beach cleanup finds in Manitowoc. Image credit: Amy Seilheimer

Next, they got a workout clearing an invasive buckthorn thicket along the shores of Lake Mendota using loppers and saws.

Fisheries specialist Titus Seilheimer and his family worked on Silver Creek Beach in Manitowoc. “We typically organize two cleanups per year, spring and fall,” Seilheimer said. “We had two other volunteers for our cleanup for a total of six. We removed 68 pounds of trash. That included two tires for most of the weight. We found fairly typical trash with 40 cigarette butts, small pieces of foam and plastic, shotgun shells and wads, bottle caps and plastic bottles.”

Way to go, Sea Grant staff! You cleaned up 228 pounds of trash, plus gobs of unwanted plants and provided seeds for the future. A commendable effort for one morning in September.

The post Sea Grant staff collect commendable beach cleanup haul first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

Blog | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/sea-grant-staff-collect-commendable-beach-cleanup-haul/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sea-grant-staff-collect-commendable-beach-cleanup-haul

Marie Zhuikov

Sea Grant won two communications awards in an international competition sponsored by Apex. Awards are based on excellence in graphic design, editorial content, and the ability to achieve overall communications effectiveness. APEX Grand Awards honor the outstanding works in each main category, while APEX Awards of Excellence recognize exceptional entries in each of the individual subcategories.

The Trash Trunk, marine debris teaching tool, won a Grand Award in one-of-a-kind publications. The material was designed by Yael Gen, edited by Elizabeth White and written by education specialist Ginny Carlton, with contributions from other educators throughout the Great Lakes Basin.

The video Past, Present and Future Ciscoes: Wisconsin Sea Grant Research, produced by Bonnie Willison, won an Award of Excellence about this prevalent and varied fish species in Great Lakes waters.

“Both Yael and Bonnie are masters of their craft. They understand how best to reach audiences with engaging and informative pieces,” said Moira Harrington, assistant director for communications. “We are so proud of them. These awards only serve to confirm what we already know—they help us act as better stewards of the Great Lakes because they elevate our collective understanding of the freshwater seas.”  

An invitation designed by Yael Gen for an event commemorating Groundwater Awareness Week also won an Award of Excellence that went to Sea Grant’s sister organization, the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute.

The competition drew nearly 1,200 entries from around the world, including from Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits and academic units.

The post Sea Grant wins communications awards first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

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News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/sea-grant-wins-communications-awards-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sea-grant-wins-communications-awards-2

Moira Harrington

The University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute (WRI) won a communications award in an international competition sponsored by Apex. Awards are based on excellence in graphic design, editorial content and the ability to achieve overall communications effectiveness. APEX Grand Awards honor the outstanding works in each main category, while APEX Awards of Excellence recognize exceptional entries in each of the individual subcategories.

An invitation created by WRI’s graphic designer Yael Gen for an event commemorating Groundwater Awareness Week won an Award of Excellence in design.

“We are honored to have been recognized for the effectiveness of this piece, which calls attention to an important topic—the value of our groundwater,” said Moira Harrington, assistant director for communications. “Yael is a talented designer, and her work ensures critical audiences, in this case state legislators and staff, learned more about this asset that feeds lakes and streams, and serves households along with agriculture and manufacturing needs.”

WRI’s sister organization, Sea Grant, also won awards for a marine debris teaching tool and a video about research on cisco, a Great Lakes fish.

The competition drew nearly 1,200 entries from around the world, including from including from Fortune 500 companies, non-profits and academic units.

The post Groundwater Awareness Week communication piece wins award first appeared on WRI.

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News Release – WRI

News Release – WRI

https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/groundwater-awareness-week-communication-piece-wins-award/

Moira Harrington

The University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute (WRI) won a communications award in an international competition sponsored by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, an association that shares strategies and tactics to engage alumni, donors, prospective students, parents, government officials, community leaders and those in the private sector to support education.

An invitation designed by Yael Gen for an event commemorating Groundwater Awareness Week won a bronze award. Judges said the creative team “clearly thought about their various audiences when they were producing this highly effective piece. This is a modern, striking design that is simplistic, but not simple.”

WRI’ sister organization, Sea Grant, also won two awards. The podcast series Introduced, produced by Bonnie Willison and student Sydney Widell about aquatic invasive species, won a gold award and the 2018-20 Sea Grant biennial report won a bronze award. The report was designed by Yael Gen, edited by Elizabeth White and written by Moira Harrington.

The post WRI wins communications award first appeared on WRI.

Original Article

News Release – WRI

News Release – WRI

https://www.wri.wisc.edu/news/wri-wins-communications-award/

Moira Harrington

Sea Grant won two communications awards in an international competition sponsored by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, an association that shares strategies and tactics to engage alumni, donors, prospective students, parents, government officials, community leaders and those in the private sector to support education.

The podcast series Introduced, produced by Bonnie Willison and student Sydney Widell about aquatic invasive species, won a gold award. Judges said, “We loved that the hosts reported their stories by finding interesting leads and then going into the field to investigate and interview the people involved…The back-and-forth between the hosts is comfortable and welcoming, and there’s good use of music throughout.”

The 2018-20 Sea Grant biennial report won a bronze award. The report was designed by Yael Gen, edited by Elizabeth White and written by Moira Harrington. Judges said, “Such a fun and creative design! The signal flag theme and visual identity are smart and unusual, and we agree with the nominators that the design captures the zeitgeist of this time period. Rough waters indeed! The graphic elements added inside flowing type are hard to pull off, but pull them off they did, creating something that’s not just visually interesting but rewards the viewer upon their closer inspection. For not being able to commission photography, they have done a wonderful job of creating visual excitement on each layout; it’s like a master class in how to get around COVID photography restrictions.”

An invitation designed by Yael Gen for an event commemorating Groundwater Awareness Week also won a bronze award that went to Sea Grant’s sister organization, the University of Wisconsin Water Resources Institute.

The competition drew 2,957 entries from around the world, including from prestigious Ivy League schools and respected international institutions.

The post Sea Grant wins communications awards first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases | Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/sea-grant-wins-communications-awards/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sea-grant-wins-communications-awards

Moira Harrington

Wisconsin Sea Grant today shared an online version of its 36-page  2018-20 biennial report. It highlights Sea Grant outreach, education and research projects; financial information; a list of academic papers and other information products; leadership details; and a rundown of fellows, interns, partners and collaborators.

“For the 10,000-year-old Great Lakes, time passes in seemingly the blink of an eye. Yet, our contemporary years can feel like time stretches long, particularly the tumultuous months of 2020,” said Moira Harrington, Sea Grant’s assistant director for communication and editor of the report. “We’re pleased to be able to share this in-depth look at 2018-20 research discoveries and basin-wide impact that are critical to maximizing the benefit of collaborative effort of partners to best meet Great Lakes’ needs.”

The report takes on a true nautical theme, with semaphore flags on the cover and navigation flags throughout. Designer Yael Gen said of the report, “In the past, we commissioned a photographer to create images based on a theme. But because of the pandemic, that couldn’t happen. We came up with the idea of using signal flags, and after a few minutes of researching the flags, I could visualize the entire report in my head. All I had to do was get it down on ‘paper.’ ”

The report is not entirely without photography, however. Featured, for example, are the Lake Michigan Kenosha Dunes, underwater photography by youths and a northern Wisconsin supper club showcasing a classic Friday night fish fry fueled by farm-raised or wild-caught fish from state waters.

The post Wisconsin Sea Grant flies its biennial report flag first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

News Releases – Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/wisconsin-sea-grant-flies-its-biennial-report-flag/

Moira Harrington

As 2020 winds down, we asked staff members at Wisconsin Sea Grant what their favorite project was this year. Although work was a bit more challenging than usual due to our altered work circumstances, everyone managed to stay productive, and even find fulfillment.

Our designer, Yael Gen’s favorite project is her work on our 2018-2020 Biennial Report.

She said, “In the past, we commissioned a photographer to create the images based on a theme. But because of the pandemic, that couldn’t happen. Communications Coordinator Moira Harrington came up with the idea of using signal flags, and after a few minutes of researching the flags, I could visualize the entire report in my head. All I had to do was get it down on ‘paper.’ After such a disorienting year, it was gratifying to see how much our program accomplished.”

The report is at the printers and is not posted online yet, but here’s a sneak preview of the cover and inside spread.

The post Sea Grant staff project faves, Yael Gen first appeared on Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Original Article

Blog – Wisconsin Sea Grant

Blog – Wisconsin Sea Grant

https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/blog/sea-grant-staff-project-faves-yael-gen/

Marie Zhuikov