This week marks national volunteer appreciation week, and on this Lakes Chat episode, we’re chatting about volunteering to help the Great Lakes.

Guests included:

Olivia Reda – the Alliance for the Great Lakes Volunteer Engagement Manager

Eileen Ryan is a long-time Alliance Ambassador and an Adopt-a-Beach volunteer

Novem Cheng, a volunteer with the Alliance Ambassador and Adopt-a-Beach programs

We chatted with Andrea Densham, Senior Strategic Advisor to the Alliance for the Great

Lakes, about plastic pollution and how we can stop it at the source.

In today's episode, we’re talking with Alex Novak, the Alliance’s Community Planning Manager based in Detroit. We're chatting with Alex about green infrastructure – what it is, and how it can help improve our Great Lakes communities. 

In today's episode, we’re talking again with Joel Brammeier, Alliance President & CEO. Today we’re talking climate change and the Great Lakes. Our region is frequently referred to as a ‘climate haven’ - an anticipated area of migration as people around the country may move in large numbers as the impacts of climate change are felt. But, the Great Lakes are also going to be feeling the impacts of climate change, and, in an op-ed last year, Joel argued that we need to get our own house in order. We’ll be talking about how climate change is already affecting the lakes, whether or not the Great Lakes really are a climate refuge, and what leaders can do to make sure our communities are climate-resilient.  

In today's episode, we’re reconnecting with Anna-Lisa Castle, the Alliance’s Clean Water, and Equity Policy Director. We spoke with Anna-Lisa earlier this season about the big problems facing water and wastewater infrastructure around the Great Lakes region. In this conversation, we’ll be digging into the problem of toxic lead pipes that carry water into homes in many Great Lakes cities.

In today's episode, we’re talking with Tom Zimnicki, the Alliance’s Agriculture and Restoration Policy Director. We’ll talk with Tom about harmful algal blooms in the Great Lakes, the role agricultural pollution plays in causing those blooms and get his thoughts on how to tackle this challenging problem.  

In today's episode, we’re talking with Oscar Sanchez, the Community Planning Manager at Southeast Environmental Task Force, an environmental nonprofit dedicated to serving Chicago's southeast side and south suburbs. We’ll talk with Oscar about the community’s recent big win to stop General Iron, a major industrial facility proposed for the community, Calumet Connect, a community-led effort focused on sustainable economic development along the Calumet River, a tributary to Lake Michigan. 

In today's episode, we’re talking with Ramiro Berardo, an associate professor of environmental policy at Ohio State University. He’s written, directed, and produced a new documentary titled “…And Water For All” which premiered on World Water Day in late March. The documentary takes on the issue of water affordability in Ohio, but has lessons for the Great Lakes region and beyond. It examines the challenges that governments and communities are facing to ensure access to clean, affordable water now and in the coming decades. 

In today's episode, we’re talking with Juliann Krupa, the Alliance’s Volunteer Engagement Manager. We’ll be talking about our upcoming Adopt-a-Beach Spring Kickoff and the problem of plastic pollution in the Great Lakes.  

In today's episode, we’re talking with Anna-Lisa Castle, the Alliance’s Clean Water & Equity Program Director. We’ll be talking about water infrastructure and what needs to happen to be sure everyone around the Great Lakes region has access to safe, affordable drinking water. 

Resources

BLOG- Illinois shows leadership for lead-free drinking water; further action is needed across the Great Lakes region

BLOG- Water Infrastructure Front and Center in Washington, DC (This blog is part of a periodic series of updates from Don Jodrey, the Alliance’s Director of Federal Government Relations, with his view on Great Lakes policy from Washington, DC.)

Report: Water Affordability in Ohio

In today's episode, we’re talking with Molly Flanagan, the Alliance’s Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Programs, to get an update on invasive species in the Great Lakes. We’ll be talking about invasive carp, the status of efforts to regulate ballast water which is a main pathway for invasive species into the lakes, and the latest from Washington, DC on efforts to keep invasive species out of the lakes.  

In today's episode, we’re talking with Don Jodrey, the Alliance’s Director of Federal Relations, to get an update on what’s happening on Great Lakes policy in Washington, DC.  

Our conversation focused on the big picture of Great Lakes policy in Washington DC but current events may well come up so please remember that things may have changed by the time you hear this podcast. 

Additional resources: Healing our Waters Coalition

Visit. greatlakes.org for more information

Temperatures this winter have been warmer than usual, leaving the Great Lakes nearly devoid of ice cover.

In this episode, we chat with Physical Scientist James Kessler of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory and dig into big-picture trends, and what this all means for the lakes.  

We'll explore the history of black farming, the connection to land and water, and thoughts on the future of black environmentalism.

Speakers include:

Dr. Kevin McGruder, Associate Professor of History at Antioch College

Mr. Tim Lewis, Founding Partner & Outreach Director at Rid-All Green Partnership in Cleveland, Ohio

Website: http://www.greennghetto.org/

Moderator: Crystal M.C. Davis, Vice President of Policy and Strategic Engagement

Resource: The Bone and Sinew of the Land: America's Forgotten Black Pioneers and the Struggle for Equality - The Bone and Sinew of the Land: America's Forgotten Black Pioneers and the Struggle for Equality a book by Anna-Lisa Cox (bookshop.org)

In today's episode, we're talking about the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative – the GLRI – one of the cornerstone federal programs aimed at restoring and protecting the lakes. 

Our guest today is Joel Brammeier, Alliance for the Great Lakes President & CEO.  

2021 was a good year for the Great Lakes in Washington, DC. But the lakes face no shortage of problems, and there is still much more work to do.

We’ll discuss our top Great Lakes priorities for lawmakers in Washington, DC, and dig into the opportunities and challenges facing our agenda in the year ahead.

I’ll be joined by other Alliance for the Great Lakes policy experts:

• Joel Brammeier, President & CEO
• Molly Flanagan, COO & Vice President for Programs
• Crystal M.C. Davis, Vice President for Policy and Strategic Engagement
• Don Jodrey, Director of Federal Relations
• Jennifer Jennifer Caddick, Vice President, Communications & Engagement ( Moderator)

Welcome to Lakes Chat!

Every Tuesday, we'll chat with a special guest about Great Lakes issues ranging from infrastructure to water levels – and what it all means for you and your community.

We’re discussing some new research on the cost of reducing runoff pollution from agricultural lands and preventing harmful algal blooms in western Lake Erie with Tom Zimnicki, the Alliance’s Agriculture and Restoration Director.

In a previously recorded webinar, Alliance policy staff discussed their top 5 federal Great Lakes policy priorities They focus on stopping invasive species, fixing our failing water infrastructure, stopping plastic pollution, preventing harmful algal blooms, and ensuring funding for Great Lakes restoration. During the webinar, our panel answered several questions submitted by listeners around the region.

In late January, our policy team here at the Alliance for the Great Lakes released their top 5 Great Lakes policy priorities for the new Congress and the Biden administration. Our policy team focused on stopping invasive species, fixing our failing water infrastructure, stopping plastic pollution, preventing harmful algal blooms, and ensuring funding for Great Lakes restoration. It’s a big list.

Over the coming weeks, our policy experts will meet with lawmakers to urge them to take action on these critical issues.

On this episode, we spoke with Don Jodrey, the Alliance’s Federal Government Relations Director, who talked us through this list of priorities and gave us a big-picture view of what’s happening on Great Lakes issues in Washington, DC. 

An important conversation with two Alliance staffers – Molly Flanagan, our Chief Operating Officer and Vice President for Policy, and Jennifer Lumpkin, our Cleveland Local Partnerships Manager about what the midterms mean for the Great Lakes, why it's important for water issues to be a part of election season conversations, and how you can get involved this election season.  

Crystal M.C. Davis, our VP of Policy and Strategic Engagement, and Tom Zimnicki, Director of Agriculture and Restoration Policy, chat about algal blooms in western Lake Erie, what they are and how they directly impact the local economy.

An eye-opening conversation with LimnoTech Principal and Senior Engineer Ed Verhamme on the importance of buoys and how they help daily to protect drinking water, have safe boating experiences, and more.

Resources

How Buoys Help

Two Yellow Buoys

In today's episode, we’re chatting with Dr. Sherri Mason, a leading expert on plastic pollution. Her award-winning work has drawn international attention to the threat of microplastics in our waters and led to the passage of national legislation banning microbeads. She serves as Director of Sustainability at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.