UWO algal blooms research connects with more than 2,000 stakeholders, shapes education effort

Another summer is in the books for the team of University of Wisconsin Oshkosh faculty, staff and student researchers delving into the science and the solutions surrounding the slimy, putrid muck that often blooms in the region's waters.

The deeper they get into the $1.6 million-National Science Foundation-funded Winnebago Pool Lakes Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) project, the further they get in shaping new public, K-12 school system and policymaker educational efforts designed to ultimately encourage healthier waterways.

This summer's work concentrated on shaping policy, fostering citizen science, undertaking community outreach and collecting historical insights. Project leaders said the research team reached more than 2,000 community members this year.

"From communicating with other students and professors on the HABs project, to creating engaging materials for kids at summer camps, to coordinating with local businesses and institutions, I have gained invaluable skills that could be useful in any future job," said Will Stevens, one of about 30 UWO students who has engaged in the now-two-year-old research endeavor.

UWO students have spent the last couple of summers leading a multidisciplinary research effort examining algal blooms in the Winnebago pool lakes. The HABs project continues into 2026. The Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance is among the community partners.

UWO's team studies the blooms through historical, social and environmental lenses, "with the goal of better understanding their causes and improving outreach, education, and management," according to the project's home, Sustainability Institute for Regional Transformations (SIRT) at UWO.

"Our goal is to understand how people perceive these algal blooms and how this can better help us understand approaches to public policy and community engagement," said Heidi Nicholls, UWO anthropology professor, who is leading students in the project's ethnographical team. "… We are learning that people do know about these HABs, just not by name. That people hold so much more wisdom about the lake than they give themselves credit for. That community members would like to be empowered to be a part of keeping our lakes healthy. They are just uncertain how."

It's no revelation that the algal blooms are primarily caused by excess nutrients from agricultural and urban runoff. They threaten public health, the local economy and quality of life.

UWO field researchers have leveraged hard science to analyze and understand the ecological impact while also collecting perspectives and personal stories from regional residents to shape new public education and bloom-prevention efforts. Their work will yield a public education exhibit, K-12 school system educational materials and policy papers to inform and guide public officials.

"HABs are a serious problem, not only here in the Winnebago Lakes but in freshwater systems worldwide," said Profressor Stephanie Spehar, a project leader and director of UWO's SIRT. "They threaten human and ecosystem health and cost millions of dollars in damage and lost revenue each year. Our project is trying to develop a comprehensive understanding of why these blooms happen-how social, economic, ecological, historical, and regulatory factors interact to produce them-to help us better understand what we can do about this problem."

Seeking solutions

Students are as immersed in experiential learning as they are murky water.

Spehar said the team of 17 student researchers has been collecting and analyzing water and cyanobacteria samples; conducting surveys and interviews with the public; researching historical records of HABs and water policy; developing storymaps that integrate spatial information; and shaping creative community engagement materials and connecting directly with the public.

"Students and professors have made more intentional decisions to engage with community members at events around the lake system," said UWO student and HABs team member Frankie Kerkhof. "Our incredible community engagement team has worked tirelessly to create educational materials and events for all ages. Working with the community is the cornerstone of this research, and it has been exciting to see that aspect brought more to life this past summer."

"The common saying is that in order to teach something, one must be able to comprehend it," fellow team member Stevens said. "I feel I have gained an immense understanding of the research happening on this project to be able to create informational and educational outreach materials about it."

Spehar said the HABs project's uniqueness is in its campus-community connection and approach, allying university faculty, students and regional partners and residents to understand and attack a significant blight in everyone's backyard.

"One of the most exciting things about this project is that it can help us understand how we bring diverse knowledge, perspectives and people together in new ways to understand and tackle big, complex sustainability problems," she said. "How do we work together-across disciplinary lines, across university and community lines-to address the grand challenges humanity faces?"

Learn more:

UW Oshkosh Winnnebago Pool Lakes Harmful Algal Blooms Project

UWO Sustainability Institute for Regional Transformations

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