These flower-killing hard freezes in April like the one we’re about to get bum me out so profoundly. The world’s hard enough right now without having all the flowering trees turn brown overnight! 😭
What an excellent piece!
The first article in the Journal of Great Lakes Research special section on Science Communication is now in-press! yayyyy
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
My favorites!
A fairy shrimp (tiny translucent creature with two googly eyes, many swimmerets, and a forked tail) floats above maple and oak leaves in a vernal pool.
It’s been a hell of a week. Highly recommend staring into your local vernal pool for a while to regain some perspective (and look for fairy shrimp!)
Lake Sturgeon spawning
After disappearing from the Milwaukee River in the early 20th century due to overfishing and habitat loss, the new discovery of an adult sturgeon 20 miles upstream from Lake Michigan is a milestone in a massive restoration project that’s been underway for 20 years www.wuwm.com/lake-sturgeo...
“You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, ‘Look at that, you son of a bitch.” ― Edgar Mitchell Image: Earthset captured through the Orion spacecraft window at 6:41 p.m. EDT, April 6, 2026, during the Artemis II crew’s flyby of the Moon. A muted blue Earth with bright white clouds sets behind the cratered lunar surface. The dark portion of Earth is experiencing nighttime. On Earth’s day side, swirling clouds are visible over the Australia and Oceania region. In the foreground, Ohm crater has terraced edges and a flat floor interrupted by central peaks. Central peaks form in complex craters when the lunar surface, liquefied on impact, splashes upwards during the crater’s formation.
Waking up to the awe-inspiring images from NASA at the same time the US President is implying that he will commit genocide, I can't think of a better quote for the times than this one from Apollo astronaut Edgar Mitchell. I added it to today's Earthset image:
alt="quote graphic. 'Clean water is a basic need, not a line item to be slashed. Rather than fixing problems, this budget moves us in the wrong direction.'"
We are deeply concerned by the federal budget proposal for its sweeping, reckless cuts to the agencies and programs that protect the #GreatLakes, enforce #CleanWater laws, and safeguard the drinking water of more than 30 million Americans across the region. Read our full statement: buff.ly/eG8ecFV
an image that says "woodland ephemerals: A quick ID guide" with a background of a spring woodland with little flowers popping up
Happy spring! It may be gross and rainy out and too cold for bees, but the spring ephemerals of Eastern North America all seem to be out east of the Mississippi! Come meet some friends in the woods near you!
7c140796.flowpaper.com/ephemerals/#...
The president's announcement last week that he's working to save the #GreatLakes from invasive carp comes as his administration has paused funding already appropriated by Congress for the Brandon Road Interbasin Project that aims to stop their spread www.wpr.org/news/trump-w...
A block of text that says "Scientists at the University of Miami are carrying out a research study on trends in the field of science communication. For this survey we are defining science communication as work that is done: • by a technical subject area expert in some field related to science, technology, engineering, or mathematics, • outside of classroom settings • aimed at the public If you are 18 years of age or older and work or recently worked in this field (full-time, part-time, or as a side project), please click the link below to complete a short survey. If you are interested in learning more about this research study, please e-mail us at Julia.wester@miami.edu. In the body of your email please provide your full name, and if you would prefer to be contacted by phone, your phone number and the best time to reach you. Contacting us for more information does not commit you to participating, and should you decide to participate you may terminate your participation at any time."
Attention Science Communicators!
We are conducting a survey on the landscape of science communication & need your help gathering experiences.
Please send this to #SciComm ppl you know. We want to get as thorough a sense of the state of the field as we can.
umiami.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Invasive silver carp jumping out of the water
Just to be clear, invasive carp do pose a significant threat to the #GreatLakes and we need to continue taking action to prevent their introduction, but they're not yet "rapidly taking over Lake Michigan" as the president claimed in a social media post yesterday www.woodtv.com/news/michiga...
Been doing the same for my (decidedly) straight family — I have a notably more pronounced case compared to their milder versions, but it comes from both sides and I am so curious about how the genetics correspond!
🌊 Happy #GreatLakesDay! The #GreatLakes hold ~20% of the world’s surface freshwater & support millions of people & ecosystems. Cheers to the lakes that connect us all! 💙 Learn more about our collaborative #science & partners around the region: ciglr.seas.umich.edu/resources/fa...
When someone says „Scientists do not want you to know“ you can dismiss everything from there on. Scientists want you to know. They are desperate that you know. They can’t shut up about what they found out and want you to know.
We're bringing in advocates from across the Great Lakes region to D.C. this week for Great Lakes Day! You can learn more about what we're talking to Congressmembers about at HealthyLakes.org/latest-news #GreatLakes #CleanWater
Have to share this on Blue Sky so I hit all the platforms.
No better way to celebrate #NISAW2026 than knowing that boaters who are aware of Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers and Clean Drain Dry are more likely to perform AIS prevention actions.
SAH! SAH! SAH! SAH!
🚨🚨🚨
Attention science communicators!
🚨🚨🚨
The 2026 Science IRL mini-grant application is NOW OPEN!
Submit your creative ideas for connecting people with actionable science information *offline*.
The deadline for this round of grants is March 23, 2026.
Apply here!
forms.gle/4emvpRPddmEt...
Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin
Keep it Shrimple
Today is International Day of Women & Girls in Science!
It is a privilege to work with a small but mighty team at the @iaglr.bsky.social where 86% of our staff and contractors is made up of woman in science.
#WomenInScience
Help us protect new water bodies and access points from aquatic #invasivespecies by applying for funding for this summer's #GreatLakes AIS Landing Blitz! This annual event unites partners to prevent the spread of AIS at boating access sites.
https://ow.ly/E4Xi50Ych2m #GLAISBlitz
A screenshot of text from a newsletter that reads: "When I struggle to find value in my own work during such times, I think of a line my friend Sierra Crane Murdoch once wrote: “Violence toward land begets violence toward people, and vice versa.” Similarly, care for the land begets care for its people. The well-being of all beings is connected. We can care about plants and animals and ecosystems while also caring about human lives, not only because we have complex brains capable of holding multiple truths at once but because we’re all intertwined. Government violence connects to oil connects to climate change connects to biodiversity. People connect to oxygen connect to trees connect to fungi connect to insects connect to birds."
If you write primarily about nature and environmental issues, it can be hard to see the value of your work during times like these. I wrote about this a bit in my introduction to @biographic.bsky.social's weekly newsletter.
A map of the Great Lakes showing the number of federal employees lost by each state
Since January 20, 2025, the #GreatLakes region has lost 19,450 federal jobs including at NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (which lost 20% of its workforce) + US Fish & Wildlife Service, threatening scientific research and ecosystem protection www.nemw.org/trump-admini...
I ask myself this often.
Oh that is beyond wack.
I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
Stay free
I’m one of the panelists in this session — tune in if you can!
More delays for the Brandon Road Interbasin Project which aims to prevent invasive carp from entering the #GreatLakes
“The federal investment currently is on hold without justification and additional contracts for the project cannot be awarded due to the funding pause" www.mlive.com/environment/...
"106,636 years of federal work experience were lost across the 10,109 employees with Ph.D.s who departed STEM or health roles 1 January–30 November."
It isn't just the scientific knowledge but the *institutional* knowledge that's been lost. Rebuilding federal science will be a generational effort.