Everyday Environment Podcast

While the City of Chicago and many of its surrounding communities have access to water from Lake Michigan, the rest of Northeast Illinois relies primarily on groundwater aquifers for all its drinking water.  These groundwater aquifers provide a wide range of opportunities for drinking water…as well as a variety of challenges.  Tune in as we talk to Scott Kuykendall, McHenry County Water Resource Specialist, about our water resources. You'll learn all about Illinois geology, its aquifers, and what communities are doing to help protect our water supply.  For additional information and graphics, check out Scott's blog!

Resources to learn more:

• ILWater – Illinois State Geological Survey interactive map of water well locations and information
• McHenry County Water Resources division
• Boone County Helicopter 3-D Geologic Mapping news story

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo [email protected], Erin Garrett [email protected], Amy Lefringhouse [email protected] 

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This week we chat with Kara Salazar from Purdue Extension and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant about how communities approach sustainable development around their water resources. Kara discusses the challenges of managing stormwater, green infrastructure solutions like bioswales and permeable pavements, how you can become involved in learning more about your community’s water, and how climate change is impacting water resource planning. Check out our blog on this topic here.

Resources:
EDEN – Extension Disaster Education Network
Climate Change and Sustainable Development
One Water Approach to Water Resources Management

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo [email protected], Erin Garrett [email protected], Amy Lefringhouse [email protected] 

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The history books often referred to the reversal of the Chicago River as an engineering marvel, but how did they do it? Why did they do it? and Why is it important to learn about it? Join Phil Nicodemus from Urban Rivers as he discusses the history of the Chicago River and the historical and current work done on the Chicago River to support humans and biodiversity.
To read about it, check out the Everyday Environment Blog

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo [email protected], Erin Garrett [email protected], Amy Lefringhouse [email protected] 

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Join the Everyday Environment team as we chat with Layne Knoche, Stormwater Outreach Associate, to explore the importance of rain gardens and how they help manage stormwater, support biodiversity, and improve water quality. We chat about some good design tips and ideas, the basic make-up of a rain garden and spend some extra time really diving into our obsession with native plants. 

Resources mentioned in the pod: 

• CoCoRaHS community science project
• Red Oak Rain Garden
• Red Oak Rain Garden Resources
• Illinois Groundwork Plant Finder
• Lawn to Lake Midwest

Everybody has a part to play in protecting the valuable resource that is water. So what is the part of farmers? As producers of our food, fiber, and fuel, farmers are essential to our economy, our plates, and our way of life. Learn from Rachel Curry about the options farmers have to protect water quality and the challenges they face in doing so. Check out the blog post on this topic for more information.

Resources:
Check out Illinois Extension’s nutrient loss reduction website to learn more about nutrient loss.
Saturated buffer video
Nutrient Loss Reduction podcast
Nutrient Loss Reduction blog
A list of all approved agricultural conservation practices can be found on a recent University of Illinois Extension factsheet.

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo [email protected], Erin Garrett [email protected], Amy Lefringhouse [email protected] 

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From the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan, Illinois’ waters are incredible environmental and economic resources, supporting a diversity of plants and animals, providing drinking water for millions of people, and allowing for transportation and recreation. However, aquatic invasive species can threaten these resources. These organisms cause harm to native species and collectively costing humans millions of dollars annually in impacts and control. Join the Everyday Environment team as they chat with Aquatic Invasive Species Specialist, Katie O'Reilly from Illinois Indiana Sea Grant.

Resources:
Transport Zero Campaign
Aquatic Invaders in the Marketplace
Invasive Crayfish Collaborative

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo [email protected], Erin Garrett [email protected], Amy Lefringhouse [email protected] 

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In this episode, we talk with Eliana Brown, Water Quality and Stormwater Specialist with University of Illinois Extension.  Eliana explains how we can do simple things that improve lakes and rivers and why it's important to do so. This podcast complements Extension's Stormwater@Home video series.
With Eliana, we define stormwater, explore the challenges and solutions of stormwater management, and discuss innovative technologies being implemented within Illinois communities.  Erin and Amy both serve mostly rural landscapes so we talk about the differences between urban and rural stormwater management.  As always, come away with a few tips about what you can do to manage stormwater at home. Check out the blog post on this topic for more information.

Resources:
Rainfall Management
Lawn to Lake Midwest
Illinois Groundwork (Green Stormwater Infrastructure design)

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo [email protected], Erin Garrett [email protected], Amy Lefringhouse [email protected] 

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When people think about ‘contaminants of emerging concern’ in our waters, it sounds like a scary, complicated thing. But in truth, it’s not. There are a number of things in our everyday lives that can pollute our water –  even medicine, clothing, and what we use to keep our homes safe and beautiful can become contaminants. In this podcast episode, we’ll discuss how to keep these everyday materials from becoming something that pollutes our water. Check out the blog post on this topic for more information.

Resources:
Unwantedmeds.org

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo [email protected], Erin Garrett [email protected], Amy Lefringhouse [email protected] 

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Illinois RiverWatch is a statewide community science (i.e. citizen science) program that trains volunteers to monitor water quality in their local streams. Learn how volunteers across the state use small water bugs, called macroinvertebrates, to look at stream health. Check out the blog post on this topic for more information.

• Illinois RiverWatch: Check out upcoming volunteer trainings and subscribe to their newsletter 
• Podcast: The Science Behind Fall Color, Good Growing. Abigail mentioned this during Everyday Observations

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo [email protected], Erin Garrett [email protected], Amy Lefringhouse [email protected] 

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Watersheds are everywhere, adjusting and reforming all the time - they are not static. Watersheds are a reflection of natural and human activities: as activities change so do watersheds as well as the waterways within them. Whatever happens upstream goes downstream. Hear from State Hydrologist and Interim Director of the Illinois State Water Survey, Laura Keefer, about how movement of water and sediment in a watershed shows we all live downstream. Check out the blog post on this topic for more information.

Learn More:

• Major Watersheds of Illinois map (Illinois State Water Survey)
• Illinois State Water Plan
  • Fact Sheet
  • Task Force information
• Erin talks of leaf marcescence in her Everyday Observation

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo [email protected], Erin Garrett [email protected], Amy Lefringhouse [email protected] 

Subscribe to our Newsletter
Check out our Blog
See the Everyday Environment Archives