Mussel Monitoring in the Sangamon River – 8/29/2020

There aren’t many things more fun than spending a day on the water – except maybe a day IN the water.  On this lovely Saturday, I convinced Hogan to come with me to a mussel monitoring event in Illinois.  I warned Hogan that we would get wet and dirty, but he was still unprepared for … Continue reading “Mussel Monitoring in the Sangamon River – 8/29/2020”

My First Covid Work Trip – 8/19/2020

I started my new job at NGRREC just as Covid was expanding into Missouri and Illinois.  This means that all of the spring events that I would normally lead had been cancelled.  In August, I finally had a chance to travel to meet some of the volunteers and partners in the northern half of Illinois … Continue reading “My First Covid Work Trip – 8/19/2020”

River des Peres Trash Bash – 10/19/2019

It wouldn’t be fall without us participating in another River des Peres Trash Bash. This year, Danelle was working a the festival site coordinating activities and food. And I was leading a clean up along the River des Peres not far away. And of course, its Cross Country season, so Corvin is out running with … Continue reading “River des Peres Trash Bash – 10/19/2019”

Danelle and Friends in the Lab – 10/17/2019

Danelle has been spending a lot of time in the lab sorting “bugs” from her samples.  Luckily, she has been getting help from some students who are looking to get some lab experience. Karen and Maria have been her reliable helpers this year.  This time, Danelle even got me in on the act as we … Continue reading “Danelle and Friends in the Lab – 10/17/2019”

Ph.D Sampling – 11/21/2018

Re-posted from Danelle’s Science Blog. I’ve added some extra photos at the bottom. Winter Field Work Since my research is on winter use of road salt, much of my field work has been completed in the winter.  I’ve spent days climbing down storm drains to learn about municipal salt use.  This year, the Wednesday before … Continue reading “Ph.D Sampling – 11/21/2018”

Ecological Society of America 2018

The Ecological Society of America held their annual conference on August 5-10, 2018, in New Orleans.  This was my first time attending and I have to say that I was overwhelmed!  There were over a thousand scientists in attendance and the wonderful individuals I met were as diverse as the ecological subject areas that were … Continue reading “Ecological Society of America 2018”

Bike With Your Boots On – 6/23/2018

Bike With Your Boots On is a a citizen science initiative with the Missouri Stream Team to get people out exercising and testing local creeks. For this outing, we met at Fults Field near River Des Peres and split into groups to cover the most ground. At each site we tested for things like conductivity … Continue reading “Bike With Your Boots On – 6/23/2018”