Educational Initiative

As it flows through the heart of the MSU campus, the Red Cedar River is an incredible resource, but it is a resource that hasn’t in the past received the attention and respect it deserves. The MSU-Water Project includes a coalition of people working to improve the water quality and image of the Red Cedar River. One of the most exciting parts of the effort is seeing MSU students become engaged in watershed stewardship. The goals of the MSU-Water Educational Initiative include: Make the MSU campus a living laboratory for water resources studies. Incorporate the Red Cedar River, campus wetlands, and the Inland Lakes Research and Educational Area into formal coursework. Raise awareness about water resources issues among students, faculty, staff and neighbors. Examples of activities include: ·Media campaign ·Web page development ·River cleanups ·Displays in campus buildings ·Signage along the river.Area into formal coursework Very early in the project, the MSU-WATER team identified the goal of making the campus a living laboratory for water resources studies. In addition to the river flowing through the middle of campus, there are several wetlands and research ponds on the south end of campus. These ponds have not been used much for many years. They are now referred to as the “Inland Lakes Research and Education Area” and are becoming a real asset once again. Last May, a group of faculty and students (and a few non-MSU collaborators) started meeting monthly to brainstorm ideas on raising the awareness level about water resource issues, not only among the 45,000 students, but also faculty, staff and surrounding community members. A lot of ideas have been generated and several of them are being implemented already. Obviously, working more closely with news media (especially the State News) is a priority, web page development, educational displays in selected campus buildings (e.g., the MSU Museum, Natural Resources, the library, etc), supporting more river cleanups, and interpretive signage along the river paths and bridges are just a few more examples. The following are examples of the various initiatives. Some of which have been completed, some are underway, and others are being planned. There was a need to take a better look at contaminants in fish from the Red Cedar near campus. John Hesse volunteered to collect the samples and MDEQ reciprocated by providing $16,000 worth of analytical work on the samples. Members of the MSU Sport Fishing Club contributed by volunteering to help MDEQ process the samples for analysis. This turned out to be a great experience for the students and MDEQ appreciated the help very much. This is just one of many ways students have been able to become involved with Red Cedar issues in a meaningful “service-learning” experience.

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