News Archive September 2024Sep 11, 2024Monitor a Stream with Illinois RiverWatch this FallThe National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is encouraging community members to attend an Illinois RiverWatch Mentoring Event this fall and help collect stream-quality data from sites across Illinois.August 2024Aug 23, 2024NGRREC Wetlands Collaborative Celebrates Funding SuccessThe National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is celebrating the success of the NGRREC Wetlands Collaborative in obtaining funding for research, education and outreach.Aug 7, 2024NGRREC’s Jolena Pang Named Among Top 20 Professionals Under 40 for 2024The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is celebrating Environmental Educator Jolena Pang, recently selected as one of the RiverBend Growth Association and Alton Telegraph’s 20 Under 40 Professionals for 2024.July 2024Jul 12, 2024 NGRREC Presents Annual NSF REU Symposium with SIUEThe National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) invites the community to the annual NSF REU Symposium, which will be held from 6-8 p.m., Tuesday, July 23, at the Jerry F. Costello Field Station in East Alton, IL. Refreshments will be provided.June 2024Jun 24, 2024NGRREC Receives $8k Grant from Bayer Fund for Annual Water FestivalThe National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) has been awarded a grant from Bayer Fund, a philanthropic arm of Bayer in the U.S.Jun 24, 2024NGRREC Receives $10k Grant from Enbridge for Annual Water FestivalThe National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRRECsm) has been awarded an Enbridge Fueling Futures grant to increase water literacy in the Lewis and Clark Community College District and adjacent communities through its annual Water Festival.May 2024May 31, 2024NGRREC Presents ‘Mississippi & The Mac’ with the Macoupin Art CollectiveThe National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) presents “Mississippi & The Mac,” their newest STREAM Series event, in collaboration with the Macoupin Art Collective (The Mac).May 7, 2024National Great Rivers Research and Education Center Awarded American Water Charitable Foundation 2024 Water and Environment GrantThe National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) has been awarded an American Water Charitable Foundation 2024 Water and Environment grant, focusing on increasing water literacy in the Lewis and Clark Community College district and adjacent communities through its annual Water Festival.April 2024Apr 12, 20242024 NGRREC STREAM Series Presents FrogWatch USA TrainingThe National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is offering citizen training to help locals monitor frog populations by listening for frog and toad calls in the area.Apr 8, 2024RiverWatch Volunteers Monitor Stream Health Across IllinoisVolunteers across the state collect stream quality data on their local streams with the Illinois RiverWatch Network.March 2024Mar 8, 2024NGRREC Invites Community to Opening Night of World Water Day Photo ExhibitThe National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is celebrating opening night for its World Water Day Photo Contest Exhibit from 5-7 p.m., March 20, at the Jerry F. Costello Field Station in East Alton.Mar 6, 2024NGRREC Announces Winners for World Water Day Photo ContestThe National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is announcing the winners of its inaugural World Water Day photography competition. February 2024Feb 12, 2024Drink For a Cause at Old Bakery Beer Company to Benefit NGRRECThe National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is the featured organization for Old Bakery Beer Company’s (OBB) “Drink for a Cause” campaign this month.November 2023Nov 10, 2023NGRREC Presents New Documentary about the Bird-voiced TreefrogNational Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠), in collaboration with Route 3 Films, announces the premiere of their new documentary, “The Call of the Swamp: Investigating the State-Threatened Bird-voiced Treefrog.”October 2023Oct 23, 2023Submissions Open for NGRREC’s World Water Day Photo Contest Photographers young and old are invited to join the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center’s (NGRREC℠) World Water Day Photo Contest. Submissions should relate to celebrating the Mississippi River, which can be thought of as a tapestry of nature, heritage and beauty.Oct 23, 2023RiverWatch Seeks Winter Volunteers to Study Road Salt ImpactWinter is quickly approaching, and Illinois RiverWatch is preparing to train community members to monitor chloride levels in local rivers, ponds, streams and wetlands.Oct 12, 2023NGRREC’s October Neighbor Night is All About BatsWelcome in the spooky season by learning all about bats with biologist and bat researcher Brittany Rogness at the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center’s (NGRREC℠) next Neighbor Night event, Oct. 17.September 2023Sep 8, 2023September Neighbor Night: Celebrating 21 years of Water Festival!The upcoming September Neighbor Night at the National Great River Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) will celebrate 21 years of Water Festival. All are welcome. Community members will have the chance to share their memories and learn about all of the incredible programs Water Festival has facilitated over the years.Sep 7, 2023Call for stories and pictures from the Great Flood of 1993The next National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) newsletter will be a special edition featuring a collection of personal accounts and photos of the Great Flood of 1993 from community members.August 2023Aug 24, 2023NGRREC Awarded American Water Charitable Foundation 2023 Water and Environment GrantThe National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) announced this week that it is the recipient of an American Water Charitable Foundation 2023 Water and Environment grant, focused on the expansion of the Water Festival experience to the Chicago and Bellville service areas.Aug 18, 2023Donors Needed for 21st Annual NGRREC, Lewis and Clark Water FestivalLewis and Clark Community College and its National Great Rivers Research and Education Center will host the 21st Annual Water Festival, Sept. 29.Aug 18, 2023Weather Station for Gathering Atmospheric Data Deployed on Field Station RoofVisitors to the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center’s Jerry F. Costello Confluence Field Station will notice a new addition atop its iconic green roof.Aug 8, 2023NGRREC Celebrated Female Leadership for Back-to-School Neighbor NightCommunity members, legislators, Girl Scouts and staff from the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) gathered Tuesday, Aug. 8, at the Jerry F. Costello Field Station to celebrate female leadership in policy and science.Aug 3, 2023NGRREC Collecting Back-to-School Donations, Now Through Aug. 10The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is hosting a Back-to-School supplies drive during an upcoming Local Legislator Neighbor Nights event, Tuesday, Aug. 8.Aug 3, 2023Great River Ecological Observatory Network (GREON) Station Deployed in Mississippi River BasinEarly Monday morning, July 31, NGRREC researchers took to the Mississippi River to deploy one of their GREON stations.July 2023Jul 31, 2023NGRREC and Girl Scout Troop 375 to Host Local Legislator Neighbor NightJoin the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center and Girl Scout Troop 325 at the Jerry F. Costello Confluence Field Station in East Alton for an evening highlighting female leadership in science and policy.Jul 19, 2023Phillips 66 Awards Funds to Dell Ecology Lab at NGRRECThe Dell Ecology Lab at the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) of Lewis and Clark Community College was recently awarded $50,000 by Phillips 66.Jul 7, 2023Environmental Defense Fund Hosts Workshop at NGRRECNationwide participants quantified the downstream benefits of natural infrastructure.Jul 6, 2023NGRREC Interns from Lewis and Clark Present at Statewide Wildlife ConferenceTwo interns from the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, who are also Lewis and Clark Community College alumni, presented their research at the 59th Annual Meeting of the Illinois Chapter of the Wildlife Society (ICTWS) in Champaign, Illinois, this past April. June 2023Jun 14, 2023Exhibitors Wanted for 21st Annual NGRREC, Lewis and Clark Water FestivalGet involved as an exhibitor or by funding a student’s attendanceJun 6, 2023NGRREC Welcomes New Education Specialist, Jolena PangEarlier this spring, Jolena Pang joined the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) education team as an environmental educator.Jun 6, 2023NGRREC River Days of Action: Coffee and CleanupParticipate in a Watershed Cleanup and Learn About Mississippi River Plastic Pollution InitiativeMay 2023May 4, 2023Volunteers Needed for Tree Planting in Alton May 7-8Volunteers are needed to help the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRRECsm) and the Three Rivers Project plant trees in Alton, Sunday, May 7 and Monday, May 8.March 2023Mar 7, 2023NGRREC Documentaries to Screen at UN World Water Film FestivalRiverwatch Film About Mussels Set to Open FestivalMar 1, 2023RiverWatch Volunteers Monitor Stream Health Across IllinoisIllinois RiverWatch Network will host several training sessions across the state in March and April. The sessions will teach community members how to monitor the health of their local streams.January 2023Jan 10, 2023Illinois RiverWatch Hosting Mussel Film PremiereIllinois RiverWatch will be premiering their film “Biodiversity of Freshwater Mussels: Community Science in Action” along with a short presentation highlighting community science during the next National Great Rivers Research and Education Center’s Neighbor Nights event, Jan. 17. November 2022Nov 28, 2022NGRREC Partners with Local CODES ProgramThis year, the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC) is partnering with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Community Oriented Digital Engagement Scholars (CODES) to solve key issues in the regionNov 9, 2022New Data Portal Showcases Arkansas Water Quality TrendsTracking nutrient loads in Arkansas just got easier. A new data portal was recently launched on the Great Lakes to Gulf (GLTG) Virtual Observatory that showcases Arkansas water quality trends with a focus on nitrogen and phosphorus loads. Nov 9, 2022NGRREC Interns Exhibit Their Projects The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRRECsm) will highlight the work of its interns and staff during a special November Neighbor Nights event on Tuesday, November 15, 2022.October 2022Oct 28, 2022NGRREC Celebrates 20th AnniversaryArea dignitaries, along with officials from Lewis and Clark Community College and the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠), gathered at the Jerry F. Costello Confluence Field Station, Oct. 27, 2022, to celebrate NGRREC’s 20th anniversary.Oct 19, 2022Volunteers Needed for Fall Tree Planting Events in AltonVolunteers are needed throughout October to help the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRRECsm) the Three Rivers Project of Sierra Club Illinois and the City of Alton plant trees in Alton, Illinois.Oct 13, 2022RiverWatch Seeks Winter Volunteers to Study Road Salt ImpactWinter is quickly approaching, and Illinois RiverWatch is hoping to train community members to monitor for chloride levels in local streams to identify areas where salt use is impacting water quality. Oct 10, 2022Direct Benefits of Fire on Prairie EcosystemsOctober through mid-April marks prescribed burn season for the Habitat Strike Team, part of the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC). Oct 5, 2022NGRREC Announces ‘Kids on The River’ Film PremiereJoin the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC) for the first screening of “Kids on the River” a film showcasing high school students exploring the Mississippi River watershed. Oct 3, 202220th Anniversary of Water FestivalNine regional fifth-grade classes explored interactive booths focusing on the importance of water during the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) 20th Annual Water Festival, held Friday, Sept. 30, at the Lewis and Clark Community College’s Godfrey campus.September 2022Sep 22, 2022Experts Discuss Exciting Research at Fall Speaker SeriesJoin Illinois RiverWatch, part of the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRRECsm) for their virtual Fall Speaker Series, starting October 4 and running through early November. Sep 12, 2022It's Official: New Educator at NGRREC TeamEnvironmental Educator Erica Doerr has joined the education team at the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRRECsm) and will be responsible for developing earth science curriculum for teachers throughout Illinois, as well as leading community outreach events. She started her new role in early September. Sep 6, 2022New Research Crucial for Dragonfly and Damselfly PopulationsOver the next two years, scientists at the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC) are investigating dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata) throughout Central and Southern Illinois.August 2022Aug 30, 2022Outstanding Biologist Fills a New Role at NGRREC Jenny Mullikin joined the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center staff this month as a new assistant scientist with a focus on wetlands ecology. Aug 24, 2022Learn to Monitor Streams with Illinois RiverWatchIllinois RiverWatch staff are looking for volunteers to help monitor local streams throughout the Metro East region at three events this September.