UW-Green Bay hosted its largest cohort of Freshwater Summer Scholars yet. Fifteen students from 12 high schools worked on freshwater research projects during the summer internship program funded by the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin.
The students were highly engaged in hands-on activities, combining fieldwork with lab analysis and community engagement. This included activities such as electrofishing, collecting water and soil samples, bird samples, building filtration system prototypes and community outreach.
Each student worked on an individual freshwater project under the mentorship of a faculty member, graduate student or qualified undergraduate student. They also participated in group field trips to learn more about water quality and careers.
“Students were challenged to learn and apply new knowledge, such as using new equipment, identifying fish species, and condensing complex information for their final posters,” says Emily Tyner, director of freshwater strategy at UW-Green Bay. “Many students were excited about the positive impact they were making on the environment and knowing that they were contributing to real research.”
This year’s research projects were based in Green Bay, Manitowoc, Appleton and Two Rivers. Participants worked on a UW-Green Bay faculty research project or with one of three partner organizations — Wisconsin Sea Grant, Northeast Wisconsin Land Trust, or Woodland Dunes Nature Center and Preserve.
The students have the option to present their research at the annual Lakeshore Water Summit, which will be held on the Manitowoc campus in October 2025.
Students were asked to write a personal essay or to create a poster presentation for their final projects. Below are the poster presentations students shared.
