Two Lakes Worth Cleaning? How cleaner Lakes Menomin and Tainter would benefit the community

Two Lakes Worth Cleaning?

How cleaner Lakes Menomin and Tainter would benefit the community

For a town built around a lake, I was surprised at the lack of people on the water when I saw Lake Menomin for the first time. Two boats, one person fishing, and no one swimming. It wasn’t until I heard more about the toxicity, smell, and blue-green algae that I got a sense of how people view it in the summer.

In one of the first conversations I had, I learned that the lake turns green and gives off a bad stench. Little did I know that that would be the theme of several more conversations, and discriminated little between the different groups of people I talked with. The green water and smell drive many people away from what should be a beautiful asset to the city if there were cleaner, clearer lakes.

Several of the business owners I spoke with expressed that the smell gets so bad they keep their windows and doors shut, and people don’t go downtown as frequently.

It’s apparent the lake is influential on the community. My research focused on the impact that cleaner Lakes Menomin and Tainter would have on the local economy.

I surveyed Menomonie citizens, businesses, UW-Stout staff, and students to gain a better understanding of how these groups would be impacted if Lakes Menomin and Tainter were cleaner and usable during the summer.

Results showed that the lakes are currently being used below their potential.  If the lakes were cleaner, 50% of those surveyed said they would fish more, 60% would boat more, and 72% said they would swim more. Approximately 40% said they would visit downtown more frequently.

It is clear that lake recreation would flourish and with more visitors downtown, local businesses could expect to grow.

Week 5: Better Together

Working with the other disciplines has allowed me to see an important theme: we are better together. The scientific data is important in better understanding the problem and best solutions, but considering the social side of the problem is equally important. If people aren’t willing to make changes, then the science only leads to more knowledge. In reverse, if people are willing to make a change or use a solution, without scientific research, their efforts will go to waste, as they try to fix something they don’t understand. Thus, both the science and social sides of things are essential. They go hand-in-hand.

I recently had the chance to join the biologists to see how they collect data. I had a great time being out on the lake that we talk so much about, and they even let me drive the boat!

We can’t all be Washingtons, but we can all be Patriots.

I read the topic for this blog posting last week, and have been thinking about it a lot. Just being able to put into words my ideas of what freedom, justice, and equality are consumed a lot of my spare time because they are abstract ideas, yet everyone has some concept of what those things either look like or should look like. We have personal views and ideas of what these things are, regardless if you consciously know it or not. In some ways, it’s easier to point out what’s not just or what’s unfair. So before I apply how these three things impact my views on research, I should first have a better definition of what they are.

Appreciating how the things I enjoy have shaped my views on Research

Lake Menomin June 2015

Some of my favorite things to do include baking, dancing, and spending time with kids. For me, all of these things have influenced my views on life in general, but also have had an impact on the way I view research.

Learning Everyday

Photo taken by the awesome Chris Ferguson

Benjamin Franklin once said, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." I think that this has been particularly relevant to me these past two weeks.

New Home for the Summer

As this was our first week working on the LAKES project, our blog topic was whether or not the civic and work environments meet our expectations. In some ways it does, but I was definitely surprised when seeing and finding out more about Lake Menomin.