Our Outreach Programs | National Great Rivers Research and Education Center

Connecting with our Community

Our outreach programs at National Great Rivers Research are based on foundational research and concepts in large river ecology, sustainability, conservation, and human dimensions while also helping to inform the applied research of our scientists. Our programs help inform the communities that we are a part of and identify environmental challenges, opportunities and strategies concerning watershed management and monitoring. Many of our programs provide opportunities for landowners and community scientists to explore conservation benefits, make connections with local watersheds and monitor water quality. Fostering a greater understanding of great rivers and their watershed ultimately leads to greater sustainability of our precious freshwater resources.

Meet the Outreach Team

Our hardworking, boots-on-the-ground Outreach team works with landowners and agencies across the State of Illinois to restore habitat, establish conservation practices and provide critical assistance to landowners enrolling in Farm Bill programs. Our Community Science team works to engage community members in freshwater science taking place in their local freshwater resources.

Landowner Outreach

National Great River’s landowner programs help manage, restore, and preserve habitat in the watershed of our great rivers. We support on-the-ground preservation practices through our partnership with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS). Our Land Conservation Specialists are located throughout the State of Illinois and provide assistance to private landowners and agricultural producers with conservation planning and habitat management customized to their land conservation goals through enrollment in USDA Farm Bill programs.

Community Science

Our community science programming at National Great Rivers provides opportunities for people across Illinois to participate in the evaluation and protection of freshwater resources in their local communities. National Great Rivers is home to three highly successful community science programs and has plans to launch additional programs that encourage participatory science in the coming years.

Habitat Strike Team

In partnership with the Illinois Department of Natural Resource’s Illinois Recreational Access Program (IRAP), the Habitat Strike Team (HST) works with private landowners to manage and restore habitat on private lands and also works in Illinois Nature Preserves. HST has provided many opportunities for students of the Restoration Ecology program at Lewis and Clark Community College to gain practical experience in the field while completing their coursework.