UW-Madison freshmen Halle Lambeau and Stephanie Schimdt get a taste of research that might someday inform their careers.

Shelby LaBuhn grew up playing in the forests of Michigan’s rural “thumb.” Although she liked math more than science, when it came time to choose her undergraduate degree, her experience in nature tipped the scales. “The forest was my world,” LaBuhn said. “That got me interested in environmental sciences and wanting to protect that at an early age.”

The monthly River Talk series heads over to the Duluth side of the river this month. On Wed. Mar. 30, 7 p.m. at Vikre Distillery (525 Lake Ave. S., Suite 102, Duluth, Minn.), Bryn Evans, a University of Wisconsin-Madison wildlife ecology graduate student, will present, “Smile, You’re on Candid Camera! Mammal Cams in the Estuary.”

Where lakes and water are concerned, J. Val Klump gets around. Klump, the newest addition to Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Advisory Council, has traveled the world researching large lakes, including Lake Baikal in Russia.

In a new research cycle, 19 projects will be supported across Wisconsin and to the benefit of the Great Lakes and coastal communities.

The next monthly River Talk is scheduled for Wed. Feb. 24, 7 p.m. at Barker’s Waterfront Grille (Barker’s Island Inn, 300 Marina Dr., Superior, Wis.). Nancy Schudlt, water projects coordinator with the Fond du Lac Band will present, “The Value of Nature’s Benefits in the St. Louis River Watershed.”

Wisconsin Sea Grant Researcher and Northland College Professor, Randy Lehr, was in Duluth on Feb. 2, speaking about his climate change research in the Chequamegon Bay of Lake Superior and a new integrated assessment project he’s starting for the same area.

From July 15-19, 4th-10th grade teachers and non-formal educators from a Great Lakes state can take advantage of the opportunity to spend time on the U.S. EPA’s research vessel the Lake Guardian. The application deadline is March 2.

Lots of numbers were flying around the 2016 Lake Sturgeon Bowl, which took place the first weekend in February. It’s a qualifying round for the National Ocean Sciences Bowl competition designed for high school students.

Dredging has a long history in the Duluth-Superior Harbor. Gene Clark, Wisconsin Sea Grant’s coastal engineer, explains that history and current challenges.