8:30-9:00am: Registration

9:00-9:10am: Welcome & opening remarks

9:10-10:00am: Adikameg: Aging lake whitefish populations and creative new restoration strategies
Kris Dey, Hatchery Manager, Little Traverse Bay band of Odawa Indians

10:00-10:30am: Protecting and preserving freshwater ecosystems by employing effective swimmer’s itch prevention strategies
Ron Reimink, Biologist, Lake Leelanau Lake Association
Dr. Patrick Hanington, Professor, School of Public Health at University of Alberta
Kelsey Froelich, Biology Teacher at St. Joseph High School, Biologist at Lime Lake

10:30-10:50am: BREAK

10:50am-12:00pm: LIGHTNING TALKS
Applications for environmental DNA in sediment and surface water in northern lower Michigan
Maggie Petersen, Senior Researcher, Great Lakes Environmental Center

The Baldwin River: removing dams, restoring a river, and protecting it from sea lamprey
Kimberly Balke, Program Director, Conservation Resource Alliance

Identifying and managing bacterial contamination in Mitchell Creek
Sarah U’Ren, Program Director, The Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay

FishPass project update: capstone project of the Boardman-Ottaway River restoration
Leah McCallum, Community Engagement Officer, FishPass/Great Lakes Fishery Commission

How the Boardman-Ottaway River Network works to protect, preserve, and restore the river and its watershed
Christine Crissman, Executive Director, The Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay

Life of the Great Lakes update 2024
Mark Breederland, Extension Educator, Michigan Sea Grant

12:00-1:00pm: LUNCH

1:00-1:30pm: Microplastics and you – what WE can do about it
Art Hirsch, Co-founder, Michigan Microplastics Coalition

1:30-2:00pm: Microplastics in the Boardman-Ottaway River – a preliminary survey
Nick Roster, Biology Instructor, Northwestern Michigan College

2:00-3:00pm: Using doom as fuel for the future: tips for talking with youth experiencing climate anxiety
Rachel Ratliff, Volunteer Coordinator, Inland Seas Education Association

3:00pm: Evaluation & adjourn