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Andrew Madson Earth Week Suggested reading application With the upcoming 43rd Earth Day the Environmental Club will be participating in Earth Week which is from April 16 through the 22nd with that many may wonder what Earth Week is. The website that is a leader in earth day stated that “The idea came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California.”(earthday.org)

Little did Nelson know how Earth Day would blossom into a world wide event. Along with that the Earth Day website states that “the first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.”(earthday.org). What started out as 20 million people in 1970 has sprouted to “more than one billion people in 192 countries” (earthday.org).

UW-Manitowoc is one of the global campuses that uses Earth Week to help recognize the impact that has been made by humans and to clean up some of the wreckage. Ethan Poling, president of the environmental club and Josh Hill the vice president of the club were both asked about Earth Week coming up. When asked about their favorite part about Earth Week, Josh Hill said his likes “helping something that deserves your help.” Along with that, Ethan Poling stated that his favorite part is “watching friends and community members acknowledge the impact we have on the environment.” Earth Week is about “people coming together to reduce the negative impacts that effect the earth” says Josh Hill, while Ethan adds that it is an “educational week to get people involved in the environment and a chance for people to learn how to protect our natural resources.” When looking at earth week, both Josh and Ethan were asked what sort of impact they hope to have. Josh responded that he hopes to “get people excited about the environment and get them to see how they can help” while Ethan stated he hopes for “a cleaner environment for future generations and to build and teach an understanding about renewable energy.” Both of them consider themselves to be environmentalists yet Josh said “I am not perfect but I try to pick up garbage whenever I can, I try to be helpful to my environment.” Along with that Ethan stated that “I have my faults but I try to reduce my impact on the earth”.

The Environmental Club has been participating in Earth Week for a while now, and with a growing number of people that participate, a difference can be made. When asked about participation Ethan Poling said “we do have good turnouts; beach clean ups are very good, and last year 60 people from the United Council came for beach cleanup.” The area usually covered for beach clean up is behind UW-Manitowoc.

The United Council website states that the “United Council of UW Students is a statewide advocacy and not-for-profit organization that was established in 1960 to represent all students of the UW System and advocate for them on issues of higher education pertaining to value, quality, and the student experience.”(unitedcouncil.net). Along with this Josh Hill, added that the “environmental conference had about 300 people from the United Council, which may help in future green grants for the school.” As it can be seen, Earth Week is coming to us soon and the Environmental Club has a few events planned for the week prior to this. Although Earth week is April 16-24, the Environmental Club plans on starting Monday, April 15th with a beach cleanup. All are invited to attend in helping beautify the local beach. To help the club keep moving forward, a fundraiser will be held on Wednesday April 17th to create funds for future events. Lastly, on Friday April 19th the club will be putting up a volleyball net on a cleared portion of the beach for all to enjoy. Earth day is approaching fast, and Josh stated that “everyone can do a little, it can have a positive long term effect for our community.” The list goes on and on for things that can be done in contributing for Earth Day and Earth Week. When asked what he wanted the community to know about our environment in Manitowoc Ethan said “we need to stop putting phosphorous in the lake, it feeds the algae. Also invasive species need to be stopped; people need to realize it is affecting our lakes and rivers dramatically.” To clarify, any organic material that is placed in Lake Michigan can add to the phosphorous. Ethan also added that “many people put leaves into the gutters and drains, and that those deteriorate and leave phosphorous.”

For more information on Earth Week activities, you can contact Ethan Poling or Josh Hill. Earth Day is Monday April 22nd, so come to the events and participate in cleaning up the world around you. Everyone can make a difference and help the environment.

http://palatine.patch.com/articles/earth-week-approaching-some-facts-about-energy-in-the-u-s [] http://unitedcouncil.net/about-uc

UW-Manitowoc Researchers Dig Deeper By: Laurana Schultz UW-Manitowoc News Staff

Two ongoing research projects at UW-Manitowoc involve the quality of water and soil in Manitowoc County. The project //Potential Impacts of Soil Phosphorus on a Newly Restored Creek in Manitowoc County,// has six UW-Manitowoc students and four faculty members working on the project including, Anna Sonnenberg, Joshua Laurin, Lauren Kieffer, Allison Yang, Bao Vang, Alec Hunn, Dr. Rebecca Abler, Dr. Rick Hein. Dr. Kitrina Carlson and Dr. Michael Bessert are also working on the project through UW-Stout. The project involves researching phosphorus on land surrounding the rivers that contribute to poor water quality.

Dr. Rebecca Abler, UW-Manitowoc professor of botany, says the goal of the project is to “look at the underlying causes of derogation and work with groups to preserve, protect, and restore the streams that run off into Lake Michigan.” Sophomore Ethan Poling, who has been working on the project for three semesters, said he enjoys the research and hopes his involvement in the project will open a network of possibilities, providing experience and skills needed in his intended major, animal biology.

Dr. Richard Hein, another UW-Manitowoc professor working on the project, is a strong advocate of student participation in research projects. He believes working collaboratively with students on campus is beneficial on many levels and he encourages students to become involved in such projects. “Being involved in the research helps students to gain the career experience they need,” Hein says, and adds that “watching the students succeed is a rewarding part of working on the projects.”

Sophomore Lauren Kieffer has been working on the project for four months. “I enjoy working on the project because it gives me a better understanding of Manitowoc,” Kieffer stated. Working on the project, she said, opened her eyes to see that everything each person does to the environment makes a difference in the quality of the environment.

Another group of UW-Manitowoc students including Ethan Poling, Elizabeth Binversie, Heather Havel (currently at UW-GB), Hailey Rogala and their instructors, Dr. Rebecca Abler, and Dr. Rick Hein are working on a project called //Water Quality Monitoring of Several Creeks in Southern Manitowoc County.// Community partners Jim Kettler of the Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership and Russ Tooley of Friends of Hika Bay are helping to restore Centerville Creek.

The project has been monitoring the before and after effects of a recent restoration projects on the creek. Recently, the Centerville Creek was reshaped by the village of Cleveland andLakeshore National Resource Partnership to improve water flow. Students now are trying to determine whether the reshaping has affected water quality.

In spring of 2013 the researchers working on //Potential Impacts of Soil Phosphorus on a Newly Restored Creek in Manitowoc County// plan to expand their research by looking at additional types of microbial bacterium in the soil to search for other possible causes of poor water quality. The hope is to find ways to restore and improve water quality.

Need Help? By Jeannette Baneck Did you know that UW-Manitowoc has a mental health counseling program? The first six sessions of the program are **//__free__//**. You could meet with is Dr. Stacey Soeldner. Students can meet with one counselor or a different counselor. Students might feel more comfortable talking with her because she will keep whatever the student wants to talk about between the two of them. The counselors will be able to help with school issues, help children get friends, and help with depression.

Dr. Stacey Soeldner started her career in 2002, and she spent one year working on her post doc work which she did in Indiana. She started working in Manitowoc in 2005. She chose Manitowoc because she is from here, she had the opportunity, and she has family and friends here. She knew someone who ran a business here who was going to want to retire soon, so she bought the business. She started asking questions about behavior in high school which lead her to her career choice.

What is the mental health counseling program? According to Assistant Campus Dean for Student Services Chris Beloin, it is a program for students to use if they are feeling stressed, have issues with friends, issues with studying, or anything that interferes with their successes. According to Dr. Stacey Soeldner, she will be able to help with school issues, help children get friends, and help with depression. She can diagnose autism, but she cannot exactly work with people who have it because they do a lot of talking in the sessions.

Your meeting is confidential, which means it is between you and the counselor. No one else finds outs unless you tell them. She works with all ages. The youngest age she has worked with is four years old.

You are allowed six **//__free__//** sessions with her, but it is **//__only the first six sessions__//** that are free. She will refer them to an agency or set up a way to help them pay for their extra sessions if the sessions are needed for them. Her Riverhill office address is 1010 Maritime Dr. Suite 200 Manitowoc, WI. 54220, but she also spends one day per a week here on campus. Dr. Soeldner can also meet with students in the F117, which is office space near the Learning Center.

The meeting can be anytime you want or at your convenience but you need to call first to set up an appointment. At your first meeting with Dr. Soeldner, you will work together to assess your situation and devise a plan to begin addressing your goals.

To set up an appointment with Dr. Stacey Soeldner, her phone number is (920)683-3220, and her email is riverhill@tm.net.