UW Oshkosh researchers present citizen-science plan to track harmful algal blooms on Lake Winnebago

UW Oshkosh researchers briefed the Oshkosh City Sustainability Advisory Board on Monday, July 7, about an interdisciplinary project that studies harmful algal blooms across the Lake Winnebago watershed and is deploying a citizen-science reporting app intended to provide near-real-time public information and feed local monitoring efforts.

The presentation, led by Stephanie Spehar, project lead and professor at UW Oshkosh, and Heidi Nichols, head of the project’s ethnographic team, described a four-year, National Science Foundation–funded effort that began in 2022 and combines biological, geospatial and social research. The team said it has collected more than 350 short interviews and employs roughly 10–15 UW Oshkosh students per year to support fieldwork and public outreach.

Why it matters: Lake Winnebago supports recreation, drinking-water uses and a regional economy tied to fishing and tourism. Researchers told the board that blooms of cyanobacteria (commonly called blue‑green algae) are a public-health and economic concern and that, despite long-standing biological monitoring, public understanding and coordinated, real‑time warning systems are limited.

"I am the project lead, and I'm also a professor at UW Oshkosh," Spehar said in her opening remarks. The project includes community partners such as the Fox Wolf Watershed Alliance and an international academic partner (NTNU). The team emphasized the goal of producing usable products for the public and local agencies rather than only academic publications.

What the project is doing: The team described several strands of work: an ethnographic effort to document how residents perceive and use the lake; a geospatial team building a reporting and visualization platform; and laboratory and field teams studying toxins and the biological drivers of blooms. "I'm an anthropologist and I'm trying to understand why people do what they do," Nichols told the board, outlining the social-research component. She said the team has moved from short intercept surveys to semi‑structured interviews and focus groups and that, when respondents are shown images and terms such as "cyanobacteria" or "blue‑green algae," about 91% recognize the phenomenon even if they do not know the technical name.

Citizen-science app and data flow: Presenters said the app is built on ArcGIS Field Maps and has been submitted to the university Institutional Review Board (IRB) because it collects human-subjects data. The envisioned workflow is that users upload photos and short descriptions from the water; submissions appear on a public dashboard the team expects multiple organizations to access — UW Oshkosh, Fox Wolf Watershed Alliance and, ideally, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) — so no single institution controls the stream of reports.

The team cautioned that translating field photos into immediate, toxicity‑level warnings is technically challenging. Laboratory toxicity assays take time, and blooms vary in how toxic they are. The biophysical team is investigating visual cues and rapid-assessment indicators that could be used to flag potentially hazardous sightings for quicker response.

Outreach and education: The community-outreach team said it has already conducted more than two dozen public events in recent summers, developed lesson plans for K–12 educators, and plans a traveling pop-up exhibit that the presenters expect to roll out by fall 2026. The team asked the board for help connecting with local audiences — libraries, farmers markets, fishing tournaments, Rotary clubs and Discover Oshkosh (the local convention and tourism bureau) — and suggested pairing outreach with opportunities for residents to record their connections to the lake (a "map of joy" concept) as an engagement tool.

Board reaction and requests: Board members and community partners raised questions about how to translate the research into actionable guidance and how to ensure messaging is accessible. Paul Trader, a board member who identified himself as a health-care provider, asked for plain-language materials explaining "how the toxins can affect humans and animals, especially with their pets" and what exposure routes and symptoms people should know about.

Researchers acknowledged those needs and said they are consulting public-health departments across counties (Winnebago, Brown and others) to learn what messages and formats would be most useful. The team also said they are working with Fox Wolf Watershed Alliance to make the app data accessible to local stewards and exploring partnerships with DNR to reduce duplicate reporting streams.

Next steps and collaboration: Presenters asked the board to consider hosting or co‑sponsoring outreach at farmers markets and local events, to help refine exhibit content, and to suggest priority questions for focus groups and policy briefs. The team provided an email contact and said members of the public and agencies can request interviews or briefings.

Votes at a glance: The board took two routine procedural votes during the meeting. Both were approved unanimously by the seven members present.

- Approval of minutes from the June 2 meeting — motion and second (mover and seconder not specified in the record); outcome: approved (all present voted "aye"). - Motion to adjourn the July 7 meeting — motion and second (mover and seconder not specified); outcome: approved (all present voted "aye").

Ending: The project team left the meeting with an open invitation to collaborate; board members volunteered to help with outreach and suggested partners and venues for the app and traveling exhibit. Presenters said the app will be free to use if it continues after the grant and that the team is looking for local partners to sustain the service long‑term.

(For contacts and follow-up: researchers provided an email address at u w o s h dot edu during the meeting and asked the board to forward suggestions or partnership requests.)