Wednesday, March 5, 2025
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Serving Kosciusko County and parts of Elkhart, Marshall & Noble Counties Know Your Neighbor . . . . . . 2➤ Good Neighbors . . . . . . . . . . 4 Entertainment . . . . . . . 6-7
Vol. 54, No. 37
Milford (574) 658-4111 • Warsaw (574) 269-2932 • Syracuse (574) 457-3666
114 W. Market, Warsaw, Indiana 46580
LILLY CENTER
aims to raise up water literate citizens UNDERWATER WORLD — Intern Jalen Gilbert, left, explained to Dr. Nate Bosch what’s happening inside a tank of log perch and johnny darters. Aquariums like these help
Text and Photos By LILLI DWYER Staff Writer “Our mission is to make our lakes and streams here in Kosciusko County clean, healthy, safe and beautiful,” said Dr. Nate Bosch, director of the Lilly Center for Lakes and Streams. Bosch has been with the center for 17 years, after it opened at Grace College with the goal of raising up the next generation of “water-literate citizens.” Water literacy is “one, an understanding of how aquatic ecosystems work; and then two, an understanding of how you can make certain choices to protect those aquatic ecosystems,” he elaborated. With over 100 lakes and 600 miles of streams in Kosciusko County, there are many opportunities for staff and student interns to learn and pass that knowledge along. The Lilly Center accomplishes its goal in three ways: research, helping to identify threats in the water and finding potential solutions; education, raising water literacy and changing behaviors; and collaboration, working with like- minded organizations. During the summer months, Lilly Center staff sample 16 lakes. Fourteen streams are sampled year round. Through water sampling, the center is able to keep track of any emerging threats in the water and
recommend best practices for how people can stay safe and protect the lakes. “(Algae toxins) can be harmful to people and their pets, we’ve been working really hard to notify people,” Bosch said. “We’re also trying to figure out patterns of when those toxins come at certain times in certain lakes, in order to be able to eventually prevent those toxins in the first place.” The center recommends boaters remain in 10 feet or more of water when creating a wake. Boats in shallow water stir up lake bottoms, and nutrients in the soil can feed algae growths, raising toxin levels. When toxins are especially high, it may not be safe to swim. Best practices for local properties, lakeside or otherwise, include limiting fertilizer use, especially phosphorous-based; keeping leaves and grass clippings out of the water; and keeping a native plant barrier between yards and waterways. In response to research data and feedback from the public, the center will start lake sampling before Memorial Day and continue up until Labor Day of this year. Weekly algae toxin notifications are sent out to those who sign up online. With the information the staff gather, “we look at how we can manage those resources in the future, how those ecosystems can be made healthier in the future,” said Bosch. If the Lilly Center aims to
the staff in their research and serve as educational tools for students who come through the center on field trips.
PERSONAL TOUCH — Intern Blake Clement holds Gwen, the garter snake. Children can get hands-on experience with creatures like these at the Lilly Center’s Critter Encounter events.
A CLOSER LOOK — Research Lab Coordinator Annalieze Crawford examines a water sample with a microscope. The Lilly Center samples 16 lakes in the summer and 14 streams year round. Lab staff and student interns also preserve the samples, with slides dating back to 2015.
change behaviors around lakes, then educating the public plays a vital role in that change. During the school year, children on field trips see the freshwater aquariums and do handson activities on the ecosystems around them. There are also 27 Lilly Center aquariums in local classrooms, including at Warsaw
Community High School. During the summer, the center hosts Critter Encounters, where children can interact with local wildlife, like frogs, turtles and snakes. For adults, there are guided hikes on native flora and fauna, informative workshops and more. “Our education team will have
over 12,000 student connections across the school year,” Bosch mentioned. “If a child comes and puts on a pair of chest waders and catches insects in a shoreline area of a lake, these are going to be experiences that people remember more than reading about it in a book, or hearing a lecture Continued on page 3