The Water We Swim In: Recent Episodes
University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
Meet the Wisconsinites and Great Lakes advocates working toward equity in a society where environmental injustice, racism, ableism and economic injustice are the waters we swim in. Join Wisconsin Sea Grant’s Bonnie Willison and Hali Jama as we bring you inspiring stories from the community organizers, researchers, and leaders navigating Wisconsin’s waters.
How does lead contamination affect Great Lakes communities, especially marginalized ones? In this episode, Bonnie and guest host Dr. Deidre Peroff to explore the impact of lead contamination in Milwaukee.
Special thanks to our guests:
Jamie Ferschinger, (former) Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers
Alejandra Vigil, Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers
Dr. Molly Cousin, Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers
Professor Melissa Scanlan, UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences
Andrian Lee, (former) Wisconsin Sea Grant, UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences
Links:
- Resources for Milwaukee residents:
- Check if you home has a lead lateral
- Lead-Safe Milwaukee
- Milwaukee segregation map
-
Coalition on Lead Emergency
-
Badgers & Lead mining
- Spatialized Intersectionality: Gendered and Racialized Residential Segregation and the Milwaukee Lead Crisis by Erica Morell and Dalvery Blackwell
- The intersectional effect of poverty, home ownership, and racial/ethnic composition on mean childhood blood lead levels in Milwaukee County neighborhoods
- Lead-Safe Wisconsin: Childhood Lead Poisoning Data and Data Analysis
- Wisconsin's Black children 4 times more likely to be lead poisoned than white children in 2022
- Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: A Historic Investment in Water
- Sixteenth Street’s Lead Poisoning Prevention work
For the final episode of Public Trust, we head to the communities of Peshtigo and Marinette in northeast Wisconsin, where we meet local residents who have been engaged in a yearslong battle with a multinational company that polluted their drinking water with PFAS. We learn how community members have come together to fight for clean water and why they are committed for the long haul.
Transcript available here.
Learn more:
Midwest Environmental Advocates
Wisconsin Sea Grant
Are PFAS in maple sap, wild rice, fish and other harvestable goods important to the Anishinaabe way of life? These are some of the questions the Voigt Intertribal Task Force asked Gavin Dehnert, Wisconsin Sea Grant’s emerging contaminants scientist, after PFAS were found in wolves. In this episode, Public Trust producer Bonnie tells Richelle about the beginnings of a tribally-driven research project testing the waters of the ceded territories of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan for PFAS.
Learn more:
Midwest Environmental Advocates
Wisconsin Sea Grant
GLIFWC - Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission
More about PFAS
Firefighting foams made from PFAS have been used at airports for decades, contaminating groundwater throughout the country. In this episode of Public Trust, we return to French Island, a community near La Crosse in Western Wisconsin, to learn more about how local drinking water became contaminated with PFAS.
Listen to episode 1 of Public Trust here.
View the transcript
Midwest Environmental Advocates
Wisconsin Sea Grant
More about PFAS
Lee Donahue’s testimony audio clip courtesy of Wisconsin Eye
Public Trust is a new podcast miniseries by Midwest Environmental Advocates and Wisconsin Sea Grant. The series explores Wisconsin's response to PFAS contamination. Host Richelle Wilson visits communities impacted by these toxic "forever chemicals" to understand how local residents have been affected and what they're doing to secure their rights to clean water.
In this episode, we travel to the small town of Campbell on French Island, to find out. French Island resident and local official Lee Donahue gives us a tour of the neighborhood and tells the story of how local drinking water was contaminated with "forever chemicals" - PFAS. Along the way, we meet local residents who reveal how the crisis has changed their lives and what they're doing to secure their rights to clean water.
Read the transcript here.
Learn more:
Midwest Environmental Advocates
Wisconsin Sea Grant
More about PFAS
News clips courtesy of WXOW News 19
Today, we're talking about red pine forests, blueberries, treaty rights, and how they all converge around fire on a tiny split of land jutting out into Lake Superior - Minnesota and Wisconsin Points. Melonee Montano tells us about the importance of cultural fire for the Anishinaabe people and Evan Larson takes us on a walk in the woods to decipher the stories left by elder trees. Wildland firefighter Damon Panek shares his vision for collaboratively restoring fire to Wisconsin and Minnesota points, an end goal of the Nimaawanji’idimin giiwitaashkodeng: We are all gathering around the fire project, funded by Wisconsin Sea Grant.
Special thanks to our guests:
Melonee Montano, University of Minnesota
Evan Larson, University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Damon Panek, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Mocha, Valerie, Ashla, Emily, Project research team
Marie Zhuikov, Wisconsin Sea Grant
Links:
Listen to the Wisconsin Water News episode The Stories Trees Tell
Read more about this project
Cultural fire returns to Stockton Island
Native fire management returns to Apostle Islands
Ojibwe history on Wisconsin Point is complicated, painful, beautiful
Wisconsin Point Restoration Site
Hear an update about season two and a farewell message from Hali, co-creator of The Water We Swim In and former Wisconsin Sea Grant intern.
People experiencing houselessness are amongst those most affected by extreme cold, extreme heat, wildfires, and other weather exacerbated by climate change. The Water We Swim In team wanted to learn more about houselessness and its ties to the environment - especially because Wisconsin’s already frigid winters and hot summers might become more erratic. We sat down with 7 community leaders and researchers from Boston to Portland to talk about the housing crisis, climate, and community. Finally, we visit Porch Light, Inc, right here in Madison, Wisconsin.
Special thanks to our guests:
Tony Shu, Breaktime
April Ballard, Emory University
MyDzung Chu, ADAPT, Tufts Medial Center
Lisa Fay, Right 2 Survive, Resting Safe
Ibrahim Mubarak, Right 2 Survive
Erin Goodling, Right 2 Survive, Resting Safe
Karla Thennes, Porch Light, Inc
Looking to support our guests’ work?
Breaktime
Right 2 Survive
Resting Safe
Porch Light, Inc
Links:
Erin Goodling’s zine House on Fire: Housing and Climate Crisis, Housing and Climate Resistance
More on climate change in Wisconsin
Spidey Senser
More about Spidey Senser: We Keep Us Safe: Building a Web of Social Action (Chris L. Hawn)
Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin’s largest inland lake, is important to many - the Indigenous people who live there now, the Indigenous people who have a long history on its shores, the non-Indigenous residents of the Fox valley, and the local plants and animals. On this episode, we talk to one inter-tribal team that is looking to unite all of these groups for the health of the lake and for Indigenous sovereignty. From leaders at the Brothertown Indian Nation and UW-Madison, we hear about the Water Walk movement, the history of wild rice on Lake Winnebago, the outlooks for rice restoration and the importance of strong partnerships. Special thanks to our guests: Jessica Ryan, Brothertown Indian Nation Skip Blanc, Brothertown Indian Nation Dr. Jessie Conaway, UW-Madison Ashley Gries, UW-Madison (former)
Links: https://brothertownindians.org/ (Brothertown Indian Nation (Eeyamquittoowauconnuck)) https://indigenousrising.org/josephine-mandamin/ (Meet Josephine Mandamin (Anishinaabekwe), The “Water Walker”) https://hotcakencyclopedia.com/ho.LakeWinnebago.html (Ho Chunk history of Lake Winnebago) https://www4.uwsp.edu/museum/menomineeClans/places/chart.aspx (Menominee Place Names in Wisconsin) https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/main-entry/wiinibiigoo-na (The Ojibwe People’s Dictionary): wiinibiigoo https://www.uwgb.edu/dictionary/sound.aspx?citation=kanyatal%C3%A1hele%CB%80&pos=derived%20noun (Oneida pronunciation: kanyataláheleˀ) https://wisconsinpollinators.com/Articles/WildRice.aspx (Northern wild rice) https://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/abstracts/botany/Zizania_aquatica_var_aquatica.pdf (Southern wild rice ) https://seagrant.wisc.edu/manoomin/ (Manoomin Education and Outreach Toolkit)
For this episode, we criss-cross Wisconsin to talk to ten young people about the future. These young individuals, between middle school and post-college, are all passionate about the environment; whether that is focus on the Great Lakes, sustainability, waste, water or environmental justice. In the current era of climate crisis and intense change, these young advocates speak to their experiences, concerns and hopes for the future and encourage everyone, no matter the age group, to make a difference. First, we visit Henry and Charlotte in Pulaski, Wisconsin, and Madison. Then, Bonnie speaks to TRUE Skool students from Milwaukee about their concerns about lead in drinking water, food security, agriculture, and environmental justice. We speak to UW-Madison students Jumana and Paige about Indigenous water priorities and the environment in our backyards. Finally, we talk with Wisconsin Student Climate Action Coalition founding members CJ and Natalie, who are finding their place in the environmental movement after college. Special thanks to our guests: Henry, Pulaski, WI Charlotte, Madison, WI Chassidy, https://www.trueskool.org/ (TRUE Skool), Milwaukee, WI Eli, https://www.trueskool.org/ (TRUE Skool), Milwaukee, WI Jada, https://www.trueskool.org/ (TRUE Skool), Milwaukee, WI Stephanie, https://www.trueskool.org/ (TRUE Skool), Milwaukee, WI Jumana Tanner, University of Wisconsin-Madison Paige Skenadore’21, University of Wisconsin-Madison (alum) Natalie Brunner’20, University of Wisconsin-Madison (alum) CJ Koepp’21, University of Wisconsin-Madison (alum) Links: https://www.trueskool.org/ (TRUE Skool, INC) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVuX0QWwML8 (“Liquid Gold”) https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/audio/the-water-we-swim-in/hidden-currents/ (Hidden Currents Episode) https://www.facebook.com/wscac.madison/ (WSCAC) https://www.instagram.com/p/ChkzTXevrod/?hl=en (Somalia Drought crisis aid) https://www.tiktok.com/@vanguardigan (Find CJ on TikTok)
Books provide a plethora of perspectives, and it is important for people from all walks of life to have access to books about their culture, language, and way of life. This is why Wisconsin Sea Grant and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission teamed up to create a book club called “Maadagindan! Start Reading!”, which aims to increase awareness of Ojibwe culture and teach kids, and educators, about the Great Lakes. Today, we specifically focus on the Native American community, who as a result of ethnic cleansing have lost many of their cultural aspects of life. In this episode, we follow the story of a book club attendee Liz Carter, and honored guest Michael Waasegiizhig Price, while exploring Ojibwe children’s literature, the Anishinaabe language, and Indigenous reconnection to what’s been taken through colonization. Special thanks, miigwech, to our guest: Liz Carter, Book club participant Michael Waasegiizhig Price, GLIFWC Morgan Coleman, former, Wisconsin Sea Grant, GLIFWC Hannah Arbuckle, GLIFWC Anne Moser, Wisconsin Sea Grant Links: https://sites.google.com/view/maadagindanstartreading/home (Maadagindan! Start Reading!) https://sites.google.com/view/maadagindanstartreading/spring-2022/growing-up-ojibwe?authuser=0 (Growing Up Ojibwe by GLIFWC) https://sites.google.com/view/maadagindanstartreading/spring-2022/the-sacred-harvest?authuser=0 (The Sacred Harvest: Ojibway Wild Rice Gathering by Gordon Regguinti) https://sites.google.com/view/maadagindanstartreading/spring-2022/the-birchbark-house?authuser=0 (The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich) https://sites.google.com/view/maadagindanstartreading/spring-2022/the-water-walker?authuser=0 (The Water Walker by Joanne Robertson) http://glifwc.org/ (The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC)) http://www.ottawatribe.org/ (Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma) https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17465709-braiding-sweetgrass (Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer) https://boardingschoolhealing.org/education/us-indian-boarding-school-history/ (US Indian Boarding School History)
The Water We Swim In will be back soon, but in the meantime, we'd like to introduced you to a new podcast called Wading Between Two Titans, a show from The Repair Lab about place, race and power in the time of rising tides. This limited series investigates climate gentrification, sea-level rise and historic processes of racism. The podcast aims to tell the story of these processes and imagine potential solutions. As sea level rises and shorelines shrink, who gets to stay? Who has to leave? How did we get here? And what can be done? Transcriptions available at https://gate.sc/?url=http%3A%2F%2Frepairlab.as.virginia.edu%2Fpodcasts&token=1a522a-1-1659458699770 (repairlab.as.virginia.edu/podcasts)
Fishing is an activity that gets people outdoors and helps them develop a relationship with water. It provides many anglers with peace and can often have a positive impact on mental health. But for those growing up in segregated central cities, economic and transportation barriers often prevents them from accessing green spaces and water bodies. This is where The Midwest Crappie Hunters comes into the picture. They recognized this problem in Milwaukee and decided to take action. The purpose of this organization is to work with “inner-city youth, the elderly, veterans, and the disadvantaged” to teach them about “the outdoors, safety, fishing and the upkeep of our aquatic resources”. In this episode, we are joined by the president of the Midwest Crappie Hunters, Darrian Perry. We also take a field trip to Milwaukee and go fishing and meet some Midwest Crappie Hunters. Special thanks to our guest: Darrian Perry, Midwest Crappie Hunters Links: https://midwestcrappiehunters.com/?v=7516fd43adaa (Midwest Crappie Hunters)
Immigrants and refugees often bring their food habits with them to their new homes. This includes their love for fishing, or maybe their favorite fish soup recipe. But what happens when immigrant families rely on fish from contaminated waters? A Wisconsin Department of Health Services study found that in the Burmese refugee community in Milwaukee, women of childbearing age had higher levels of Mercury, PCBs, and lead in their blood levels compared to other Milwaukee women of the same age. In this episode, we are joined by Judy Yan, Amanda Haban, Dr. Gavin Dehnert and Dr. Tom Pearson as we discuss how to navigate cultural and language diversity to inform all communities about safe fish consumption. Special thanks to our guests: Judy Yan, Collaborator with Wisconsin Department of Health Services Amanda Haban, Wisconsin Department of Health Services Thomas Pearson, University of Wisconsin-Stout Gavin Dehnert, Wisconsin Sea Grant Links: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w65xwmbyWNs&t=226s (Authentic Chinese Fish Tofu Soup (正宗广东台山鱼汤豆腐）) https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/water/fish.htm (Choosing which fish to eat) https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Fishing/consumption (Eating your catch - making healthy choices) https://widnr.widen.net/s/cprtrnbhdr/fh824 (Choose Wisely: A Health Guide for Eating Fish in Wisconsin) https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/our-work/focus-areas/emerging-contaminants/ (Emerging Contaminants resources) https://city.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/healthAuthors/DCP/PDFs/2013MilwaukeeAreaFishConsumpti.pdf (Fish Consumption Advice for the Milwaukee Estuary Area of Concern) https://www.fda.gov/food/consumers/advice-about-eating-fish (Eating Fish: What Pregnant Women and Parents Should Know ) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935121002000 (Fish consumption and awareness of fish advisories among Burmese refugees: A respondent-driven sampling study in Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
In this episode, we focus on accessibility in the Great Lakes region. How does a wheelchair user navigate at a beach? How does a blind person enjoy the coasts? We talk with leaders that have been working to make the outdoors more accessible for people with disabilities. You can expect to hear from people like Damian Buchman; the founder and executive director of the Ability Center, who helped make a Wisconsin beach the most accessible beach in the country. But we were also curious about the rest of the beaches across the state. We talk to Courtney Gunville and Natalie Chin about how accessible it really is to visit our coasts. Finally, we speak to John Stratte, the owner of Pine Forest Lodge, who provides accessible outdoor activities at his northwoods retreat. Special thanks to our guests: Damian Buchman, https://tacwi.org/ (The Ability Center) John Stratte, https://pineforestlodge.com (Pine Forest Lodge) Courtney Gunville, Wisconsin Sea Grant (former) Natalie Chin, Wisconsin Sea Grant Links https://pineforestlodge.com/ (Pine Forest Lodge) https://tacwi.org/ (The Ability Center)
In this episode, we dive beneath the water to explore why Black children are drowning more than any other race, why marginalized communities often lack access to swimming pools, and how to stay safe in the water. We hear about the alarming trend facing swimming pools in cities across the nation, relive a fight to save one Milwaukee pool, and walk the shores of Lake Michigan with the Beach Ambassador program. Join us as Brenda Coley, Jumana Tanner, Cheryl Bledsoe, Sally Callan, and Deidre Peroff discuss how racism, segregation and redlining has taken away Black people’s access to water and, essentially, the right to swim. Links: View pools throughout time: https://refloh2o.com/milwaukee-community-map (Reflo’s Milwaukee Community Map) https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/beach-ambassadors-fill-vital-role-on-milwaukee-beach/ (Beach Ambassadors fill vital role on Milwaukee beach) https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/audio/wisconsin-water-news/beach-ambassadors-fill-vital-role-on-milwaukee-beach/ (Podcast: Beach Ambassadors fill vital role on Milwaukee beach) https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/news/a-fight-to-keep-milwaukee-pool-open-uses-sea-grant-data-and-strong-partnerships/ (A fight to keep Milwaukee pool open uses Sea Grant data and strong partnerships) https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Swiming-Pool-Racial-Disparities.mp3 (Podcast: Fight to Keep Milwaukee Pool Open) https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/resources/the-formation-of-the-great-lakes/rip-currents/ (Rip Currents) https://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/our-work/focus-areas/coastal-processes-and-engineering/coastal-processes/waves-and-nearshore-currents/ (Waves and Nearshore Currents) Special thanks to our guests: Jumana Tanner, University of Wisconsin-Madison Brenda Coley, Milwaukee Water Commons Deidre Peroff, Wisconsin Sea Grant Sally Callan, Lincoln Park neighborhood organizer Cheryl Bledsoe, Lincoln Park neighborhood organizer
When most people think of water and environmental justice, they think of the Flint water crisis. On the introductory episode of The Water We Swim In, Bonnie and Hali talk to UW-Madison’s Dr. Manny Teodoro. Dr. Teodoro walks us through the troubled history of racial conflict in the Great Lakes region, why Flint captured the public’s imagination, and what we can do about the historic legacies that still impact our freshwater today. Special thanks to our guests: Dr. Manny Teodoro, University of Wisconsin-Madison Dr. Jim Hurley, Wisconsin Sea Grant Moira Harrington, Wisconsin Sea Grant Links: https://mannyteodoro.com/?page_id=2555 (Class, Race, Ethnicity, and Justice in Safe Drinking Water Act Compliance) Switzer, David & Manuel P. Teodoro. 2018. “Class, Race, Ethnicity, and Justice in Safe Drinking Water Act Compliance,” Social Science Quarterly 99(2): 524-535. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/flint-water-crisis-everything-you-need-know (Flint Water Crisis: Everything You Need to Know) https://mannyteodoro.com/ (Dr. Manny Teodoro)
On The Water We Swim In, Wisconsin Sea Grant brings you stories from the community organizers, researchers, and leaders navigating Wisconsin’s water. Subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts.