Wayne State University is awarded a planning grant for its Urban Watershed Environmental Research Group (UWERG, http://engineering.wayne.edu/uwerg/) to develop a strategic plan for the field-based water research center of the Huron to Erie Alliance for Research and Training (HEART). The planning process will focus on development of field facilities at Lake St. Clair Metropark and Belle Isle along the Huron to Erie corridor, a binational body of water shared by the United States and Canada that connects the Upper and Lower Great Lakes. The planning process will design activities and facilities at HEART to attract scientists, educators, and students from both national and international institutions to conduct innovative research focusing on urban systems and the environment. Training and research activities of HEART will impact the more than 4 million people along the waterway who benefit from its recreational, economic, and ecological value, and will inform watershed managers and policymakers in this and similar urban freshwater environments.
The planning process will (a) develop the research themes of the Center; (b) identify research partners and expand recruitment networks for attracting students and post-docs to the facility; (c) obtain expert input on field station organization and administration, including fee structures; and (d) develop a strategic plan for fund raising. Outside experts will participate in three workshops that will focus on themes of research, education, and organization. The outcome will be a strategic plan for development of the facilities to achieve beneficial scientific, societal, and educational impacts. Furthermore, the planning activities include communication with a network of potential users and advisors who will help shape the scientific program and recruit students and other users.
This "project outcomes" report describes the outcomes from the 2013 FSML Planning Grant: HEART Field Station. The primary outcome is the development of a 5-year Strategic Plan for the HEART Field Station. The field stations of the Huron to Erie Alliance for Research & Training (HEART) provide a unique suite of research and educational field-based laboratories for use by multiple stake-holders from academia, industry, and government in metropolitan Detroit, within the Lake St. Clair watershed, with immediate access to the international waters of the Huron to Erie corridor (Figure 1). Due to the urban, near-urban, and public park locations of HEART facilities, we are well positioned to achieve broad positive impacts on the public perception and knowledge of science in a highly diverse community. There had been no university-affiliated research facility along this corridor until the recent HEART efforts that have been accelerated through the 2013 FSML Planning Grant. Training and research provided through HEART informs watershed management decisions, policies, and public awareness within this critical watershed, and others world-wide living in watersheds with similar urban freshwater characteristics. Interdisciplinary teams of researchers collaborate to implement innovative projects in Biological Sciences, Physiology, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Geology, , Urban Planning, Computer Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Communication, Electrical Engineering, and Education. Collaboration within the disciplines of Arts and Humanities brings water resources awareness to non-scientific audiences. Our educational programs engage K-12 educators, students and the general public in an understanding of both hands-on field based water science, and the interaction between humans and water resources in the urban environment. The 5-Year Strategic Plan developed as part of this FSML Planning Grant positions the HEART Field Station network to provide a unique collaborative research and education program designed to develop a holistic understanding of the natural and engineered elements of urban watersheds and the way they interact as a connected network. Through our NSF-funded planning grant, we worked with a large range of collaborators through a series of focused workshop sessions, on the development of a strategic plan. We support the vision to empower and engage the public in creating a sustainable urban environment based on sound science with a mission to lead the study of the interaction between urban and natural systems, advancing education, policy and health toward environmental sustainability. The integrative relationship between the current sites within the HEART Field Station Network is identified in Figure 2. The network of HEART Field Stations along the H-E corridor address a number of interconnected scientific issues related to the health of the ecosystems in this urbanized watershed and the services and support provided to the large transnational human population. The major research themes produced as outcomes of the 2013 FSML Planning Grant workshops are depicted in Figure 3. The Huron to Erie Alliance for Research and Training (HEART), with its base station at Lake St. Clair Metropark (LSCMP) had its ribbon cutting ceremony on June 16, 2014 (Figure 4). The lab, which overlooks one of the most popular beaches in Michigan, is home to a pilot test program evaluating the use of rapid response water quality testing using qPCR. Over the two year period for which this project was funded, in-depth analysis of the testing process was conducted, and results were positively compared to traditional testing that is done by the Macomb County Health Department. Another project based at the HEART/LSCMP site is an effort to utilize seepage meters, piezometers, water level monitors (HOBOs) and previously determined water budget estimates for the lake to clarify the groundwater/surface water interaction at LSCMP.
