The University of Michigan Biological Station, which sits along the shores of Douglas Lake in Northern Michigan, has been a hub for environmental research and scientific discovery for over 100 years. Part of the responsibility for maintaining such a facility has also meant a commitment to land and lake management, which local residents say is why the lake has remained so pristine. 

In a new partnership, a group of three graduate students, as part of a School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) project, are working with Silvia Newell, director of Michigan Sea Grant and a professor in SEAS, and the Douglas Lake Improvement Association, to ensure that the lake remains healthy. As a result, the homeowners who live along the shore have become participatory scientists—active partners willing to let researchers drill wells on their land—and will receive a top-quality report on the lake's health, with training from SEAS students on how to continue sampling even after the project concludes in July. 

Newell says in the accompanying video, "What makes this project, and any SEAS project, really special is that the client really wants the information. So they have to be an active partner in determining the answer to that information." Watch the video below, and read the full story on the Michigan News website.