The following application was submitted by a seventh and eight grade research team from Clara Barton Open School in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The team members were Sara R., Mackenzie S., Tenzin Y., and Caitlin S.. Their project was a national finalist in 1998.
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Milfoil Madness
Section 1: Identifying The Community Issue
Our project finds a better way to control and productively use Eurasian water milfoil. Milfoil blocks sunlight going to the lake which provokes native plant's death. If we do not control milfoil as soon as possible, it will take over the lakes.
The team identified this issue by seeing how ugly milfoil is in Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun, two infested lakes near our homes. For swimmers, milfoil makes them feel uncomfortable when they swim in lakes. We like to swim, and we don't like the feel of water weeds brushing against our bodies when we swim in water infested with milfoil. Milfoil also tangles boat motors and decreases the number of species of fish in our lakes.
This issue is important to ourselves and the community because it affects the quality of life in Minneapolis and our lake ecosystems. We are concerned that milfoil will take over the lakes. We feel this community issue should be more important to other people too, it currently isn't a priority in their minds.
Since milfoil is a pervasive water weed, the consequences of not getting
rid of it are severe. Eurasian water milfoil is pestiferous. They control
their habitat, eliminating native plants. This makes it hard to have a diverse
ecosystem. A fact is that other ~plant species die. Eventually, all that
is left is the milfoil and a limited fish population. Microscopic water
beetles, called weevils, that eat milfoil have been introduced to our lakes;
however weevils don't eat enough milfoil to keep the lake ecosystem balanced.
Section 2: Community-Based Research
We charted the growth of our milfoil for ten school days after the plants had healthily adapted to their new habitat. The milfoil reached the top of the water at 14 centimeters.
Milfoil Growth
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We worked with many people on this project. The following are just a handful.
Professor Raymond Newman. University of Minnesota
Professor Raymond Newman was a big help. He helped us by giving us information when we needed it. This team interviewed him, and called him to check things out when we weren't sure. From our conversations we learned that Eurasian water milfoil can grow up to 10 cm a day, if put in the right conditions. We also learned that, like other plants, milfoil's main nourishment comes from nitrate and phosphorus in the lake bed.
Mr. Charles Welling. Coordinator of the Milfoil Project, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Mr. Charles (Chip) Welling also was a big help to this team. He first gave us a permit to go and collect the milfoil from the shores of Lake Harriet. Next he was there to be interviewed and called upon when we needed help. He not only talked to us, but sent written information on milfoil. From Mr. Welling, the team learned that many scientists have studied this topic and have tried, unsuccessfully, to come up with a way to kill milfoil. That is, without harming the rest of the lake.
Mr. Jeffrey Lee. Mr. Jeff Jontz. Mr. James Johnson, Mr. Paul Manuel, Ms. Deb Pilger. and Mr. Al Singer. Lake educators and biologists at the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board.
We met with them and talked over our first proposed solution, which they immediately and calmly told us was not feasible. Then they told us what they knew and corrected us when we said that milfoil was bad. Milfoil is good for fish, it just blocks the sunlight for the plants. Then these people helped us to come up with our current solution,
Diana. Aquatic specialist at Petco.
Diana was very helpful. She located and donated 10 lake fish for our aquarium.
The information from these people helped us understand the issue. We needed to know about the basic components of milfoil, the minimum and maximum depth of water milfoil needs to grow in, and how it grows.. Most members of the team had just heard that milfoil was a problem from our Neighborhood Revitalization Process (NRP), vague TV news stories, and our parents suggesting it. The TV news stories were mostly about the DNR's, (Department of Natural Resource,) campaign to keep the pervasive plant from spreading to other lakes. Much of the initial information we collected helped us to understand what kind of plant and problem Eurasian Water Milfoil is.
The information was needed, first, to define the community problem then
to formulate the solution. Once we knew really what the issue was, the rest
came as a breeze. We first started guessing solutions and got sick of being
told over and over that they were not feasible. By asking the experts about
the feasibility of our brain stormed solutions we gathered more information
about the plant itself. The last try before we came up with our present
solution, this team learned what we needed to know all along, that milfoil
isn't as bad as it gets portrayed by the media. Fish in the lakes really
like milfoil because it's tall stems and feathery leaves help hide them
from predators and from being noticed by their prey. Then we realized that
what the city was already doing is probably one of the best solutions for
the lake community. What we did was take the milfoil and made it more helpful
for the community. So this way the information that we collected in this
long process helped us to formulate a solution.
Section 3: Testing The Proposed Solution
Our solution consists of many parts.
The first part is to continue harvesting the milfoil like the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board already does. We will dry the clippings with a Rolarpowered dehydrator. This will kill the plants, even if they accidentally fall back into the lake, they will not grow. After we have the dry cuttings, we will create a market to the public for them. We will give away two kinds of mulches, one using the dry milfoil and the other using wet milfoil. Milfoil can also be included in some organic foods, such as sushi wraps, and an ingredient in ice cream. These we hope to sell at one of the co-op's in Minneapolis. We can also include milfoil in fertilizers and in some cosmetics. This way we will create a market for this water weed.
The next step in our solution is public awareness. The pubic needs to know about the new products. We will tell them through newspaper articles and television and radio public service announcements. This way the people in our community will be able to know about the new mulch and other products. Once the public knows about that, then we need to prevent the spreading of milfoil to other lakes. For this we plan to place signs around the lakes to warn people about milfoil getting tangled in the motor on boats. On the signs, they will show a picture of the kind of milfoil in that lake.
Testing our solution took many steps. First we had to find a solution. For many of our tests we asked experts about the feasibility of our solutions. The first few tests were just that and they resulted in our solutions not being feasible. The final solution was tested by not only it's feasibility, but how time consuming that it would be and tests that experts have already performed. The first step we took in testing our currant solution, was to meet with Jeff Lee, a lake biologist at the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board. He said that our solution was feasible. At this meeting, we learned that every summer, from May to Labor day, the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation board harvests milfoil in Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun. This is done using a harvester, that works a lot like a lawn mower, hooked to a barge. The milfoil is then brought back to shore and placed on a flat bed truck. On the way to its destination, the milfoil often flies off the back end of the truck. Some of it lands in other lakes, and that is one reason why the chain of lakes in Minneapolis is now completely infested with milfoil. If the milfoil was dry, then it wouldn't spread. We plan to dry the milfoil before it is shipped. Mr. Lee reported that Chip Welling, another one of our experts, had dried milfoil plants on his windowsill and the dried within 12-14 days. After 14 days the milfoil clipping would not grow when replaced in water. We wanted to see if we could accomplish dry milfoil faster so if we are going to market it, it wouldn't take so long to produce our products.
We not only learned about Chip Welling's test, but we conducted one of our own. First we cut milfoil out of our aquarium as if it was being harvested. Then we placed it on the top shelf of a food dehydrator and dehydrated the milfoil. In our test, the milfoil took 3 hours and 40 minutes to dry. Dry milfoil can be used in more ways than wet milfoil because it won't spread if the dry milfoil falls into another lake.
The test results support the solution by telling us that the milfoil can dry faster than 12- 14 days. We needed that information because milfoil mulch is already in demand and if we are going to make a successful market from milfoil products, we need to have the milfoil dry quickly. These test results prove that milfoil can dry within one day, and if we have more than one food dehydrator, We may actually be able to dry a whole harvest of milfoil in one day. That would speed up the process so that we can get our products to the public quicker. There is always the risk of running out of milfoil for all the products that the public is demanding at that time, but that would be good, because we don't want any extra dried weeds.
Section 4: How The Solution Works
If you were a plant, you would hate milfoil, it blocks the sunlight that you need to stay alive, grow and multiply. If a human then came along and cut the milfoil so that it didn't block your sunlight, you would be happy because you would survive. This is how the solution works in the lake environment. Both fish and plants are happy, which is important because we want to keep our lake ecosystem healthy and diverse. If either the fish or the plants are not happy, it usually means that they do not have something that they need to survive. When one species dies off in a particular ecosystem, the whole ecosystem is affected. That is not good, because it weakens the ecosystem. The best ecosystem that you can have is a diverse and strong ecosystem.
That part of our solution takes care of the underwater dilemma---controlling the milfoil. Now the next question is what happens to the milfoil after you harvest it? This question has many answers and solutions that are beneficial to both human and the land ecosystem.
1. Milfoil can be used in fertilizers and mulch to encourage the growth of land plants in our gardens, yards and parks. This will further beautify the city of Minneapolis and other communities that may use this method.
2. Mulch and fertilizers made with milfoil can be either wet or dry. The Minneapolis Park Board has already used wet milfoil as mulch in a few municipal golf courses around Minneapolis. The results were positive for this positive use of a pestiferous water weed.
3. Milfoil is also a seaweed, and can be used as an additional ingredient in ice cream. Another use that could be, is the wraps around sushi. Two chemical components are magnesium and vitamin A which are good for the body.
To make our solution a reality our team will be working closely with the Minneapolis Park Board and the Minnesota DNR. To harvest milfoil, you need a permit from the DNR. Jeff Lee told us that the permit is easy to get. So that is not the problem. We would also develop a campaign to get the public's attention to milfoil use. This will be done through newspaper articles, TV public service announcements and radio public service announcements. We will also design informational doorhangers for Southwest Minneapolis, especially near the lakes we harvest in while the program is going on. Then, the county already has a spot where they give away wood chip mulch and the permit that we get will include placing the milfoil mulch in the same area. People in Hennepin county are already accustom to getting their chip mulch at this place, milfoil mulch will provide gardeners a second mulch option.
Then, as to community needs to make this solution a reality, our team would need to get the cooperation of the food co-ops in Minneapolis. they will provide assistance in packaging and selling the milfoil food products.
With your funds, we will be able to 1) print door-hangers, 2) make our dehydrators, and 3) organize a workshop with representatives from the Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board, the Minnesota DNR, NSP, (Northern Power Company,) who runs the wood chip mulch place now, the co-op's and ourselves so that we can all be on the same page and so that there won't be confusion.
Our solution would improve the quality of life for the people in Minneapolis by improving and maintaining the ecosystems of Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun. Harvesting the milfoil will mean cleaner beaches, this will bring back and increase the number of swimmers, boaters, and fishermen at the lake in the summer.
Our solution will also help the economy in this city. There are people who sell snacks around the lakes, the increase in the number of swimmers will help them sell more. The money earned from this goes to the Park Board. The Park board will then be able to further beautify the community where we live. That will attract more tourists to Minneapolis. Property value will soar and Minneapolis will continue to be a very nice city to live in.
More than just adding to the economy through the Park Board, we will need to hire people to harvest the milfoil and put it in the dehydrators. After it is dry, additional people will be needed to clean the milfoil and package the milfoil.
Milfoil will benefit the community by cleaning up our lakes in the summer. Then giving more money to the Park Board who will use that money, and our mulch, to further beautify Minneapolis which will bring in more tourists. Then milfoil will help the economy by giving more jobs to help the milfoil get from under water to under our trees, in the garden and on our dinner tables. We will have more choice of food to eat and our gardens and yards will flourish with beauty.
The issues that may stop this new and useful program are pretty much usual for any new program. First, the number one issue is the money. We need your funds to build solar dehydrators to dry out the milfoil, print doorhangers, for each house in the communities surrounding Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun, and organize the workshop to get everyone's cooperation. These costs may include, renting a room, a speakers and printing costs for any hand-outs that we may need to hand out.
The next issue facing us would be the public support. As with any campaign, you are never quite sure if the public will buy your ideas. You don't know, we could be left with tons and tons of unused mulch at the end of the season. The food products at the co-op's could be overstocked, with none or very few buyers. This could all happen.
Another implication could be no sun. Since we are using solar-powered dehydrators, they need light to run. If the machines don't get the sunlight they need, they will stop running. That could leave us with a bunch of undried milfoil that we would have to be even more careful than normal with, if one piece accidentally falls into a lake that is not infested with milfoil, then they now have the problem too.
The final issue that has could prevent the success of our solution is
the out of control spreading of milfoil. Once we have found a way to control
this pervasive water weed, we don't want it to spread to other water bodies.
The Minnesota DNR is trying to get the word out and fining people who have
milfoil on their boats. Another idea on the prevention of milfoil spreading
is to set up additional signs warning boaters of fines that may occur H
you have milfoil on your boats. We would increase the number of signs around
lakes that are infested with milfoil.