MISSION: WATER 24 HEADLINE SURFACE WATER A Swarovski Waterschool educational workshop, featuring field exercises, works towards expanding awareness of local water quality issues. The mission of the Great Rivers Ecological Observatory Network program has shifted slightly with NGRREC’s work in the area of Gulf Hypoxia and the transport of nutrients through the watershed. A bigger emphasis is being placed on the nutrient monitoring component of the network, and with the emergence of the USGS’s very large network of sensors on big rivers and tributaries, GREON does not have to focus as many resources on general monitoring of the main channel. The mobile nature of the floating platform has allowed the research team to be opportunistic and, if desired, move units to address specific research questions. Eventually, the program aims to expand the deployment of platforms to great rivers across the globe. Great Lakes to Gulf The GREON program is augmented considerably by another collaborative project at NGRREC, the Great Lakes to Gulf Virtual Observatory. This interactive geospatial application allows users to view data and geospatial context layers from many publicly available sources on a common map-based interface. Great Lakes to Gulf supports the activities of the EPA’s Hypoxia Task Force, as well as the activities undertaken by state agencies in their nutrient reduction strategies, providing a user- friendly way to view nutrient and water quality data. There are many data sets available with measurements taken at thousands of sites in the Mississippi River Watershed. These data sets can be hosted in any number of databases across the internet, and are made available for all interested parties. The observatory brings many of these data sets together and allows anyone to explore data and learn more about the hypoxia issue. Site enhancements will continue to make that exploration and learning easier while furthering the projects goal of facilitating the transformation of data to knowledge and having that knowledge inform policy. Furthering Education NGRREC is also home to the newly-established Swarovski Waterschool USA Mississippi River, the first and only one located in the United States. Swarovski set up its first Waterschool nearly 16 years ago along the Danube River in Austria to teach children and local communities about safe hygiene practices and the importance of freshwater conservation. Water preservation has been integral to the company since its beginning, more than 120 years ago. The Swarovski Waterschool program educates children (ages 8-15) and communities about the ecological, economic, social and cultural issues that affect water use on a local and global level, and provides clean drinking water and sanitation in schools and communities. The program now has footholds situated along many great rivers of the world – the Danube (Austria), Ganges (India), Yangtze (China), Nile (Uganda), Amazon (Brazil) and now the Mississippi (United States). Working with local partners, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), schools and government partners, the program is focused around the following three pillars – access to safe water, water education, and sanitation and hygiene.