Greetings Groundwater Enthusiasts!
I hope you are doing well and enjoying the warmth of our brief Minnesota summer weather. Summer in Minnesota is that magical few weeks where you learn new ways to get places because of road construction and then grill, camp, swim, fish, bike, do kids sports, garden, attend weddings, attend graduations, go on family vacation, mow lawn, and get humbled by some outside DIY projects. Uff da! I hope you can make the most of your summer!
I thoroughly enjoyed the spring conference this year. Thank you to everyone who presented! Your willingness to share your expertise with the Minnesota groundwater community is tremendously valuable. The Board received an abundance of positive feedback about the conference as well as some suggestions for improvements. We take the feedback you all provide seriously and we will adjust and try new things where we can. We have already started planning for the fall conference, for which the theme is “Poking the bear: How does pumping impact water quality?” We are aiming to post the call for abstracts and open conference registration this month.
Building on the work of the previous Board, we focused on increasing student involvement at the spring conference and it paid off. We had over 60 students in attendance! Special thanks to Nick Evans and Amanda Yourd for leading the networking lunch. That event received overwhelming positive feedback. I enjoyed the positive energy the students brought to the conference and their technical contributions from lighting talks and posters. Congratulations again to the MGWA Foundation scholarship winners! The Board is exploring ideas to continue engaging with students and build on this incredible momentum.
The hard work of the Board over the past two years—restructuring, implementing administrative changes, and upgrading operational systems—is paying off. We are only beginning to realize the potential of the new structure and leadership. We put together the spring conference quickly, we are working ahead on the fall conference, and we are exploring additional ideas to engage with students and MGWA members.
Please feel free to share suggestions for conference themes, gatherings, events, learning opportunities, or anything groundwater‑related with me or any Board member. Help us shape the future of MGWA during this exciting time!
Respectfully,
Jared Trost, MGWA President
MGWA is committed to developing a just, equitable, and inclusive groundwater community. Click on the button below to read MGWA’s full diversity statement.
RSS - Posts