A message from LLO Director Bob Sterner:
The science we do at LLO adds to our knowledge and improves our ability to live on Earth sustainably. Science training prepares tomorrow’s workforce to possess the technical and analytical skills to solve the knotty problems of the future, the over-the-horizon issues we cannot yet even imagine. Experience shows there are huge payoffs tomorrow when we invest in knowledge today.
Past, Present and Future
At LLO, we are concerned with the past, present and future of the largest lakes on Earth. These water bodies are fascinating and valuable places. It may surprise you to hear that five lakes contain more than half of Earth’s surface, liquid freshwater, the resource we depend on to produce our food and fiber, to support wildlife, to carry our waste, and of course to drink. To manage these huge and precious lakes, whether they are in Africa, Asia, South or Central America, or right in our own backyard, we need to build scientific knowledge. That’s where LLO comes in and where we need your help.
Your Support is Needed
More and more, science needs direct public support. LLO obtains much of the funding to do its work through grants. The intense competition for research funding insures that public money is spent on the most exciting and meritorious projects. It is a proud and celebratory day at LLO when one of our scientists gets a new grant. But, governmental sources of funding are stretched very thin, and most of them come with specific strings attached, such that they alone cannot close important knowledge gaps. We need and value your support and we hope you will consider giving directly to LLO so that we can continue to deliver the results needed to protect and to use Earth’s water as intelligently as we possibly can.
I've outlined our funding priorities on our Support LLO page and you're welcome to give directly to LLO or talk with the Swenson College Development Officer Carrie Sutherland at [email protected] or (218) 726-6984.
I thank all of our supporters for what they’ve already done. For more information about LLO, contact me at (218) 726-7926 or [email protected]. Additionally, to make a donation you can go to the LLO's Giving webpage.
Yours sincerely,
Robert W. Sterner,
LLO Director