The Swan Chronicles
Article #1 of 3 in the series: The Investment
The pond in front of the Workforce Sustainability Center at Illinois Central College (ICC) has been an aesthetic and scientific investment from the College since 2019 when it was first installed. In the years following COVID, the water was not well maintained. Silt piled in tons on the pond’s floor, and biology professors at ICC had unofficially named it “Goose Poop Lake” due to the amount of E. coli found from water testing done by their classes.
Since 2023, the silt has been entirely emptied from the bottom and, according to Professor Pete Fandel, has been reused for truck driving roads and agriculture purposes. The water was refilled in preparation for an exciting and ongoing research project . What has caught the attention of some is the decline of geese on the pond, and two swans that seem to spend their entire lives on the water.
Are these two phenomena related? Are these swans real? Most people don’t want to stop after class or pull over to investigate after a busy day, so we’ve done the work for you. Check in next week and keep reading to find out more.