Another Summer Full of Watershed Education For Lake Champlain Basin Residents of All Ages
Lake Champlain Sea Grant’s Watershed Alliance has an exciting lineup of programming planned for Summer 2025! The growing program worked with 2373 K–12 students, 139 educators, and 18 college students last year—one of the biggest years on record! More programs are on the docket this year for all audiences!
For the Public
To kick things off, we will be offering public trips aboard the state-of-the-art R/V Marcelle Melosira in both New York and Vermont. The Marcelle Melosira spends most of its time docked at the University of Vermont’s Rubenstein Laboratory and is used for fisheries or other water resources research or by the LCSG Watershed Alliance team educating K-12 students and teachers. Over the summer, limited trips open up for community members to experience the ship and talk to the crew and staff while learning about Lake Champlain.
“I absolutely loved the whole experience and would participate again,” shared an attendee of one of last year’s public trips. “The experience of being on the water with other curious folks and on a world-class vessel was already cool enough but then you added hands-on activities, learning and discussions. It could be 4 hours long and you'd still have stuff to cover!”
The first trips this summer are leaving from Plattsburgh Marina on Wednesday, July 9 from 10:00 AM -12:00 PM and 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM. Trips leaving from Burlington, Vermont will be on Friday, July 11 from 10:00 AM -12:00 PM and 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM, Thursday, July 31 from 5:00- 7:00 PM and Thursday, August 14 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Learn more about these trips and sign up in advance on our website. We look forward to taking community members and visitors out on the lake again this summer!
For Students
This summer is the fourth year LCSG’s Watershed Alliance will be partnering with the Community Sailing Center for the Women in Science and Sailing Camp to integrate sailing with watershed science for femme-identifying campers ages 11–15. From August 4–8, campers will split their days between the Community Sailing Center learning how to sail and the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Center learning about water quality, lake science, and ongoing research on Lake Champlain. Campers will board the research vessel and practice sampling techniques that scientists use to monitor water quality in the Lake Champlain watershed and beyond. They will also meet other female scientists working on an array of fascinating and important research in the lab. We work with the campers to connect how our actions on land impact our freshwater resources and think of ways we can help keep our watershed healthy. We are looking forward to another great summer on the water!
For Teachers
Watershed Alliance will also lead two educator professional development courses this summer, the Watershed Alliance Teacher Researcher Partnership (WATR) and Stormwater Education Methods. Learn more about these opportunities on the LCSG Teacher Professional Development webpage.
The WATR Partnership leverages local research activities and a state-of-the-art research vessel to provide teachers with a week-long summer field experience exploring watershed science and water quality issues. The R/V Marcelle Melosira is the primary research vessel at the University of Vermont, and during WATR, the vessel functions as a floating laboratory and classroom on Lake Champlain. This immersive experience allows teachers to gain valuable experience working alongside research faculty, staff, crew, and community partners to reimagine teaching rooted in place. Through the WATR Partnership, teachers will learn about current and emerging water quality challenges, and will become involved in exciting, ongoing research projects! The capstone of this experience will be partnering with a researcher to collaborate on the development of a watershed Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) based unit. This 3-credit course has a fee of $350 and takes place July 17–18 and July 21–23 with pre and post-course virtual sessions.
The Stormwater Education Methods course focuses on the key concepts of a stormwater stewardship curriculum and effective implementation with upper elementary, middle and/or high school students. Course participants will engage in hands-on learning to understand the definition, sources, and impacts of stormwater on surface water. In addition, they will learn uses for and mechanisms of operation for a variety of green stormwater infrastructure practices. The 1-credit course will also provide participants with information about opportunities to implement and maintain various green stormwater infrastructure practices. In-person program dates are July 31 and August 1, with additional online office hours. If you are interested in either of these professional development courses, please contact Ashley Eaton at akeaton [at] uvm.edu.