It's All Aboard the Melosira for a Look at Lake Champlain

This summer you can experience Lake Champlain and its history, culture and geology aboard the University of Vermont (UVM) research and education vessel, the R/V Melosira.

UVM Extension, the Lake Champlain Sea Grant Program and ECHO Leahy Center for Lake Champlain are offering several Summer on the Lake excursions, beginning June 27. These educational boat cruises will focus on one of two different themes, Lake Champlain Live or Stories of the Lake.

Each trip is limited to the first 20 people who register at www.uvm.edu/seagrant/public-boat-trips-lake-champlain-aboard-rv-melosira. The cost is $30 per person. Children must be at least eight years old to participate, no exceptions.

A limited number of  financial aid scholarships are available. Please contact Ashley Eaton, Lake Champlain Sea Grant watershed educator and outreach coordinator, at (802) 391-4410 to inquire or email her at akeaton [at] uvm.edu (subject: Summer%20on%20the%20Lake%20inquiry) . If requiring a disability-related accommodation to participate, call her at least three weeks in advance of your scheduled trip.

All trips depart from the south side of the Rubenstein Lab/Echo Building at 3 College St., Burlington. Please plan to be at the boat at least 15 minutes before your departure time for a safety talk and to sign a waiver.

The Lake Champlain Live trip will be offered on June 27, July 30 and Aug. 12 from 9-11 a.m. and on July 17 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. On this excursion you will learn about the geology of Lake Champlain and how the Lake Champlain Basin was formed.

Through fun hands-on activities you will discover how limnologists (scientists who study inland waters) enhance their understanding of the lake and its watershed by taking chemical, biological and physical measurements of the water. Participants will tow for and identify plankton, sample sediment from the lake bottom, assess water samples for invasive species and monitor water clarity, conductivity, temperature and depth.

Dates for the Stories of the Lake trip are July 9, and 24 from 9-11 a.m., and July 1, 18 and Aug. 8 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. After an interactive introduction to the lake's geology, you will travel to Red Rocks Park, Lone Rock Point, Rock Dunder (historically significant to the Abenakis) and the Horse Ferry shipwreck near North Beach for a cultural and historical view of the lake.

Stories will feature native tribes and their culture, history and relationship with water and the lake's naval history after European settlement. You also may opt to do a hands-on sediment assessment session to look for signs of historical land uses and practices on the lake.

Learn more and register at www.uvm.edu/seagrant/public-boat-trips-lake-champlain-aboard-rv-melosira.