Students Bring Watershed Concepts Home for the Summer

The 2024-2025 school year culminated in significant watershed-based projects for K-12 students across the Lake Champlain Basin. From creative media projects to parades, young people are learning to appreciate, understand, and steward our water resources. The LCBP is happy to highlight the following recent initiatives. 

Beekmantown Middle School Lake Champlain Watershed Project Showcase 

Beekmantown, New York seventh graders participated in year-long programming through the Watershed Alliance program. In partnership with Lake Champlain Sea Grant, Lake Champlain Research Institute and SUNY Plattsburgh serve as the New York hub for the bi-state K–12 education initiative. The LCBP has proudly provided funding to the Watershed Alliance’s SUNY programs for the past five years.  

Students explored a wide range of topics including stream monitoring, microplastics sampling, fish dissections, plankton sampling, and more. Trips out on the R/V Marcelle Melosira enriched classroom learning.  

At the end of May, students showcased final presentations based on critical watershed topics. In total, 143 students worked hard on projects that demonstrated a high level of engagement with watershed concepts and challenges. 

Sustainability Academy Trout Parade 

To celebrate the seasonal end of their Trout in the Classroom program, Burlington Sustainability Academy students marched through the city holding fish artwork, including a 14-foot trout puppet. 

The timing coincided with the end of lake trout stocking, a decades-long effort led by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to restore lake trout populations in Lake Champlain. 

The parade drew hundreds of city residents out into the street to appreciate the artwork and celebrate our lake’s ecological community. 

Salmon and Trout in the Classroom 

We recently covered the environmental education program Salmon and Trout in the Classroom, which has been widely adopted by educators throughout the Basin. Each year, hundreds of students venture out into their local waterways and release fish they raised throughout the winter. 

Lake Learning Interviews 

This spring the LCBP Resource Room received many requests for information from high school students working on final projects and essays about Lake Champlain. Students from Burlington, Shoreham, South Burlington and St. Albans set up interviews with our staff to dive into their questions. All were curious to learn about changes in lake health over time and wanted to know what individuals can do to make a positive difference. We were thrilled to connect with such caring and curious students. Our Resource Room staff are available all summer long to speak with visitors of all ages about Lake Champlain stewardship. 

Northeastern Clinton Central School District Outdoor Education Program 

The NCCS Outdoor Education Program provides sixth grade students the opportunity to connect with the outdoors and each other. Over the course of four days, students rotate through outdoor learning stations and gain exposure to an array of topics—including key watershed concepts. They explored macroinvertebrates and stream health with Trout Unlimited, and stewards presented the watershed model. 

This program has run through for a full generation, as parents who chaperone were once students in attendance. 

Educators Complete Year-Long Watershed for Every Classroom Professional Development Program 

Last July, 16 educators gathered in Shelburne, Vermont to begin the Champlain Basin Education Initiative’s (CBEI) Watershed for Every Classroom program, a year-long professional development course offered in partnership with the Lake Champlain Basin Program, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, Lake Champlain Committee, Lake Champlain Sea Grant, and Shelburne Farms. 

The July intensive opened with outdoor activities at Shelburne Farms and a presentation on agricultural practices from Dairy Farm Manager Sam Dixon. The group then hiked Mt. Philo to learn about the region’s geologic past from Dr. Charlotte Mehrtens, former Chair of Geology at the University of Vermont, and learned that human settlement patterns and land uses in New York and Vermont were influenced by underlying geology. 

The following day educators toured the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum with Director Chris Sabick learning about the history of the region, and visited the Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation in Saranac Lake to explore challenges facing nesting loons. 

Day three included stream sampling on the West Branch of the Ausable River with the Lake Champlain Sea Grant teams from UVM and SUNY, followed by an afternoon youth environmental panel at The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, New York. 

The fourth day brought the group back to Vermont for a trip aboard UVM’s R/V Marcelle Melosira to learn about lake research and explore plankton tows and secchi disc readings, a stop at the LCBP Resource Room in the ECHO Leahy Center, a guided stormwater walk, and a reflective sail at the Community Sailing Center. 

In October, the cohort continued their journey with visits to the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge and Choiniere Family Farm in Highgate. In January, they studied macroinvertebrates with Saint Michael’s College biology professor Declan McCabe and toured UVM’s Special Collections Library. 

The program concluded in April with a return to geology at Goodsell Ridge Preserve in Isle La Motte and presentations of how these committed educators incorporated the course content into their classroom curriculum.  Over the year, educators explored topics from geology to sustainable agriculture, enriching their curricula and inspiring students to become stewards of the Lake Champlain Basin. 

Seven teacher cohorts have completed the Watershed for Every Classroom course since the program began. The success of the CBEI programs have been made possible through this strong partnership which also incorporates commitments from participating educators, guest scientists, and community experts. The LCBP sends a heartfelt thank you to every educator who has dedicated their time and energy to uplifting the next generation of lake stewards. Thanks to you, the future of our watershed is in good hands.