Algal Blooms

Cuomo Calls For Major Investment, New Approach To Algal Blooms

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Gov. Andrew Cuomo is proposing an investment of $65 million into fighting algal blooms that have created an increasing number of problems across the state in recent years. The Cuomo administration will target 12 priority lakes in four different regions that are vulnerable to harmful algal blooms. They are all different, and lessons learned form studying each lake would be applied to other similar lakes going forward. Greg Boyer of SUNY ESF in Syracuse has been studying algal blooms for years. He says this approach works because not all algal blooms are created equally. “It’s not going to be one size fits all,” Boyer said.

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Researchers Scope Cayuga Lake For Invasive Plant

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In September, a class from Wells College was on Cayuga Lake, near Aurora, when someone noticed a non-native weed in the water. It was hydrilla, an invasive plant that can cause big problems.

Hillary Lambert, with the Cayuga Lake Watershed, is trying to figure out how widespread the hydrilla is before the lake gets even colder and freezes. “If we let hydrilla take control over several years time, it could make large areas of the shoreline impassable every summer,” she explained. Hydrilla grows quickly in the water. Once it reaches the surface, it creates a dense mat and crowds out other plants.

Education

We have to take care of our water

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This video was scripted, voiced, and edited by Abreham B., class of 2014 graduate, at Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) in Ithaca, NY. Youth Voice students explore environmental science topics of personal interest while learning production skills from WSKG’s youth media curriculum. 
Cayuga Lake is taking a hit by human waste
Produced by: Abreham B., Ithaca High School, Class of 2014
Video & photography by: Nancy Coddington & Solvejg Wastvedt 
In recent years, human waste is having a negative effect on Cayuga Lake. Microplastics are one specific cause of problems. The ecology of the lake is being effected and some water animals, such as zebra muscles, are digesting these microplastics. Bill Foster is the Program Director for Cayuga Lake Floating Classroom. “When we take young people out on the lake,” says Foster, “we teach them about the ecology of the lake and how this system works that they depend upon for drinking water.”

Education

Catch some rays on a mobile research center

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 This video was scripted, voiced, and edited by Ihotu Onah, class of 2014 graduate, at Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) in Ithaca, NY. Youth Voice students explore environmental science topics of personal interest while learning production skills from WSKG’s youth media curriculum. 
Mobile Research Center on Cayuga Lake
Produced by: Ihotu Onah, Ithaca High School, Class of 2014
Video & photography by: Nancy Coddington & Solvejg Wastvedt

A great way to catch some nautical rays, the boat itself doubles as a mobile research center. The program offers public eco-cruises, group charters, and field experiences for school-age children. Their goal: Get everyone out on Cayuga Lake and learning! Bill Foster is the Program Director for Cayuga Lake Floating Classroom.

Education

The problem with hydrilla: It grows very quickly

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 This video was scripted, voiced, and edited by Ismail Abdur-razzaaq, Grade 9 student at Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) in Ithaca, NY. Youth Voice students explore environmental science topics of personal interest while learning production skills from WSKG’s youth media curriculum. Tracking Invasive Hydrilla in Cayuga Lake
Produced by: Ismail Abdur-razzaaq, Grade 9
Video & photography by: Nancy Coddington & Solvejg Wastvedt

Bill Foster is the Program Director for Cayuga Lake Floating Classroom. The program has engaged the Ithaca community around the future of water resources since 2003. But, in 2011, one observant student intern created another important role for the Floating Classroom: monitoring the spread of Hydrilla verticillata, a fast-growing invasive species.

Education

Keep our tourists coming & our drinking water clean

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 This video was scripted, voiced, and edited by Ijeyilowoicho Onah, Grade 10 student at Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) in Ithaca, NY. Youth Voice students explore environmental science topics of personal interest while learning production skills from WSKG’s youth media curriculum. Cayuga: Our Community’s Lake
Produced by: Ijeyilowoicho Onah, Grade 10
Video & photography by: Nancy Coddington & Solvejg Wastvedt
Bill Foster is the Program Director for Cayuga Lake Floating Classroom. Foster and his staff teach young people about the ecology of the lake and how this ecosystem they depend on for drinking water works. “When they come out and learn, they’re also making observations that become data,” says Foster.