Extension

COASTAL COMMUNITIES AND ECONOMIES

COASTAL WATER QUALITY

To help the public become more aware of and help control domestic pollution of coastal waters, Lake Champlain Sea Grant, in collaboration with UVM and Cornell Master Gardener programs, produced Lake Friendly Gardening in 2001-2002 http://www.uvm.edu/extension
/publications/lakefriendly/ . This 12 part series of information bulletins provides advice on low input home landscape, gardening, and lawn care activities. UVM Master Gardeners promote Lake Friendly Gardening at the annual Burlington Flower Show and at other gardening events. With Sea Grant support, Friends of Burlington Area Community Gardens (FBACG) converted all community gardens in the lake buffer to organic practices. These community gardens now serve as sources of information on lake friendly practices for their communities. As part of an urban watershed restoration effort Sea Grant and Burlington Public Works support adoption of lake friendly grounds care for public property, businesses and multifamily residential property in the Englesby Brook watershed. Sea Grant works with local schools and programs for underserved youth to increase education about domestic pollution, water quality and protection of urban streams.

Urban non point source (NPS) pollution management is the focus of a number of Lake Champlain Sea Grant initiatives. Through a three year USDA regional water quality grant, UVM Extension and Lake Champlain Sea Grant are working to increase awareness of domestic non-point source pollution in coastal camp communities along Mallet's Bay and St. Albans Bay in Vermont. Designed to support local officials and volunteers on NPS awareness, the project includes a middle school water curriculum, public awareness programs, improved public access to NPS information via the town website and a water quality section in the local library http://town.colchester.vt.us/water/, and a residential survey to identify domestic NPS sources and define public awareness needs.

Sea Grant is coordinating the public awareness component of an urban watershed restoration by the City of Burlington. Activities include a recent watershed wide domestic practices and pollution source survey, strengthening community participation in restoration planning, public awareness activities, educational programs involving the locals elementary school and the community garden, free soil testing program for residents and advising local businesses lake friendly on low input grounds care.

In 2001 Sea Grant received support to work with New Hampshire and Maine to develop a unified regional approach to coastal water quality stewardship in northern new England, including support by youth groups for lake and watershed volunteer monitoring, improved access to water quality data by lay monitoring organizations and a lake stewards program. The effort was rewarded April 2003 with a three year USDA CSREES grant for a regional program to support a regional Lake Steward program, developing a stewardship program for high school and 4H youth, and improved regionally based water quality education materials.

 

COASTAL COMMUNITIES AND ECONOMIES
Coastal Water Quality	Shoreline Stabilization
Marina's	Tourism
AQUATIC RESOURCES
Aquatic Nuisance Species	Champlain Canal
Lamprey Research	Water Chestnut Control
Fisheries Extension	Fisheries Institute
Fisheries Curriculum	Technology Transfer
Workshops	Aquaculture