New Walking Tour App Highlights Mirror Lake Stormwater Management Features

By Shari Halik, Communications Professional
November 05, 2022

From green roofs to brick sidewalks, you can follow a new app to tour green stormwater practices that manage water drainage on the landscape along Mirror Lake in the town of Lake Placid, New York. Learn what a watershed is, why pervious pavement helps rainwater to sink in, how landscape terracing can help collect water and reduce road salt in the lake, and more!

Communications Fellow Stephanie Tyski has been hard at work since she began her fellowship this past summer with the Adirondack Watershed Institute, located at Paul Smith’s College. To educate and engage the public in ways communities can reduce stormwater impacts, Tyski created this virtual, self-guided walk for Mirror Lake. She made the tour available through a smartphone app called PocketSights, created by a small team in Ithaca, New York. The app is designed to follow your location to "lead" you on pre-built, self-guided walks.

Tyski created the Mirror Lake walk with 14 stops along the southwestern portion of the lake starting at Brewster Park and ending near the Mirror Lake Public Beach. Each stop provides information about the Mirror Lake watershed—all the land that drains into the lake—and recent changes that Lake Placid has put in place to help manage stormwater drainage.

“Not everyone has time to attend a naturalist led program to learn about our watersheds and nature but most have a cellphone and a few extra minutes as they stroll down Main Street in Lake Placid,” said Tyski. “Apps like PocketSights and tours developed with them make learning about the world around us more accessible and approachable for the general public.”

Find the Lake Placid Mirror Lake Watershed Walk on PocketSights. The app is available for both Android and iOS, but Apple users get a few more features such as the ability to take the walk anywhere through virtual mode.

Lake Champlain Sea Grant partners with the Adirondack Watershed Institute to support Tyski’s two-year fellowship.

Learn more from Lake Champlain Sea Grant about ways to protect water quality by reducing stormwater in your community.