Summer 2023 Education and Outreach Line Up
The Lake Champlain Sea Grant education team is ready for summer! Check out our opportunities for K-12 students, teachers, and community members so that you can get involved in one of our programs!
For Students
Women in Science and Sailing Camp
Take science to the lake with this Community Sailing Center and Lake Champlain Sea Grant – UVM Extension partner camp for girls. Each morning will begin with the basics of sailing at the Sailing Center followed by afternoons with scientists and educators from Lake Champlain Sea Grant – UVM Extension in the lab or aboard a research vessel, where participants will collect data and learn about the many physical, biological, chemical, and cultural variables that contribute to the health of the lake and our watershed. This camp is inclusive of all women, trans-women, and femme-identifying non-binary youth. Learn more!
Program Dates: August 7–11
For Teachers
Watershed Alliance Teacher Researcher Partnership (WATR) leverages local research activities and a state-of-the-art research vessel to provide teachers with an immersive year-long science program related to watershed science and water quality issues. Through the WATR Partnership, teachers will learn about current and emerging water quality challenges and become involved in ongoing research projects. For the capstone of this experience, teachers will partner with a researcher to collaborate on the development of a watershed Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) based unit. Funding for this program is from the Lake Champlain Basin Program.
Program Dates: July 31 – August 4 (summer intensive session), & school year sessions TBD
**Applications are closed for the 2023 course.
Stormwater Education Methods focuses on the key concepts of a stormwater stewardship curriculum and how to effectively implement it with upper elementary, middle and/or high school students. Course participants will engage in hands-on learning to understand the definition, sources, and impacts of stormwater on surface water bodies. In addition, they will learn uses for and mechanisms of operation for a variety of types of green stormwater infrastructure practices. The course will also provide participants with information to implement and maintain various green stormwater infrastructure practices.
Program Dates: August 9 & 10
Watershed for Every Classroom (WEC) is a year-long professional development experience for K-12 educators in the Lake Champlain basin of Vermont, New York and Québec, brought to you by the Champlain Basin Education Initiative (CBEI). The year-long program kicks off with a week-long summer intensive from July 18–21 and continues throughout the school year. This year’s WEC course will include a cohort of place-based educators from Hawaii and include opportunities for rich dialogue to share educator experiences and new field visits. We welcome educators who have taken WEC in the past to return for this new WEC 2.0 summer experience!
Program Dates: July 18 – 21
Lake Champlain Mercury Community Science Program uses inquiry-based learning modules to understand mercury contamination in the Lake Champlain watershed. In these modules aimed at high school classrooms, students are presented with current, regional information on mercury science. They are given the tools to collect and interpret scientific data and to ask relevant and meaningful questions about mercury accumulation in the region. Data from the project will be included in the Dragonfly Mercury Project database, a national monitoring network that involves community scientists in the collection of dragonfly larvae for mercury analysis. Limited space available! Stipends are available for year 1 and 2.
Program Dates: June 26 & 27
Champlain Research Experience for Secondary Teachers (CREST) 2.0 will engage grade 7–12 teachers in an exploration of Lake Champlain basin research through authentic investigations alongside scientists, graduate and undergraduate students, teachers, and teacher educators. CREST 2.0 builds on the original CREST Program by offering teachers opportunities to engage in new research experiences at Shelburne Farms and at UVM’s Rubenstein Ecosystem Labs. Additionally, participants will have opportunities to integrate project, proficiency, and place-based teaching practices as they develop a project based on the CREST touchstones to be implemented in their classrooms during the academic year. CREST program activities are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the Computer Science Teacher Association Standards (CSTA) and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in ELA and Mathematics. New emphasis will be placed on computational thinking skills and proficiencies.
Program Dates: June 26 – July 1
Learn more about each of these teacher professional development programs.
For Community Members
Summer Outreach on the Colchester Causeway
We are partnering up with Local Motion again this summer! Meet up with Lake Champlain Sea Grant staff 11–3pm each Friday and Saturday from Memorial Day through late August at the bike ferry crossing. Use this map to find your way there by bike. Once there, you can learn about the lake's natural and cultural history, geology, and ecology, its challenges, and recreational and stewardship opportunities. Learn more!
Public R/V Series – Coming soon!
Each summer, Lake Champlain Sea Grant and UVM Extension host a series of Summer on the Lake educational boat trips. On various dates during July and August the public is invited aboard the UVM research and education vessel, the R/V Marcelle Melosira, to build geologic, cultural, and historical knowledge about Lake Champlain and its watershed. Each trip will focus on one of two themes, either Stories of Lake Champlain or Lake Champlain Live. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook to hear when this series launches for the summer.