\n\tDespite windy and chilly conditions, on Monday, September 13 the SUNY Plattsburgh Lake Champlain Sea Grant\u2019s Watershed Alliance team welcomed 154 seventh graders from the Beekmantown Central School District to Plattsburgh City Beach. The team worked alongside Casella Waste Management and SUNY Plattsburgh\u2019s Lake Champlain Research Institute to offer an engaging field day centered around microplastics pollution in Lake Champlain. As a part of their field experience, students were able to learn the scientific process of collecting microplastics from beach sand, the impacts of different types of plastic, and how to modify their own consumption of plastics to improve their environmental impact. Data was then collected, compiled, and shared in their classrooms on the microplastics they discovered. What did they find? Mostly colored plastic fragments, lots of \u201cnurdles\u201d or round pre-production plastic pieces, rubber fragments, and more.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cStudents are aware of plastic,\u201d shared Tori DesRocher, Watershed Education Coordinator for SUNY Plattsburgh\u2019s Watershed Alliance. \u201cThey see it everywhere. Taking them on this experience shows\u00a0how the plastic they see around them every day is impacting the region they live in and gives them tangible ways to create positive change. We hope this experience empowers these kids to be environmental stewards of the watershed.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tThis event is one of the many experiences provided by SUNY Plattsburgh\u2019s Watershed Alliance to the Beekmantown 7th graders this academic year as a part of their project-based learning program called \u201cLake Champlain: Past, Present, and Future.\u201d These students will be participating in a series of programs with Lake Champlain Sea Grant (LCSG) and other organizations, learning about the watershed history and science to complete a project encapsulating their knowledge and experiences throughout the year. With LCSG, these students will also participate in other Watershed Alliance core programs such as the stream monitoring, dissecting Lake Champlain bycatch fish for evidence of microplastics, and learn how scientists collect data on the lake by boarding the University of Vermont\u2019s research vessel, the Marcelle Melosira, as it docks at Plattsburgh Marina in May.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tWhen asked about her experience partnering with the Watershed Alliance, Beekmantown 7th grade teacher Rebecca Hamilton shared, \u201cPartnering with LCSG has been an integral part of the revival of our project based learning program at Beekmantown Middle School. The hands-on experiences and stewardship programs have allowed our students opportunities to learn and be involved in our local environmental community. The partnership that we have with LCSG has elevated our projects and we couldn’t ask for a better experience.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tWhile this program is not one of the core programs the Watershed Alliance offers, DesRocher looks forward to offering similar experiences to other schools in the watershed in the future. This event was a success thanks to Casella Waste Management for offering an engaging Recycling Relay activity, to the graduate students of Lake Champlain Research Institute for offering their knowledge of microplastics and research methods, and to New York Watershed Alliance\u2019s volunteer, Dave Sponable.\u00a0<\/p>\n