We recently recieved an e-mail from Sarah Meyer with the latest happenings from the Finger Lakes Institute:
January 2009 Happenings at the Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Education Outreach
- Science on Seneca Database Project
- SOS Lesson Plan: Invasive Mussels
Community Outreach and Public Service
HWS Alternative Spring Break- An Act of Conservation
- Recruiting HWS Students for March 2009 Trip
Finger Lakes Institute supports HWS Community Based Research Projects
-Sarah Holland WS’09, Green Space In Geneva
-Susan Kridler WS ’11, Geneva Biking Initiative
Studying and Maintaining the Quality of Syracuse’s Drinking Water –Skaneateles Lake
-Soni Pradhanhang, SUNY ESF, presents in January
FLI Events :
January 8: Monitoring and Modeling: Assessing Best Management Practices in the Skaneateles Lake Watershed
January 29: FLOW: How Did a Handful of Corporations Steal Our Water -Movie Showing and Discussion
Sincerely,
Sarah A. Meyer
Community Outreach Coordinator
http://fli.hws.edu/
Office:(315)781-4382
Finger Lakes Institute
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
601 S. Main Street
Geneva, NY 14456
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
A look back at the past year!
It has been a very busy year for OWLA and the movement to further protect Owasco Lake. Where has the time gone?
2008 was definitely a year of change. OWLA transitioned to a new President; Joe Wasileski. We also welcomed a whole new group of active members as well as adding several new Directors to our Board. The organization has also seen a large resurgence of membership participation this year, we hope it will keep growing. Another change this year was the loss of Owasco Lake's longtime advocate, Congressman James Walsh, who decided not to run for an additional term. Jim will be greatly missed by the protectors of Owasco Lake. His legacy of bringing back funding and sponsoring legislation to protect the Fingerlakes will be hard to ever match. Stay tuned for another separate blog to celebrate all of Jim's accomplishments over the years. Thanks Jim!
In April, we started this blog with the intent to get more timely information about what was going on in the watershed to our membership and the public. We hope we have met that goal and possibly exceeded it.
The spring began with a major push to bring some closure to the Groton Sewage Treatment plant issue. There was quite a bit of discussion between the Board and legal advisers on how the organization should proceed to drive some kind of response from the NYSDEC. At the same time our water testing team began preparations for the upcoming season of water sampling on the lake and watershed streams.
By summer the retoric on the Groton STP situation had intensified and OWLA members put together the "First Annnual Owasco Lake Day", where it was announced that the New York State DEC had finally released a draft permit with a tighter limit for Phosphorous that would be dumped into the Owasco Inlet. Local environmental groups set up displays and local Representatives spoke about protecting Owasco Lake. Joe Wasileski also introduced a call for action, with very specific goals for us to go after. (see the OWLANEWS blog link: http://owlanews.blogspot.com/2008/07/owasco-lake-day-great-success.html)
It was also OWLA's 20th Anniversary and was celebrated at Emerson Park on the Owasco Lake Day. A lot has happened in 20 years. As I wrote a series of blogs about our first 20 years, I was reminded of all of our great accomplishments and the quality of people who had volunteered to make them all happen (see the OWLANEWS blog link: http://owlanews.blogspot.com/2008/05/owla-is-20-years-old-this-summer-part-1.html).
Our membership committee also launched a large membership campaign which included several waves of mailings to people around the lake and in the towns served by Owasco Lake's drinking water. Our membership team has been quite creative and is really getting organized. We can't wait to see what they have planned for 2009.
Well there were many other OWLA happenings during 2008, too many to list here. Please feel free to browse back through the past months blog stories to better understand all great things going on to protect Owasco Lake and our environment. All-in-all, I believe it was a very positive year for the organization. Stay tuned for another article very soon, that will outline where we might be headed for 2009 and beyond.
As 2008 winds down I would like to thank all of our members for their efforts and support this year! I can't begin to say enough about the time our volunteers dedicate to protecting Owasco Lake. Thanks Team!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
- Lakeman
2008 was definitely a year of change. OWLA transitioned to a new President; Joe Wasileski. We also welcomed a whole new group of active members as well as adding several new Directors to our Board. The organization has also seen a large resurgence of membership participation this year, we hope it will keep growing. Another change this year was the loss of Owasco Lake's longtime advocate, Congressman James Walsh, who decided not to run for an additional term. Jim will be greatly missed by the protectors of Owasco Lake. His legacy of bringing back funding and sponsoring legislation to protect the Fingerlakes will be hard to ever match. Stay tuned for another separate blog to celebrate all of Jim's accomplishments over the years. Thanks Jim!
In April, we started this blog with the intent to get more timely information about what was going on in the watershed to our membership and the public. We hope we have met that goal and possibly exceeded it.
The spring began with a major push to bring some closure to the Groton Sewage Treatment plant issue. There was quite a bit of discussion between the Board and legal advisers on how the organization should proceed to drive some kind of response from the NYSDEC. At the same time our water testing team began preparations for the upcoming season of water sampling on the lake and watershed streams.
By summer the retoric on the Groton STP situation had intensified and OWLA members put together the "First Annnual Owasco Lake Day", where it was announced that the New York State DEC had finally released a draft permit with a tighter limit for Phosphorous that would be dumped into the Owasco Inlet. Local environmental groups set up displays and local Representatives spoke about protecting Owasco Lake. Joe Wasileski also introduced a call for action, with very specific goals for us to go after. (see the OWLANEWS blog link: http://owlanews.blogspot.com/2008/07/owasco-lake-day-great-success.html)
It was also OWLA's 20th Anniversary and was celebrated at Emerson Park on the Owasco Lake Day. A lot has happened in 20 years. As I wrote a series of blogs about our first 20 years, I was reminded of all of our great accomplishments and the quality of people who had volunteered to make them all happen (see the OWLANEWS blog link: http://owlanews.blogspot.com/2008/05/owla-is-20-years-old-this-summer-part-1.html).
Our membership committee also launched a large membership campaign which included several waves of mailings to people around the lake and in the towns served by Owasco Lake's drinking water. Our membership team has been quite creative and is really getting organized. We can't wait to see what they have planned for 2009.
Well there were many other OWLA happenings during 2008, too many to list here. Please feel free to browse back through the past months blog stories to better understand all great things going on to protect Owasco Lake and our environment. All-in-all, I believe it was a very positive year for the organization. Stay tuned for another article very soon, that will outline where we might be headed for 2009 and beyond.
As 2008 winds down I would like to thank all of our members for their efforts and support this year! I can't begin to say enough about the time our volunteers dedicate to protecting Owasco Lake. Thanks Team!
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
- Lakeman
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Contrasts of Two Local Lakes!
Many folks turned out at the Auburn Public Theatre this past Wednesday for the OWLA and IGAT presentation of "Beauty and the Beast - A Tale Of Two Lakes" a documentary produced by Peter Cramer. The film contrasts Ononondaga and Skaneateles Lakes and the story of how one was neglected and the other protected.
A crowd of over 50 people attended the showing to show support for the protection of Owasco Lake and to learn more how how they might get involved. OWLA has even talked about helping to produce a documenatry to highlight the present environmental concerns on Owasco Lake. We hope if you were not able to attend, that you might show your support and consider a donation or better yet, by joining OWLA to help continue the efforts to protect Owasco Lake.
See the complete story from the Auburn Citizen: http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2008/12/04/local_news/news05.txt
A crowd of over 50 people attended the showing to show support for the protection of Owasco Lake and to learn more how how they might get involved. OWLA has even talked about helping to produce a documenatry to highlight the present environmental concerns on Owasco Lake. We hope if you were not able to attend, that you might show your support and consider a donation or better yet, by joining OWLA to help continue the efforts to protect Owasco Lake.
See the complete story from the Auburn Citizen: http://www.auburnpub.com/articles/2008/12/04/local_news/news05.txt
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