Watertown Daily Times: Search Results

"It's beyond = expectation.=20 It's absolutely fantastic. It's a learning experience beyond anything," = said=20 Larry Grisanti, a biology teacher at East Aurora High School, one of the = cruise=20 participants.

During the weeklong Shipboard and Shoreline Science Teachers' = Workshop on=20 Lake Ontario, 15 teachers and other environmental educators = participate=20 in field exercises and collect lake data with federal scientists.

The workshop is hosted by New York Sea Grant and the Centers for = Ocean=20 Sciences Education Excellence, which gathered teachers from New York and = five=20 other states for the workshop.

The crew spends most of its time on the Peter Wise Lake=20 Guardian, a 180-foot research vessel operated by the U.S. = Environmental=20 Protection Agency's Great Lakes National Program Office.

"Anybody can get information from a textbook, but retaining or = gaining=20 any real knowledge is a different story," Mr. Grisanti said. "You get so = much=20 more long-term knowledge when you actually do it yourself."

By the end of the cruise, which started in Buffalo and arrived = Tuesday in=20 Clayton, teachers will have presentations and classroom activities to = take back=20 to their schools.

"We will share all our presentations on a disk so that they can = use all=20 this information in their classrooms," said Helen Domske, a coastal = education=20 specialist with the New York Sea Grant, who is leading the summer = workshop.

"The teachers are very excited," she said. "Some mornings we = start at 6=20 a.m. and they go until 10 at night. Except for meals, they don't really = get any=20 downtime, but they are not complaining."

Ms. Domske said the crew has regularly monitored various factors = of the=20 lake, including water temperature, pH levels and chemical = pollutants as=20 well as algae and plankton abundance.

She said this is the third year of a five-year special monitoring = program=20 established by the EPA and Environment Canada that involves more than 60 = scientists and students from various agencies.

The cycle rotates every year for each of the Great Lakes:=20 Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario.

"Next year, the cruise will be out on Lake Huron and = Lake=20 Superior," Ms. Domske said.

Jana R. Lantry, an aquatic biologist with the state Department of = Environmental Conservation, said the project is important to set up = goals to=20 restore the damaged ecosystems of the lakes.

"Going out and collecting data of a whole lake, in both = New York=20 and Ontario waters, helps us better evaluate a project for restoration," = Mrs.=20 Lantry said. "As far as New York waters, we have started assessments in = the=20 early '80s and have continued until now and have 14 research sites on = the New=20 York side."

She said human activities on the lakes caused the = ecosystems to=20 suffer from toxic chemicals, loss of species and invasive species such = as the=20 zebra and quagga mussels.

The research group also studies the lakes' food web and = nutrients=20 and will conduct a lakewide fishery assessment.

Mr. Grisanti said it is getting more important to educate = students about=20 the up-to-date conditions of the Great Lakes because in the near = future,=20 they will be the ones who will protect one of the largest sources of = fresh water=20 in the world.

"They are the next generation. They have to know what they are = going to=20 take care of," he said.

Mr. Grisanti said he will not be starting the next school year = with a=20 usual first-day routine.

"I'm going to show them a PowerPoint presentation and we are = going to=20 discuss what we did on this trip," Mr. Grisanti said. "It's going to be = real=20 science. How cool will that be?"

The crew made a stop at Oswego on Thursday and will stop at = Rochester=20 today and Youngs-town on Saturday.