Project Watershed Central New York
Dedicated to facilitating water resource education in Central New York
Who We Are
Who We Are
Members of the Project Watershed Consortium in Central New York include: The Living SchoolBook; SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry; Central New York Chapter Izaak Walton League of America; Centers for Nature Education; Onondaga County Council on Environmental Health; Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation; Onondaga County Soil and Water Conservation District; Science Teachers' Association of New York State; and Trout Unlimited.
Mission
A grassroots, volunteer organization, Project Watershed consortium is dedicated to facilitating water resource education in Central New York by providing access to programs, equipment, training and a growing volunteer acquired database on the Internet. We help promote a citizenry that is:
- more aware of potential threats to water quality and how to reduce them
- more aware of the process and importance of water monitoring
- motivated to support efforts to achieve optimal water quality in the region's watersheds
Aims
The Project Watershed consortium aims to educate teachers, their students and adult volunteers about water resources in Central New York by:
- Educating teachers their students and adults regarding water quality, the watershed concept, nonpoint source water pollution and stream monitoring.
- Collecting student/adult- acquired stream survey data and facilitating the distribution of this data among participating school groups and agencies responsible for water quality.
- Developing a commitment to sensible stewardship of water resources in the participants’ communities.
Programs
At this time, Project Watershed consists of three separate stream monitoring programs, each servicing a different population of individuals in specific geographic regions in Central New York. These are: Project Watershed (PW) - high school students in Onondaga and Cortland Counties; Project Oneida Lake Watershed (POLW) - high school students and adult volunteers in Madison, Oneida and Oswego Counties; and Select-A-Stream (SAS) - adult volunteers in Onondaga County.
Contacts
Bill Legg
Director Project Watershed Program for Schools in Onondaga and Cortland Counties
315-677-5194
leggbill@dreamscape.com
Norm Webber
Director Project Oneida Lake Watershed Program for Schools and Adult Volunteers in Madison, Oneida and Oswego Counties
315-697-3377
lutherwebb@earthlink.net
Les Monostory
Director Select-A-Stream Program for Adult Volunteers in Onondaga County
315-637-6735
fishbugm5@twcny.rr.com
Board of Directors
A twelve-member board oversees the activities and funding of the three monitoring programs. The members are: Rick Beal, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry; Heidi Busa, Marcellus High School; Dr. Ted Endreny, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry; Jeremy Euto, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation; Don Gates, Syracuse City School District; Michele Greenia, Westhill High School; Megan Henderson, Onondaga County Soil and Water Conservation District; Sean Keesler, Living SchoolBook at Syracuse University; Bill Legg, Liverpool Central School District (retired); Les Monostory, Central New York Chapter Izaak Walton league of America; Norm Webber, Chittenango High School (retired); and Patty Weisse, Centers for Nature Education at Baltimore Woods.
Participating Schools, Teachers and Streams Monitored
| TEACHER/PHONE | HIGH SCHOOL ADDRESS | STREAM MONITORED |
| JOHN HERRINGTON | EAST SYRACUSE MINOA HIGH SCHOOL | BUTTERNUT CREEK |
| BILL FOULKROD | LIVERPOOL HIGH SCHOOL | BEARTRAP CREEK |
| TIM BLOOM | FABIUS POMPEY HIGH SCHOOL | FABIUS BROOK |
| SUE FOSTER | MANLIUS PEBBLE HILL SCHOOL | BUTTERNUT CREEK |
| KAREN KOTLAR | WEST GENESEE HIGH SCHOOL | GEDDES BROOK |
| MICHELE GREENIA | WESTHILL HIGH SCHOOL | HARBOR BROOK |
| RICK GARRETT | SKANEATELES HIGH SCHOOL | SKANEATELES CREEK |
| JIM SMITH | CORCORAN HIGH SCHOOL | FURNACE BROOK |
| HEIDI BUSA/JOHN BIRMINGHAM | MARCELLUS HIGH SCHOOL | NINE MILE CREEK |
| MARK PENHOLLOW | BAKER HIGH SCHOOL | TANNER BROOK |
| JENNIFER RYAN | ONONDAGA JR/SR HIGH SCHOOL | WEST BRANCH ONONDAGA CREEK |
| ABBIE HOFFMAN | BISHOP LUDDEN HIGH SCHOOL SYRACUSE, NY 13219
| GEDDES BROOK |
| MIKE FROOD | JORDAN ELBRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL | CARPENTER’S BROOK |
| CHARLOTTE ARCHABALD | FOWLER HIGH SCHOOL | HARBOR BROOK |
| NICHOLE DERMADY | MCGRAW JR/SR HIGH SCHOOL | TROUT BROOK |
| SARAH BETTINGER | TULLY JR/SR HIGH SCHOOL | ONONDAGA CREEK |
| ONEIDA LAKE WATERSHED PROTECTION PROJECT | ||
| TOM HENNIGAN | DERUYTER JR/SR HIGH SCHOOL | E. BRANCH TIOUGHIOGA CREEK |
| AUDREY KITTREDGE | CHITTENANGO HIGH SCHNOOL | CHITTENANGO CREEK |
| STACIA NOURSE | CAZENOVIA HIGH SCHOOL | CHITTENANGO CREEK |
| ERIN TUCCI | CANASTOTA HIGH SCHOOL | COWASELON CREEK |
| JIM PERKINS | ONEIDA HIGH SCHOOL | ONEIDA CREEK |
| CHRISTINA WALSLEBEN | CENTRAL SQUARE MIDDLE SCHOOL | SCRIBA CREEK |
| JENNIFER DEPERNO | CAMDEN HIGH SCHOOL | MAD RIVER |
A STREAM MONITORING PROGRAM FOR ADULT VOLUNTEERS
During 1998, the Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat Fund awarded Project Watershed $2500 to develop an adult volunteer stream monitoring program in Central New York. Although the Select-A-Stream had been funded for only the 1999 year, the Project Watershed consortium has continued this successful endeavor. The goals of this program are:
The compromised streams selected in Onondaga County are: Beartrap Creek, Butternut Creek, Ley Creek, Limestone Creek, Onondaga Creek, Nine Mile Creek and Skaneateles Creek. Six adult volunteer "Teams" ranging in size from three to five individuals conduct annually four surveys on each of these streams, using Save Our Streams physical, chemical and biological procedures. The surveys are scheduled during April, June, August and October. Whereas the students' program in Onondaga County is conducted by Bill Legg, the adult program is managed by Les Monostory at fishbugm5@twcny.rr.com or 315-637-6735. A new DREL/2010 was funded by the Norcross Wildlife Foundation for this program.
Background
Izaak Walton League of America’s Save Our Streams (SOS) Program was introduced to Onondaga County in 1990 as an educational program for students by the CNY Chapter IWLA. Participating in SOS were: Corcoran, East Syracuse Minoa and Liverpool High Schools. SOS is biologically oriented and entails the collection and identification of benthic organisms called macroinvertebrates to assess the water quality of a stream. Macroinvertebrates (“bugs”) include mostly immature insects but also crustaceans, mollusks and worms.
In 1994, two science teachers assembled a coalition of local educational, governmental and industrial environmentalists interested in science and water resource education. After some discussion, they adopted IWLA’s SOS as their main educational activity for high school students. Coalition members had agreed that the name of their organization should be “Project Watershed” and the name of the stream monitoring program should be called “Project Watershed/Save Our Streams.” A totally volunteer organization, Project Watershed programs are funded by grants and contributions.
By 1996, the SOS biological format was expanded and enhanced with chemical and physical components. The chemical component was facilitated at first by the purchase of basic chemical water quality testing kits, and later by a $5000 contribution from the Niagara Mohawk Foundation for the purchase of a DREL/2000 portable lab and a Membrane Filtration lab for counting fecal coliform colonies. The DREL/2000 made possible the following tests: dissolved oxygen, pH, biochemical oxygen demand, reactive phosphate, nitrate, chloride, turbidity and total dissolved solids. The physical component consisted of a manual (float) measurement of stream velocity and discharge. In 2004, two flow meters were purchased to more accurately measure stream velocity.
From 1995 to 1997, comprehensive physical/chemical protocols and field data forms were developed from the Field Manual for Water Quality Monitoring by Mitchell and Stapp and other sources. The biological protocol continued to be based on the IWLA model. By 1999, the adult program had been implemented and the students’ program had expanded to 23 schools. Following a three-year search for another director, a retired science teacher, and funding by the CNY Community Foundation, the Project Oneida Lake Watershed was launched in 2004.
At this time, Project Watershed/Save Our Streams includes: Project Watershed in Onondaga and Cortland Counties (17 schools), Project Oneida Lake Watershed in Madison, Oneida and Oswego Counties (6 schools) implemented in 2004 and the Adult Volunteer Select-A-Stream project in Onondaga County (6 teams) initiated in 1999. Each of the three projects has a director and is equipped with a DREL portable lab.
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry sponsored a Project Watershed web site in 1997. Syracuse University’s Living SchoolBook, manages Project Watershed/Save Our Streams' web site and database on the Internet. In 2000, Project Watershed developed and wrote Quality Assurance/Quality Control and Study Design documents. Project Watershed now has the largest publicly-accessible volunteer stream monitoring database in NYS.
Project Watershed’s board and coalition member Central New York Chapter, Izaak Walton League of America maintain a close working relationship. Project Watershed/Save Our Streams is the Chapter’s most active educational program.
AcknowledgementsTwo educational institutions must be credited for the creation and upgrade of this web site: SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) and Living SchoolBook (LSB) of the School of Education at Syracuse University. In 1997, the Environmental Studies Project (ESP) at SUNY ESF agreed to sponsor a Project Watershed home page link to the ESP web site. By 2000, Project Watershed and the ESP, directed by Dr. Robert C. Koepper, had enjoyed a productive working relationship, including five environmental education workshops for high school teachers. By 2001, the ESP had been replaced by SUNY ESF's Educational Outreach, managed by Dr. Charles Spuches. The basis for the college's outreach is IDEaS , Instructional Development, Evaluation and Services, representing ESF's commitment to excellence in academic and organizational learning. IDEaS provides the college community with programs, services, consultation and resources, including Global Environment (EFB 120), ESF in the high school. Project Watershed is pleased to be affiliated with this outreach endeavor. https://www.esf.edu/eo/links-main.htm By the end of 1998, Project Watershed's home page was securely established on the Internet, but the student and adult-collected water quality data continued in a hard copy condition - and the creation of a web site database would determine the future and success of the project. When LSB was contacted by Project Watershed, their technologically experienced staff expended considerable time and money to fully develop the database web site. Several versions were produced to upgrade the site into its current state. Also in 2002, the text from the home page at SUNY ESF was copied, with permission, and transferred to the LSB site to introduce and correlate with the database. SUNY ESF's Educational Outreach retained a Project Watershed home page link. LSB then enhanced the web site text with stream site images and other upgrade features. Now, students, teachers and others can visit Project Watershed's web site to investigate, analyse and interpret stream survey data sets and learn more about the watershed they live in.