On-Land Activities to Complement Your Floating Classroom Cruise
(Land & Water Programs)
Mix and match these presentation elements to meet your needs!
Stream or Pond Study:
Explore a local stream community, focusing on its relationship to Cayuga Lake and the Watershed in general. Activities may include:
- Collection and evaluation of aquatic insects and other organisms (will be compared to planktonic communities in the lake, which occupy a similar niche.)
- Physical, biological and chemical water sampling from streams and shoreline-impacted areas, for direct comparison to deep lake samples.
- Testing of daily pH, dissolved oxygen and carbon dioxide cycles.
Stream Corridor and Drainage Study:
Explore the landscape and ecology surrounding a local water feature, focusing on its relationship with the aquatic system. Activities may include:
- Stream velocity, volume and discharge measurement,
- stream corridor and land cover surveys, (using Hudson River Basic Commission or
other recognized protocols.)
- habitat and riparian forest evaluation,
- geological interpretation of stream morphology.
- Soil Testing: Students may receive instructions for building devices to test
percolation rates and land cover impacts.
Human Impacts Study:
Evaluate the human impact on nearby land and water resources. The impact of these resources upon the development of local culture and economies will also be covered.
- Stream corridor hikes and exploration
- Historical land use investigations
- Stormwater runoff assessments
Wetland Walk:
Explore a nearby wetland community, focusing on its role and relationship to nearby landscapes, flowing waters and Cayuga Lake. Activities may include:
- plant species surveys,
- water sampling,
- aquatic insect sampling,
- hydrological studies.
*** Ithaca-Area Wastewater Treatment Plant and Cornell Lake Source Cooling tours may also be arranged!
Review Cayuga
WaterLab Cruise Activity Options
Return to Teacher Resource Index