Finger Lakes Institute at Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Congratulation to Anjalee Wanduragala HWS '25 for being selected as a delegate to attend the Southeast Asia Youth Climate Summit in Malaysia! Anjalee has worked with the FLI since the end of her sophomore year, both with the Finger Lakes Youth Climate Summit program and FLI Summer Research program. More details in the story below. Congrats!

Wanduragala '25 to Attend Climate Summit in Malaysia A double major in Economics and Environmental Studies, Anjalee Wanduragala ’25 has been selected as a delegate for the Youth Climate Summit Southeast Asia 2024.

FLI's 2024 HWS SPARK! Orientation group: Going with the FLOW (First-years Learning on the Water)!

FLI staff led an HWS orientation group in a two-day exploration of the Seneca-Keuka watershed, including an introduction to Seneca Lake aboard the HWS William Scandling Research Vessel; a tour of innovative stormwater solutions in the City of Geneva; kayaking from the Saunders Finger Lakes Museum to Keuka Lake; learning about the important ecosystem services of wetlands; preventing the spread of invasive species (Clean-Drain-Dry); and getting to know the Finger Lakes region! Welcome HWS Class of 2028!
Photo credits to Adam Farid, Tom Fahey and FLI staff.

Check out what the FLI’s awesome team of HWS summer research students have been working on this summer!

This week, the FLI hosted HWS HEOP students for a tour of the Institute. The group heard from our team of summer research students about their projects, working in the FLI lab and, everyone’s favorite, field work!

The FLI has an awesome team of HWS students conducting Finger Lakes research with us this summer! They are in Week 3 of their research internship, more to come about their exciting work!

FLI staff had a great time connecting and reconnecting with HWS alums during Reunion last weekend on Seneca Lake! Thanks to all who joined us aboard the William Scandling research vessel!

The Finger Lakes Insitute was represented by FLI Director, Dr. Lisa Cleckner, and FLI Data Manager, Ben Kelley, at the 2024 Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography meeting in Madison, Wisconsin last week, where they shared research on limiting nutrients and long term water quality trends in the Finger Lakes with an eager scientific audience!

FLI's very own Matt Gallo and Amy Slentz were guests on the WXXI News radio show, Connections with Evan Dawson, to speak about invasive species with colleague, Whitney Carlton from NY State Parks & Historic Sites. Great program highlighting regional early detection and prevention efforts of the Finger Lakes PRISM with our partners, and sharing information about National Invasive Species Awareness Week.

A sign of spring-- the Owasco Lake Buoy is deployed! The solar powered monitoring system collects twice daily water quality measurements to help researchers and the community study Owasco Lake conditions. To learn more about this project, please visit the Owasco Lake Data Portal at: https://flihws.shinyapps.io/owasco/
Photo credit: Trevor Massey

Happy World Water Day! The United Nations has designated this year's theme "Water for Peace."
"When we cooperate on water, we create a positive ripple effect – fostering harmony, generating prosperity and building resilience to shared challenges." ~UN on this year's theme
To learn more, visit https://www.un.org/en/observances/water-day

Fun times with the Saturday Academy kiddos this past weekend! Always a great opportunity to collaborate with Geneva 2030!

We are fortunate to have this amazing and dedicated team of aquatic invasive species experts working to protect the Finger Lakes!

Meet the staff of our Aquatic Invasive Species Team!

Amy Slentz, our Aquatic Invasive Species Program Manager, has been with the PRISM since 2023. Amy received a BFA at RIT in 2013 and worked in marketing, communications, and design for several years before changing her field. In 2022, she graduated from FLCC with an AS in Environmental Science, and has since worked with many regional environmental organizations including US Fish & Wildlife, FLCC and the Muller Field Station, and the Bergen Swamp Preservation Society. Amy currently manages and coordinates the PRISM's aquatic programs.

Josh Neff, our Aquatic Invasive Species Program Field Coordinator, has been with the PRISM since 2019. Josh graduated from SUNY Brockport in 2019 with a BS in Environmental Science and Ecology, and joined the PRISM through the Watercraft Steward Program before transitioning into his current role in 2020. Josh now oversees the daily operations of our seasonal field team’s macrophyte surveys across the Finger Lakes PRISM working area.

Devin Prine, our Watercraft Steward Program Coordinator, has been with the Finger Lakes PRISM since 2023. Devin graduated from SUNY Geneseo in May with a BA in Sustainability Studies. Devin now coordinates various aspects of the Watercraft Steward Program, including recruitment, training, scheduling, and site visits, as well as developing analysis and creating reports, and assisting with various other programs at the Finger Lakes Institute.

Whether from the shore or on the water, our Aquatic Invasive Species Team is ready for another exciting field season in 2024!

Meet our knowledgeable and highly experienced terrestrial invasive species staff!

Meet the staff of our Terrestrial Invasive Species Team!

Matt Gallo, our Terrestrial Invasive Species Program Manager, has been with the PRISM since 2020. Matt graduated from SUNY ESF in 2019, and now coordinates the PRISM's terrestrial programs, including fieldwork, volunteer opportunities, education and outreach, and more.

Camille Caceci, our Invasive Species Project Coordinator, has been with the PRISM since 2023. Camille graduated from RIT in May and joined the PRISM as part of our first ever terrestrial field team. She now coordinates the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Survey Program, assists with other invasive species projects, and provides administrative support to many other PRISM programs.

Going into 2024, the Terrestrial Team is looking forward to another exciting season of combating invasive species in the field!

We've experienced a technical glitch with our 2024 Finger Lakes Research Conference registration portal, and have extended our early registration deadline to 1/19. Thank you for your patience! https://www.hws.edu/centers/finger-lakes-institute/finger-lakes-research-conference.aspx Finger Lakes PRISM

We are pleased to announce our Keynote Speaker for the 2024 Finger Lakes Research Conference being held on Wednesday, January 31st at Hobart and William Smith Colleges! Reminder that Early Bird registration ends 1/16. Please visit the conference webpage for the full schedule of presenters and registration information: https://www.hws.edu/centers/finger-lakes-institute/finger-lakes-research-conference.aspx Finger Lakes PRISM

We are looking forward to hosting the 2024 Finger Lakes Research Conference on campus January 31st! Early bird registration ends 1/16. Sign up today! Register here: https://www.hws.edu/centers/finger-lakes-institute/finger-lakes-research-conference.aspx

Friendly reminder that the deadline to submit a presentation proposal for the 2024 Finger Lakes Research Conference is Monday, December 4th! The FLI webpage for details.

Accepting proposals for presentations through Monday, December 4, 2023! Please visit the Finger Lakes Institute website for more information at https://www.hws.edu/centers/finger-lakes-institute/

Accepting proposals for presentations through Monday, December 4, 2023! Please visit the Finger Lakes Institute website for more information at https://www.hws.edu/centers/finger-lakes-institute/

Call for Presentations: We invite you to participate in the 2024 Finger Lakes Research Conference at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Wednesday, January 31, 2024.

Oral and Poster Presentation Abstracts: Please submit presentation abstracts for original research pertaining to water quality and the Finger Lakes. Specifically, we invite presentations on topics including, but not limited to, harmful algal blooms, watershed nutrient cycling, invasive species, climate change, and current and emerging contaminants.

Oral presentations will be 20 minutes in length with an additional 10 minutes for questions and answers.

Poster presentations should measure no larger than 3’ tall x 4’ wide.

Deadline for submission is Monday, 12/04/2023.

All presenters will need to be a paid conference registrant.

Submission Instructions: Abstracts should be submitted for each presentation here: https://forms.office.com/r/JqEAPH3Pfu

Last week, the FLI hosted 130 high school students, teachers and advisors for the 6th annual Finger Lakes Youth Climate Summit! Students attended mini workshops to learn about climate action, sustainability, & youth leadership, and explored the importance of environmental justice. Student teams also developed Climate Action Plan projects to implement in their schools and communities. The Summit was organized by FLI interns, Katrine Berg ‘23 and Anjalee Wanduragala ‘25, with support from our leadership team of high school students.

Save the Date! The 2024 Finger Lakes Research Conference will be held Wednesday, January 31, 2024. Stay tuned for more details!

FLI staff led an invasive species game for 6th graders at the Ontario and Monroe County Conservation Field Days last month! In total, over 400 area students learned how to ID some of our “most wanted” aquatic and terrestrial invasives! Finger Lakes PRISM Ontario County Soil & Water Conservation District Monroe County Soil & Water Conservation District

It was so much fun to be part of the HWS Orientation Spark! program last week! First-year students in FLI’s group got to experience some of natural beauty that makes this area so special. They learned about Seneca Lake aboard the Scandling Research Vessel, discovered the unique wetlands at FLCC Muller Field Station and got to check out the local geology while hiking the waterfalls at Grimes Glen! For their Spark! project, students created a fiber art display to represent water clarity in the Finger Lakes over time. Thank you to Biruk Nardos (HWS ‘25) for being FLI’s Spark! mentor!

TBT- in case you missed it: Finger Lakes Institute research interns Hannah Mattey ’24 and Dylan Meyer ’26 conduct research at Henry Hanley Biological Field Preserve, the Colleges’ 108-acre site for ecological research

HWS - Flyover Friday, FLI Research at Hanley Preserve

July is Lakes Appreciation Month! Libraries, researchers and lake associations are celebrating with Libraries Love Lakes programs to amplify the importance of lakes in our communities. Let us know if your community is hosting a program this month! To learn more https://www.librarieslovelakes.org/