Nestled between the Adirondacks and the Green Mountains, Lake Champlain is no stranger to cold, snowy winters. Wild ice – ice which forms naturally on lakes and ponds – is a special attribute of northern climes. Ice skating, skiing, show-shoeing, kiting, and fishing all rely on a thick layer of ice forming during the winter months. However, thaws can happen at any time during the ice season, and with climate change winter temperatures are becoming more unpredictable. Learn more about the stages of a thaw on lake ice, and how to stay safe throughout the winter.
Read...
LCC is looking to expand our photo stock of pictures for our articles, slideshows, social media, and website, and we need your help to do it! Whether it’s covered in ice or reflecting the summer sky, Lake Champlain is a stunning part of the natural landscape. From a beautiful vista, an unusual water phenomenon, or people exploring the lake, we welcome all of your photos. Submit your pictures of life on and around the water (swimming, fishing, skating, boating, natural history and more!) and help us share images of Lake Champlain in all its moods and magic.
Read...
Do you own property along a waterway in New York? Through the “Buffer in a Bag” initiative, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (NYS DEC) Trees for Tribs Program and the NYS Tree Nursery will provide landowners with a free bag of 25 bare-root native trees and shrubs to enhance streamside areas of property. Riparian buffers – the term used to describe these vegetated shoreline zones – are vital to water quality. They allow stormwater to settle out before entering tributaries, which reduces pollution and sedimentation. They also provide wildlife habitat, prevent erosion, and increase the land’s ability to retain floodwaters.
Read...
Throughout the winter, Lake Champlain’s vast tracts of ice and snow provide the perfect conditions for snowkiters like Gary Kjelleren. A brand-new sport in the late 1990s, kitesailing (the summer version of snowkiting) quickly took off in popularity. A kitesailer uses a large sail-like kite to catch the wind, while they skim and jump over the water’s surface on a finned water board. Anyone who has spent time on the shores of a large lake or ocean is likely familiar with the colorful, crescent-shaped kites that swoop jauntily through the air, a small human figure skipping along behind them.
Read...
On December 19, 2018, LCC member Elizabeth Lee and four friends donned their cross country ski boots even though there was no snow on the ground. There was, however, ice -- wild ice that forms naturally on Lake Champlain. A cold few weeks had frozen some of the southern bays and the river-like strip of the South Lake, so Elizabeth and pals stepped onto Nordic skates and headed to Crown Point in the early morning light.
Read...
Knight Point State Park in North Hero was buzzing with people on the day of Vermont’s annual ice fishing festival, which was a particularly sunny Saturday in mid-January. The nice weather drew hundreds to the park in the first hours of the festival. Cars filled the parking lot and spilled out onto either side of the highway, several of them sporting out-of-state plates. People of all ages crowded around the registration table – groups of young college friends, parents dragging sleds full of equipment, toddlers so bundled against the cold that they waddled on the ice like penguins.
Read...
One of the best-understood facets of climate change is that global temperatures are rising overall. Since the turn of the 20th century we know that average temperatures have gradually risen every decade, and they will continue to rise more rapidly throughout the 21st century. Due to warming winter temperatures, Lake Champlain does not ice over as often as it did even 20 years ago. The freezeover that happened this month is now a rare and celebrated event. Read...
During winter, when the snow blankets the ground, dog owners may find it tempting to let sleeping dogs lie – and not clean up after them when they poop! After all, whether you’re walking in town or deep in the woods, what’s the harm in kicking a little snow over the stool and letting nature take its course?
Read...
If your faucet drips or your toilet runs it can waste over 10,000 gallons a year -- the amount of water in a typical backyard swimming pool. More than one trillion gallons of water are lost annually in the U.S. due to easy-to-fix household leaks. Read...
Teachers at J.J. Flynn Elementary School in Burlington, VT got creative in their World Water Day class project by partnering with Generator Makerspace, a non-profit in Burlington that bridges the intersection of art, science, and technology. With the technical support of Generator Makerspace, students learned to transform their drawings into laser-cut wood mosaics backed by colorful rice paper.
Read...
Plastics are everywhere. The stuff has made modern life possible, but more than 40% of plastics are designed for single use. Plastics are showing up in our waterways at an alarming rate, flushed down sinks and toilets in scrubbing agents, wet wipes and sanitary products; spun off as microfibers from clothes in the wash; and carried into waterways by wind and rain.
Read...Maple sugar houses across the states of New York and Vermont are hosting open houses during the weekend of March 23-24 - and festivities will continue in New York the next weekend, March 30-31! Celebrate maple sugaring season in the Champlain watershed by sampling maple products, enjoying pancake breakfasts with fresh syrup, and touring the woods and facilities where the sweet brew is made.
Read...
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
3:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Need a little pampering? Treat yourself to Spa Night at O’Brien’s Aveda Institute in Williston on March 27 and protect Lake Champlain at the same time. A $20 advance ticket buys you unlimited mini services including facials, manicures, paraffin dip, facial waxing, braiding, makeup application, and hand massages! All funds raised will be donated to LCC to support our education and outreach programs.
Read...
LCC is sorry to report that this event has been cancelled due to low registration. Visit the Champlain Basin Education Initiative (CBEI) website to learn about different events and opportunities in the Lake Champlain watershed.
Read...
The Lake Between (Le lac qui nous unit) – is an International Conference designed to bring together academics, business leaders, policy-makers, outdoor enthusiasts, boaters and swimmers, musicians and artists to talk about Lake Champlain. This conference is open to all interested in the past, present and future of our shared lake.
Read...
Wednesday April 17, 2019
5:30 - 9:00 PM
Watch students and stylists display their fashion, make-up and design skills and support the Lake Champlain Committee’s work at the same time at the 4/17/19 Catwalk for Water! The annual green carpet event put on by O'Briens Aveda Institute and local Aveda salons will showcase fashion made from recyclable materials and whimsical hair styles following themes of earth, wind, water or fire. Tickets are $15 each. All proceeds from the event will be directed to LCC’s work for clean water.
Read...
