Get aquatic plants out of the lake and onto your walls!

They touch the tips of swimmers’ toes, wrap around fishhooks, anchors, and paddles, and form underwater meadows near shorelines—native aquatic plants are ubiquitous in Lake Champlain Basin waterbodies. The roles these aquatic superstars play in lake ecosystems are often undervalued. It is not uncommon to hear native aquatic plants described as “yucky weeds,” but they are so much more than that—each species tells their own unique evolutionary story, and each plays a role in the broader ecological and human systems of Lake Champlain. Underwater flora are frequently overlooked, yet they are as essential as trees in a forest.  

Native aquatic plants prevent pollution throughout the Basin’s waters: they absorb nutrients such as phosphorus (which fuel cyanobacteria blooms), trap and settle out suspended materials from upland runoff, and aid in erosion control by providing stability through their root systems. The feather-like leaves of northern watermilfoil and whorl-leaved watermilfoil trap detritus. Dense beds of dazzling blue and purple-flowered pickerelweed provide shoreline stabilization by buffering waves. Some significant superlatives are held by the plants of Lake Champlain too: common bladderwort is the fastest carnivorous plant on earth, duckweed is among the smallest flowering plants on earth, and pond lily descends from the first flowers ever evolved. Many of these species are helpful to humans with uses ranging from food, medicine, building materials, environmental restoration, and scientific research. 

Not only are they essential—they’re stunning! If you have a space like a gallery, library, classroom, or meetinghouse, you can add educational and artistic flair to your walls with our art prints of native aquatic plants. LCC has sets of fifteen prints showcasing Lake Champlain flora that you can borrow for display, along with a suite of accompanying educational materials including factsheets, identification cards, informative articles, and more. Sign up here to borrow the native aquatic plant prints and educational materials.

The print package celebrating fifteen focal plants consists of: 

• Seven 21” x 29” PVC prints of individual species 

• Five 19” x 26” PVC prints of individual species 

• Three 16” x 22” PVC prints of individual species 

• Two 18” x 24” paper posters (double-sided) of all fifteen species (see the poster here) 

• Sets of laminated 4” x 6” plant identification cards (with a card corresponding to each species) (see the ID cards here) 

• Sets of 8.5” x 11” factsheets for each plant species (access the factsheets here) 

This display, paired with our educational materials, will help users of your space understand the importance and the beauty of Lake Champlain’s indigenous flora. 

Sign up here to borrow the native aquatic plant prints and educational materials!