Three High School Seniors Visit the BRLA for Two Weeks for School Project

For our high school senior outreach project we were given the opportunity to do something that we had never done before, and something in which we were interested. The three of us, Tala Altalib, Elisabeth Dietrich, and Stacy Patterson traveled from the state of Maryland to learn what was being done to care for the lake on which we had spent many beloved summers vacationing. Back in Maryland, we attend Roland Park County School in the city of Baltimore, and in order to graduate, each student must complete an eighty-hour "Outreach" project in her senior year. Because we were interested in the environment, and we all loved the Rideau Lake, we decided that working at the Big Rideau Lake Association for two weeks would be a great idea.

The first day, Tuesday, May 22, we had no idea what we were in for; all we knew was that we were going frog catching. The three of us spent the day canoeing around MacDonald's Island searching for Bullfrogs and Leopard frogs, undaunted by the cold and rain. We learned how the frogs were tracked and the complex procedure that was involved in marking each frog. The next day, the three of us arrived more prepared for the cold and wet weather, which is uncommon in Baltimore this time of year. On day two, we went loon watching. We learned to scan the top of the water for loon heads bobbing just above the surface, and how to carefully examine the shore for any signs of a nest. Besides the loons, we also saw two Trumpeter swans and a lot of ducks. Thursday the 24th, we went frog catching again, this time at Port Elmsley, where we helped to catch upwards of fifty frogs. Thursday was much drier than our first two days, and the sun finally showed its glorious face that afternoon. On Friday, we changed gears and hit the road to deliver brochures and put up posters about pre-season Bass fishing at various places around the Rideau Lake. Armed with a limited knowledge of where we were going (Stacy had been to Westport only one time, in the dark) and a small, non-descript map, the three of us set out toward Westport, making many other stops along the way. We traveled 111 miles that day as we followed signs to various campgrounds, bait shops, and resorts, some of which we found, but others of which we were sure did not really exist. We had no idea that people would be so friendly and talkative; it was nothing like Baltimore City.

The next week the three of us began with another trip loon observing. The day was bright and beautiful, and we spotted a great number of loons and several loon nests. On Tuesday morning the three of us helped to build a platform for a loon nest, which was a lot of fun because we got to see the project develop over time. That afternoon we distributed signs about "Bio Blitz" all over Portland and prepared new Angler Diaries. On Wednesday, Tala spent the day helping out in the office, making posters about "Bio Blitz," making phone calls, and taking the TALLO (Take A Little Lead Out) inventory. At the same time, Elisabeth and Stacy went out to track Lake Trout and Bass. The two of us learned how to use the sonar system to detect the fish that had been tagged previously, and how to follow them to their exact location, and then mark it on the GPS system. Thursday morning brought Tala and Elisabeth a chance to track Lake Trout and Bass, while Stacy remained at the office working on miscellaneous projects. The three of us spent the afternoon preparing for "Bio Blitz," which would happen the next day. Friday was spent working at "Bio Blitz" at the Millpond.

We had a lot of fun and learned so much about the Lake and some of the projects that are going on at the BRLA. We found everyone to be so nice and helpful and would like to thank everyone at the BRLA for their hospitality and we would especially like to thank everyone who let us tag along with them, Julie van O'ssenbruggen, Jeff King, Erika Kiss, and Paul Biscala, as well as the people who gave us something fun to do each day, Kathy Rankine and Stacy McLean.