Blog

Dear CSI Volunteers, Friends, and Supporters, The land owned by the Baden-Powell Boy Scout Council, long home to Camp Barton, will be sold. Similar to the Bell Station Landing on Cayuga’s eastern shore, this 138-acre property on the southwest shore is an invaluable natural resource. In it, Trumansburg Creek flows through mature hardwood forests overRead more

CSI is excited to present the Fall 2021 Edition of The Water Bulletin: The Newsletter of the Community Science Institute This exciting edition of our newsletter brings you stories of water quality data in action, demonstrating the strength of community-led monitoring of water resources and regulatory-quality data. Articles in this edition: CSI’s Role in theRead more

Biomonitoring Open Lab Nights will begin again starting this Thursday, November 18th! Open Lab nights will continue throughout the winter months (not Thanksgiving) on Thursdays from 6-9 PM here at CSI Lab in the Langmuir Lab building, 95 Brown Rd, Ithaca, NY. The number of volunteers will be limited for COVID safety. Pre-registration is requiredRead more

Our 2021 Membership Goal                                                                                                       Read more

In 2021, the Cayuga Lake Harmful Algal Bloom (HABs) Monitoring Program received over one hundred reports of HABs on the shoreline of Cayuga Lake. Many concerned community members are taking action to help monitor and document the seemingly ever-increasing presence of HABs on the shoreline during the summer months. Below are pictures taken by ‘HABsRead more

     With the 2021 Cayuga Lake Harmful Algal Bloom (HABs) Monitoring Season coming to an end, please help us reach our HABs fundraising goal by sharing this fundraiser with you friends and neighbors! Your donation will help support the efforts of our dedicated ‘HABs Harrier’ volunteers who make this program possible, and our rapidRead more

Dear Friends and Supporters of the Community Science Institute, After 20 years of leadership, vision, and rigorous work to monitor and protect our local streams and lakes, CSI’s founding Executive Director, Dr. Stephen Penningroth, is preparing to transition away. The Managing Co-Director position is described, in brief, below and is now open for applications. TheRead more

     Comments submitted by CSI Executive Director Stephen Penningroth, Ph.D., to NYSDEC (Comments on Draft Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for Phosphorus in Cayuga Lake, New York, submitted on July 2, 2021; available on our Public Events and Presentations page) address the amounts of dissolved and particulate phosphorus that the Draft Total Maximum Daily LoadRead more

Have you seen or heard of harmful algal blooms (HABs)? These toxic blooms of cyanobacteria can present a risk to those who use and enjoy Cayuga Lake! In response to this water quality threat, the Cayuga Lake HABs Monitoring Program was developed by the Community Science Institute (CSI) in collaboration with the Cayuga Lake WatershedRead more

The Community Science Institute presents an online Water and Community event:Patterns of Harmful Algal Blooms and Associated Toxins in Cayuga Lake: Findings from Three Years of Bloom Monitoring Saturday, February 27th 1:00 – 2:30 PM Free Online Webinar Registration is required. To register, email nathaniel.launer@communityscience.org Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) on Cayuga Lake are causing swimmingRead more

CSI is excited to present the Fall 2020 Edition of The Water Bulletin: The Newsletter of the Community Science Institute This edition of the newsletter highlights the work of CSI and a dedicated group of “HABs Harrier” volunteers who we have partnered with for each of the last three years to monitor harmful algal bloomsRead more

Our 2020 Membership Goal                                                                                                       Read more

The Community Science Institute (CSI) is releasing a free 30 page booklet that guides kids and their families through exploring water quality in streams by looking at aquatic life. This “Water Quality Report Card” is intended to serve as both a field guide to recognizing some of the most common organisms found in streams, andRead more

2020 marks the third year that the Community Science Institute (CSI) has led the Cayuga Lake Harmful Algal Bloom (HABs) Monitoring Program in collaboration with the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network (CLWN) and Discover Cayuga Lake (DCL). The program is made possible by our dedicated volunteer HABs Harriers who monitor assigned lengths of shoreline for bloomsRead more

Last week, Biomonitoring Coordinator Adrianna Hirtler traveled around Cayuga Lake to collect samples of phytoplankton including cyanobacteria for analysis at CSI’s certified water testing lab. The ongoing survey is helping CSI build a better understanding of Cayuga Lake’s natural cyanobacteria populations, the photosynthesizing bacteria that form harmful algal blooms. During the survey, Adrianna traveled toRead more