Concluding Discussion:

 

Students shared their thoughts, but they did not hear why the rest of us were here;  What are the issues?

 

Rev. Nancy Wright - Working on environmental degree, concerned about the Lake and how faith-based can get involved

 

Colleen Hickey - LCBP - Resources, Champlain Connection

 

Why are we all here (besides a love for the Lake):

 

To learn about new technologies/strategies to see what is possible in helping to make a difference in the health of the Lake - How to communicate with the Digital Native/Immigrant from a Digital Alien

 

Concerns about the failing health of the Lake (from a locals perspective) - don't use, don't eat the fish, not a family resource as it was in the past - Swimming needs not met by current situation

 

LCBP - Eco-system approach to managing the Lake through the cooperation of the other governments - Reduce phosphorus run-off (more from urban than agricultural) - Room to inform the landowner - Toxic pollution (mercury) - Aquatic nuisance species - BGA - Economic engine for the region and finding a balance between the human needs and nature's need - Looking for many ways to communicate as we all learn in different ways - Tap into the next generation that is coming up with a renewed interest and understanding in the Lake

 

Memories of how lakes (ours and others) were not clean in the past (Lake Erie); beaches closed, bad swimming, pollution - Other countries having water problems caused by society's activities - Are some of our solutions just passing on the problem to other areas - Need to get the message out to a broader audience (gaming, forums, etc.)

 

While schools are teaching about the Lake, but students learn differently than in the past and have other resources (ECHO, Internet) - People treat the Lake well when it's right there for them to see - Need to learn to treat the Lake well when it's not right there, but you are in the watershed

 

How do we engage ALL of the players in the Watershed - Community/Communication being the key - How to do that:  Playing the game or talking / moding the game - Articles about how to improve the game, discussion boards, chat rooms, etc. - Multi-player game should be considered

 

Approach should be multi-faceted to meet multiple ways of learning:  Target missing audience (high school to early parenting) but that method may not work for younger or older - eGame for younger users - FaceBook for middle group - FPF for older group - And then an aggregator that brings them all together and provides a broader collection of data with a focus on a single issue

 

Use a FaceBook discussion that leads back to a discussion about the Lake - May be difficult to do that - FaceBook considered THE social networking tool - Keep the discussion within the existing technology/site - Could they be weaved together?

 

Generate a reason for them to want the information - Build a sense of ownership to inspire participation and therefore action - Have a game that involves having a fish (as an avatar?) that lives, grows or dies based on the choices of the users in regards to the ecology - FishBook - Track what you (or your family) are doing and how that affects this virtual aquarium - Kids telling parents to change detergents so that their virtual fish don't die

 

ECHOBook - a channel (?) on FaceBook for Lake related issues, concerns & communication

 

Use a broad spectrum of media on one site to allow endusers to select the manner that they receive their information

 

Living branding that needs to have new and emerging content - Connection with CC gaming classes that provide new content (sites, activities, responsibilities, etc.)

 

ARG (Alternate Reality Game):  Geocaching - Scavenger Hunt - Mission based - Site specific activities (phone a number - mark the GPS, etc.);  Have a new mission for members each month - Clean up river bank, go to a beach, find the invasive species.....  Integrate in high school classes (national model here???) to find, fix, analyze, mark - ARG allows updating, organizing, spreading the word, tracking of accomplishments

 

GIV - Lots of kids brought together to do an ARG; How to clean up the lake - five groups came up with ways to clean up the Lake

 

Focus is now on self-creation rather than on produced and provided products - Voices needs to support that creativity and provide platforms / methods / ways for this to happen and be shared - Ownership provides for sharing / pride / peer-to-peer expansion

 

Internet use allows broader sharing, more competition, marking of resources, organization of assets

 

Get the same level of ownership that sports fans feel about their teams transfered to the Lake - Is there a rival to help drive that? - We need collaboration between NY, VT QC, not competition - Track people improvement in their choices through purchases, use choices, etc.

 

Triple-dip - ECHO/CC host a joint GIV to produce an eGame to bring focus to the Lake issues (also use LCBP site - Cellphones to track actual accomplishments [catching a fish], extra points forthat)

 

Teach through existing tools (GarageBand, iTunes, etc.) so that future use of those tools reminds endusers of the initial Lake-oriented task

 

Tap into the family membership at ECHO - People coming there in that space - Provide connection between family members (multi-levels of approach to carry the same message to each)

 

Cafe Scientifique:  Good interaction of people with a focused topic or problem to discuss / fix

 

Can a game created in a short amount of time be shared?  With other technology (Wii, etc.)?  Licensing of apps, but there is also Wii control of Flash scripting and now there's a library of those apps

 

Use the wisdom and knowledge of the Digital Aliens to advise and support the Digital Native creation and use of technology to carry the message and change the personal behavior

 

Metagame:  Connect real-life to digital environment;  Earn points for game by doing things in reality (fish metaphore used) that are connected to the broader community so that others affect the outcome of your game - Bring the sense of community and the sense of challenge to inspire continued use and sharing of knowledge and understanding

 

Be aware of the scope of the game to keep it manageable by all in the target audience - not too big that it requires high-end hardware or significant downloads - Is a significant game possible given the current resources?

 

Use the financial resources available to provide an eGame and use the free technologies available (Wiki, Blogs, FaceBook, etc.) to provide the communication that not only discuss the topic, but provide feedback, new ideas for eGame possibilities

 

Explore these options (different groups working on different possible solutions) and bring those together to consider connections & continued ideas - Get people to own the problem using whatever technology you use

 

YouTube video contest - Best video of the Lake

 

Flow that evolves into a Champ - Use realtime data to provide current affects - Have personal choices and environmental conditions (rainfall, etc.) provide information that affects the outcome of the game

 

Carbon Footprint model but make it more connected to the reality of your choices, not just the current activity of the watershed

 

Have an aquarium that shows the reality of the Lake (not the pristine water we use now) - have buckets over the tank that are then added to show what is really happening out on the Lake (stormwater from College Street for example)

 

Lake game like Darfur is Dying - There is no winning, just an awareness of the situation and the concerns about the activity that makes the situation so critical

 

How to incorporate the reality of seeing pictures of pollution / zebra mussels on an anchor to inspire people to make a change or participate in a solution - FPF is an example of how to provide a community-based forum for discussion / personal change from neighbor to neighbor

 

How to tie the physical activity with the community on top of it that is responsible for that activity?

 

Show people what the Lake looks like at its worst and at its best

 

Use the communities we have (FPF, ECHO membership)

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