Students Create Documentary on Blue-Green Algae
3 January 2020 Students Create Documentary on Blue-Green Algae
As part of Introduction to Social Documentary, students wrote, filmed, edited and produced an original documentary in conjunction with the Year of Water initiative. Through interviews with community members, Blooms tells the story of how sectors of the Geneva community including nonprofits, government, citizen action groups, businesses and others have come together to confront the issue of blue-green algae in Seneca Lake.
The course was taught by Instructor of Media and Society and Ph.D. candidate in the Visual and Culture Studies program at the University of Rochester Jiangtao Harry Gu 13.
The 30-minute production includes interviews with Director of the Finger Lakes Institute Lisa Cleckner, Professor of Environmental Science John Halfman,Water Resource Technician and a Certified Crop Advisor for Ontario County Soil and Water Conservation DistrictTucker Kautz, owner of Hansen Farms Eric Hansen, conservationist at Ontario Water and Soil Conservationist District Tucker Kautz, Town of Geneva Councilman Robert McCarthy and Town of Geneva Supervisor Mark Venuti.
What I enjoyed most about this project was working collectively in a small class environment to make one final product that tells a story about our community and is a call to action, says Julia Hagopian 20 during a Q&A session held after the screening of the documentary on Dec. 6 in the Fish Screening Room.
The film identifies nutrient runoff from farms as a significant factor contributing to the growth of algal blooms in Seneca Lake, and interviews McCarthy, Venuti and Hansen to determine what steps are being taken to mitigate runoff. In 2017, the Town of Geneva board initiated the Lake Friendly Farm award, celebrating farms that are reducing agricultural water draining into the lake. As the first honorary recipient, Hansen addressed the successful practices that his farm has used.
Many farms surrounding the Finger Lakes have followed Hansen Farms lead causing a reduction in contaminated water runoff, says Israel Oyedapo 20 in the documentary voiceover. As the algae continue to bloom in the lakes, community collaboration in Geneva is also blooming. The success of Hansen Farms has produced efficient and beneficial collaboration between farms and governmental agencies.
Drone footage for the documentary was completed by Adam Farid 20 and music was composed by Maxwell Harris 21. Additional collaborators as script writers, interviewers, community outreach and more include Mahamadou Bala 21, Juliana Bruno 21, Axel Forsgren 20, Julia Hagopian 20, Linh Nguyen 21 and Josh Walker 20.