The Loon Scientists Program is a five-day, multi-media middle school curriculum that focuses on loon ecology and regional conservation issues affecting loon populations and aquatic ecosystems in the Adirondack Park and northeastern North America.  The curriculum exposes students to the research conducted by the ACLP and allows them to improve their awareness of how their decisions can affect the health of the environment. 

The Loon Scientists Program gives students the opportunity to explore science-in-action, meet loon educators and scientists, and develop key math and science skills.  Students analyze real data from ACLP’s loon-mercury research, graph results, and present their findings.  Through this curriculum, students explore methods and actions to help loons and other wildlife and their habitats, and encourages students to become better citizens of our shared environment.

Science on the Fly! Loon Migration – Linking People and the Environment,” is an innovative middle-school curriculum designed for students and the general public who want to discover more about loons, aquatic habitats, or how to conduct scientific research.  The Science on the Fly! curriculum expands upon the Adirondack Cooperative Loon Program’s “Loon Scientists Program,” in which students learn about loon natural history and conservation concerns affecting wildlife populations and habitats.

Through Science on the Fly!, students and educators around the world are able to engage in the fascinating fields of scientific discovery and environmental conservation led by the common loons of the Adirondack Park.  By following the research conducted by the Adirondack Cooperative Loon Program and the US Geological Survey on the migration of Adirondack loons, students learn how real scientists use the scientific process to discover little known facts about the natural history and year-round habitat use of these intriguing birds.  They also gain an understanding of how the results of scientific research are important to the conservation of wildlife and the environment.

Throughout the year, scientists from the Adirondack Cooperative Loon Program conduct public presentations in and around the Adirondack Park on loon natural history and the research and education programs conducted by the ACLP. 

The ACLP provides guided trips, during the field season, to some of the study lakes for the general public or interested groups to meet the ACLP staff and conduct their own observations of banded loons and to learn more about the conservation efforts of the ACLP. 

Research has documented that lead toxicity, as a result of accidental ingestion of lead fishing tackle, is a significant source of mortality in adult breeding loons throughout the Northeast and New York.  During the 2002-2004 field seasons, the ACLP conducted a Lead Sinker Awareness Project at numerous sites throughout the Adirondack Park to provide information to Adirondack anglers about the benefits to wildlife of the use of alternative types of non-toxic fishing tackle.