Michael Izzo

@MIzzoDR

Students may soon be able to learn on the water, as the Lake Hopatcong Foundation pushes for a $100,000 floating classroom grant they can win with enough community support.

The foundation is hoping to win a grant that will allow them to purchase a 40-foot custom-built pontoon boat to be used as a floating classroom on Lake Hopatcong. The vessel would be able to hold a full class of students, taking material from the school and bringing it right onto the lake. Other groups would also be welcome to use the floating classroom.

The Lake Hopatcong Foundation said the best way to ensure a healthy lake is to educate people, which is why they are pushing for the floating classroom to provide a hands-on experience to teach fresh water ecology and watershed protection. The foundation hopes a floating classroom would help cultivate environmentally responsible behavior in students.

The floating classroom would be stocked with scientific equipment – including microscopes, dissolved oxygen meters, secchi disks and plankton samplers – that would complement schools’ STEM programs by allowing them to perform experiments right on Lake Hopatcong.

“Our vision for the Floating Classroom is a way for us to make an impact on the environment and on future generations,” Lake Hopatcong Foundation Acting Executive Director Donna Macalle-Holly said. “With the grant, the foundation will purchase a 40-foot covered pontoon boat that would hold full classes and groups, and be utilized during the spring, summer and fall.”

The classroom would be open to thousands of students who attend school in the area.

Macalle-Holly said the Lake Hopatcong Foundation came up with the floating classroom idea after seeing the Lake George Association successfully implement one of their own for several decades. The foundation saw several floating classrooms to gain an understanding or the “on-the-water” learning opportunities.

The foundation is applying for the $100,000 grant from A Community Thrives, a nationwide program from the USA Today Network that encourages people to improve their communities by providing the necessary resources.

The winner of the grant will be decided through a public vote, so the Lake Hopatcong Foundation is asking the community to support the project.

Voting ends May 12 and people can vote one per day at www.lakehopatcongfoundation.org/vote.

To be eligible for the grant, the classroom idea must make the top 10 voted submissions, and then the top three will be awarded grants of either $100,000 or $50,000 by a panel of judges.

Macalle-Holly said she is confident the community will support the project, as the group won a similar vote two years ago to fund the creation of a guide map of Lake Hopatcong to help fight invasive species on the lake.

“Back in 2015 online voters rallied behind the foundation to successfully win a $10,000 grant,” Macalle-Holly said. “Although it was a frenzied voting period, it was a lot of fun for the community because the foundation was running neck and neck with the Lake George Association. This time, however, will be different since online voters will not see how many votes are being cast, but voting is still very important for the foundation to be a grant finalist in the top 10. Please vote!”

Staff Writer Michael Izzo: 973-428-6636; mizzo@GannettNJ.com