Jordan Rowell ’23 admits that he may have taken Lake Champlain for granted for most of his life. For someone who grew up just five miles from its shores in nearby Essex Junction, the lake had always seemed like a permanent and unchanging feature of the landscape. But sitting in his very first class at UVM, a course on the socio-ecological challenges facing Lake Champlain, Rowell felt compelled for the first time to deepen his connection to his home watershed—and inspire others to share in its stewardship.

So the natural resources major, an inexperienced kayaker with a slight fear of water, embarked on a paddling expedition along the full 120-mile length of the lake, from Whitehall, New York to Missisquoi Bay in Quebec. On the two-week journey, in August of 2021, Rowell interviewed educators and scientists but also sought out the perspectives of farmers, recreators, and the indigenous community.

He encountered calm, sparkling waters and pristine palisades, but also thunderstorms, rough waves, invasive species, and an expansive bay choked with poisonous cyanobacteria. Rowell’s good friend and local filmmaker, Duane Peterson III, came along to capture it all.

The result is a 40-minute adventure-conservation documentary with stunning visuals and a compelling message for viewers: you can protect our waterways from ecological devastation.

“If we stand by and let places like Lake Champlain slip away, we will have nowhere else to go—no other lake,” says Rowell. “But the good news is that every individual has the power to reverse a bit of the damage and help restore these resources for the next generation.”

No Other Lake debuts on Vermont Public on May 4th, 2023 and will be available for streaming online.