(upbeat music) - [Michael] Tonight on "WPBS Weekly Inside The Stories," get to know the students involved with the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project, a program at SUNY Oswego with the mission of understanding what causes a total solar eclipse.

Also, Zoo New York at Thompson Park has been around for more than 100 years.

Discover where it all began and how they plan to go forward after months of uncertainty.

Plus, pick up your grilled steak a notch by adding a sauce made with bourbon, whiskey, and raspberries.

Your stories, your region, coming up right now on "WPBS Weekly Inside The Stories."

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] "WPBS Weekly Inside The Stories" is brought to you by.

(upbeat music) - [Host] When you're unable to see your primary care provider, the Carthage Walk-In Clinic is here for you.

Located off Route 26 across from Carthage Middle School.

Comfort and Healing close to home when you need it most.

- [Presenter] North Country Orthopedic Group is there for your urgent ortho or sports-related injuries.

With our onsite surgical center and same or next day appointments, we're ready to provide care for patients of all ages.

Your health matters to us, North Country Orthopedic Group, keeping healthcare local.

- [Announcer] We are the North Country.

We're protecting one another like family is who we are and where our tomorrow will always be worth defending.

Find out how we keep the North Country strong at claxtonhepburn.org today.

- [Narrator] Additional support is provided by the Estate of Evelyn Peckham.

- Good Tuesday evening everyone, and welcome to this edition of "WPBS Weekly Inside the Stories".

I'm Michael Riecke.

The 2024 eclipse may have come and gone, but the data gathered during the event is still being analyzed.

The Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning project at SUNY Oswego and funded by NASA gave students the opportunity to learn just what causes a total solar eclipse.

Here's producer Luke Smith with more.

(upbeat music) - This and then it's just gonna go pitch black outside.

- [Luke] Vincent DiBattista has always had a passion for science, a passion that inspired him to pursue a degree in physics at SUNY Oswego, where he got the opportunity to share his love with colleagues and students alike.

- This is one of several, what is known as outreach programs where we're going to all different types of schools in the central to western New York regions to educate students on what we are doing.

A great place to start is with the students in order to introduce them to the scientific aspects of this eclipse as well as, you know, peak interests, and make sure that they're able to view something like this.

- [Luke] These outreach programs are part of the work done for the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project, A program funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation to study solar eclipses.

- We have 18 great students here on the campus at SUNY Oswego that have been working so hard since the fall of 2023, learning about all the instruments, learning about the importance of this data that we're collecting.

The end goal is to look at stratosphere gravity waves, so these oscillations in our air high up above the surface of the earth and how the sun, the solar eclipse, is actually affecting the production of these waves.

And so the students have a ton of opportunities to help with this, including outreach.

- Essentially the main goals of this project are not only to reach a higher understanding of the behaviors of solar eclipses, but to really spread just the meaning of what it means to be someone in science-related fields.

And you know, in my opinion, just the true beauty of just going through and being able to say, I'm somebody that is a researcher, I'm someone that is a, you know, worker and someone who just loves science and you know, understanding the world, that's, you know, what NEBP really stands for.

- [Luke] Before the outreach, these students start in the field learning about the equipment they need and understanding how it works to conduct research.

- Going into this, I never truly understood what exactly or how exactly an eclipse occurs as it relates to the distance between Moon and Earth and the effect of Sun has on that.

This course we've had at school and just in general, the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project has really elevated my knowledge of better understanding what goes on outside of our atmosphere and how it affects both, you know, life inside and in the atmosphere in general.

- [Vincent] The purpose of the balloons is we take, we use the balloons to launch these radiosondes up into the atmosphere and what these radiosondes measure is different variables of the atmosphere like pressure, wind, wind direction, humidity, and temperature.

And it does it in a vertical kind of profile, so that as it's going up, we can see what the atmosphere is doing at different levels.

And these are our most critical component in terms of gathering data.

Without these, we would not be able to study anything for this project.

- [Luke] The Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project brought great experiences and opportunities to students in 55 different colleges and universities across the country, including the University of Albany, Plymouth State University, and New Mexico State University.

- My experiences on this project, we started in the beginning of the semester last year with preparation, with training, going through basic radiosonde launches, working with instrumentation, working specifically with how to string everything together with our nylon strings.

And then as we progressed into the semester getting closer to the annular eclipse, we were having night launches, practicing what it would be like in those conditions and then going to New Mexico.

- I was one of the students who was fortunate enough to go to New Mexico and you know, the experience itself was, you know, once in a lifetime being able to work so closely with colleagues on, you know, reaching a common goal.

It was the first time I've ever been able to do something like that and you know, it got me hooked.

- [Luke] During the New Mexico annual eclipse, students discovered a 13-degree drop in surface temperatures and a reduction in wind speed by 10 knots, providing valuable insight into how solar eclipses affect local weather conditions.

As for the total solar eclipse in April, that data is still being analyzed by Dr. Barber's students.

- I've been really impressed by the students, that was a good starting point, and I'm really excited to analyze the data we collect and hopefully get some publications out of it, and again, support NASA's mission.

- I believe everyone is capable of going into science.

It just truly depends on whether or not you're willing to really put the time in to do it.

It's truly, you know, a remarkable thing.

And I know just saying science is a very, very broad term, because there's many, many, many different types of applications for science, but if anything at all piques your interest, go for it.

- [Luke] In Oswego for WPBS Weekly, I'm Luke Smith.

- Next up we visit a good old country fair, the Lansdowne Fair in Lansdowne Ontario has been entertaining families since 1864 with a fun-filled three-day agricultural extravaganza.

Here's the "1,000 Islands Wanderer" with more.

(upbeat music) - All right, I convinced these guys to go on this.

Carter's really nervous, he's not pumped about it.

(group chattering) (machine roaring) (birds chirping) (soft music) Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of "1,000 Islands Wanderer".

Today we're checking out the Lansdowne Fair.

This is Carter.

- Hey.

- This is Ben.

Ben's my brother, Carter's my friend.

We're gonna go ride some rides, we're gonna show you around, we're gonna introduce you to the mayor and we're gonna have a great time.

- And this is the ambassador of the Fair Group and this was many, many, many years ago.

(group laughing) Hi, I'm mayor Corinna Smith-Gatcke here in the township of Leeds in the 1,000 Islands and I'm at the 159th Lansdowne Fair.

Lots of great artwork from the schools.

All the schools come in and bring their artwork throughout the year and this year's theme is apple pies and family ties.

Macy Greer, who's won best in show, the sketch she's done of some peppers is just absolutely outstanding.

And this is our senior sovereign.

So some of the couples who have been dedicated volunteers to the fair over many years were honored and actually my grandparents were the first winners, so very proud of them.

People are entering in their pies, their cakes, their squares, their jams, their pickles.

This is Old McDonald's Farm.

(upbeat music) Photo bomb it.

(group laughing) As a kid you get to come here and look for your artwork to see if you've won.

(upbeat music) (machine roaring) - [Videographer] What are you most excited for at the fair?

- Honestly, at the fair, I'm mostly excited for getting a hot dog.

Maybe grabbing a drink with that.

That's it.

- It's the rides.

I can't wait to puke after T-naught, enough as well.

I'm excited The Abduction, I'm definitely excited for that.

That's gonna be a good ride.

(machine roaring) Those were the best when I was a kid, but I'm hoping to see the Zipper to be honest with you.

I really wanted to do that so I can get squished on the outside.

(upbeat music) I'm getting squished.

(upbeat music) - Dang, that was pretty good.

(machine roaring) (upbeat music) - [Videographer] Yeah, how was that?

- Gravy's coming up.

(group laughing) (upbeat music) - [Videographer] All right, I convinced these guys to go on this drop ride.

(group screaming) Carter's really nervous.

He's not pumped about it.

Ben is obviously, as you can see.

(group chattering) (group screaming) What'd you think?

- That was honestly, I closed my eyes the entire time.

Like if you go back in the recording, my eyes are closed the entire time coming down.

I was so scared.

Oh, I hate that was shaking.

- I'm ready to to go on this one.

- Amanda went on this ride and doesn't love spinny things.

All right, Amanda, how do you feel?

- That was lots of fun.

So much fun.

- She hated it, she hated it.

- Hey.

- [Videographer] Does this make you dizzy?

- No.

- [Videographer] You don't get dizzy looking at this all day?

- No.

- Amanda and I are gonna go on the Ferris wheel because I'm pregnant and can't do any other rides.

I made her go on a spinny one, so now I kind of owe her a nice little easy ride.

Very nice night.

It's very like not too windy or anything.

We had some rain, but now that's over.

(upbeat music) We're at the top.

- How are you?

Good.

Good.

That's amazing.

- Thank you.

- I won fifth place.

- You won fifth place?

159 years ago, people wanted to get together just so that they could see one another because this was a big deal.

We're still at the same place.

We get to see people we don't get to see all year round, and we welcome those from outside of the community to come and be part of our community and to enjoy every little thing that we have here to share.

(machine roaring) (group cheering) (upbeat music) - This year's Lansdowne's Fair takes place starting this Friday, July 19th, and runs through Sunday, July 21st at the Lansdowne Fairgrounds on Prince Street in Lansdowne, Ontario.

For more information, just go to lansdownefair.ca.

Well Zoo New York began in 1920 with a donation of two white-tailed deer to Thompson Park and the city of Watertown.

Since then, the zoo has become home to a diverse collection of wildlife and is the second most visited attraction in the Thousand Islands region.

Here's producer Guy Carlo with more.

(upbeat music) (group chattering) - [Guy] From the Decommissioned Fire Tower Zoo, New York, we look at the expansive natural habitats from above.

Let's make our way back down to learn about the zoo's past and its future.

- Hi, I am Al John Fania and I'm a board emeritus at the Zoo New York.

We've made great stride and it's a wonderful organization.

We started out very small with a few exhibits we've expanded dramatically.

One thing I've been involved with over the years in my family and many volunteers is the Butterfly House.

This Butterfly house was modeled after the first native species butterfly house that I'm aware of in New York State at the Visitor's Interpretive Center at Paul Smith's College, which is great.

So we display butterflies that are native to New York.

Zoo New York is a special place because we display the animals of New York state.

Past and present.

My favorite part of being involved in this is that it's a really important community resource.

We came here in 1981 and I was so pleased that we had a zoo.

It had been around for many, many years, initially developed by schoolchildren and the city ran the zoo.

But in the 1980s there was a lot of criticism about zoos across the country that they weren't very friendly for the animals.

The habitats were small.

And that's when the first phase of this zoo really took place.

It was Thompson Park 2000 and the city, county and state funded the renovation of the zoo.

So now we have habitats that are really a safe, secure, but also homey for these animals.

- [Guy] Former city manager Ken Mix has stepped into the position of board chair at Zoo New York, but this is not his first work at the organization.

- When I first started working for the city there was no perimeter around the zoo and that was one of the projects we did put a perimeter fence around to enclose it because it was part of the requirements of being a modern zoo, the city had been operating it for over 60 years.

And it really needed a a lot of work.

And it came down to the point where the city council had to decide whether they were going to renovate it, make it more of a modern zoo or close it down.

At the time Thompson Park Conservancy was being formed, the idea was to look at the park as a whole, but some of the members were really interested in the zoo and so they provide a proposal to the city council saying that if the city council were to make the first phase improvements, they would step up and operate it as a not-for-profit.

And the city council agreed to that.

Actually, I was the project manager for the city on that phase one project, which included things like the cougar exhibit, this here elk exhibit, the wolfs across the way there and the lynx.

That's what really got the zoo started in its modern form.

We had to sort of reimagine what a modern zoo would be and it turned out to be much larger exhibits.

Things have evolved, so we're continuing to look at how to house animals in more natural habitats.

And the other important part at the time was that the decision was made to go with native species and just highlight animals from New York State.

- [Guy] Interim Director Dr. Mark Erwin leads the team at Zoo New York and introduces us to a rare and exciting new resident.

- We have an amazing, wonderful little zoo right in the heart of Thompson Park here in Watertown, New York.

It's a zoo that focuses to native species and we've got some pretty incredible animals here.

The zoo is about 100 years old and during that time, it was founded back in 1920.

It started out with deer and bear and some local native wildlife.

We are pretty excited about some of the things on the forefront, when it comes down to it, this zoo is operated by volunteers and we have a dedicated team of volunteers that have really made it happen.

We've been able to reopen the zoo after being closed through some of the off-season.

And we've got gardens being done.

We're looking to have some new animals on hand for the public to see.

And we have a a host of events that will go on through the season as well.

The zoo is home to native species, whether they are actively living in New York state or historically have been in the past.

And you may see animals here that you wouldn't expect to see.

And we have some animals that you wouldn't encounter in most of our other zoos.

For example, we have a wolverine here.

We have the only one in New York state, and they're incredible animals.

They are winter adapted, so they enjoy our cold season.

There's only nine zoos in all of North America that have them.

So we've got some unique New York focused animals and that's a really rare one.

You think they're in your backyard, but they're really not.

No one's going to see some of these species.

And you can see them right here at Zoo New York.

Take you in the atmosphere and learn a little bit at the same time.

- [Guy] From Zoo New York in Historic Thompson Park, I'm Guy Carlo.

(upbeat music) - Get out your notebook.

We've got a way to kick up your grilled steak a notch by adding a sauce made with whiskey, raspberries, sugar, dry mustard, and smoked paprika.

It's perfect for summertime grilling courtesy of Gusto TV's "A is for Apple" series.

(upbeat music) - Raspberries.

I love them in dessert, sprinkled over my cereal and in salads for sure.

But you know what?

There is a lot of other things I can do with these guys.

(upbeat music) This is whiskey, it's cowboy drink, and it's gonna go great with my cowboy steak.

Touch of sugar to sweeten this up and raspberries, I'm making a raspberry whiskey sauce that's gonna go great with this steak, but it's not just any steak.

(upbeat music) This is a rib eye.

Now I like all cuts of steak.

This one's my favorite.

Check out all that marbling.

That means big flavor.

Now I'm gonna kick it up a notch.

I'm gonna make a rub.

(upbeat music) Dried mustard powder has a mild mustardy flavor.

Garlic powder, can't go without garlic.

Paprika, something nice and smoky.

(upbeat music) Of course, chili peppers for a pinch of heat and some ground pepper.

(upbeat music) The great thing about rubs is there's not really many rules.

Whatever spices you have in your cupboard, use them.

Make your own.

(upbeat music) Oh yeah, look at that sauce.

Look how those raspberries have cooked down.

It's looking good.

(upbeat music) This smells like summertime.

(host laughing) (upbeat music) Okay, so I gotta get some of the sauce in with my marinade.

I want the steaks to cook down with that raspberry and whiskey.

(upbeat music) All right, let's get 'em in there.

(upbeat music) Oh, smells amazing.

(upbeat music) Oh, mama.

(upbeat music) Getting messy.

(upbeat music) All right, so I'm gonna let these babies marinate in all this goodness for at least two hours, and then I'm gonna sear them up.

Look at this guys.

Look at how that raspberry and whiskey sauce, the meats just soaked it right up.

These are ready to sear.

(upbeat music) I have a hot, hot cast iron pan.

It's ready for this meat.

(upbeat music) So once I have these in here, I'm not gonna touch 'em.

I don't want to move them.

I want all that raspberry sauce, that marinade to create a nice crispy crust, A great sear on the bottom of the meat.

(upbeat music) Oh man.

(meat sizzling) Check out this crust.

This meat is gonna be juicy and tender.

A perfect crispy crust.

It looks great.

(upbeat music) (foil crackling) I can tell by its feel that this is perfectly cooked, medium rare, little bit of finishing salt.

(upbeat music) I'm gonna go for it.

Oh yeah, just like I said, perfectly cooked rib eye.

(upbeat music) Little ball of this raspberry whiskey sauce.

Why not?

(upbeat music) That is one juicy rib eye.

It goes so well with raspberries, little tarp, meaty.

All delicious.

(upbeat music) So I just made raspberries with steak.

Now I have to figure out what to do with raspberries and rapini.

(upbeat music) - You can find this recipe and more like it at gustotv.com/recipes.

Well, that does it for this Tuesday night.

Join us next time for a fresh look "Inside the Stories."

Museum traveler.

A business founded by a Sacketts Harbor resident brings museums and other world attractions right to your computer and two organic farmers have passed their 400 plus Heritage Seed collection to the Kingston Area Seed Initiative.

Find out how this move supports local agriculture.

Also meet the artists behind the many murals that decorate North Country buildings.

Meantime, if you have a story idea you'd like us to explore, we'd love to learn more.

Drop us an email at WPBSweekly@wpbstv.org and let's share it with the region.

That's it for tonight, everyone.

We'll see you soon.

Have a great night.

(upbeat music) - [Narrator] "WPBS Weekly Inside the Stories" is brought to you by.

- [Host] When you're unable to see your primary care provider.

The Carthage Walk-in clinic is here for you, located off Route 26 across from Carthage Middle School.

Comfort and healing close to home when you need it most.

- [Presenter] North Country Orthopedic Group is there for your urgent ortho or sports related injuries.

With our onsite surgical center and same or next day appointments, we're ready to provide care for patients of all ages.

Your health matters to us.

North Country Orthopedic Group, keeping healthcare local.

(upbeat music) - [Presenter] We are the North Country.

We're protecting one another like family is who we are and where our tomorrow will always be worth defending.

Find out how we keep the North Country Strong at claxtonhepburn.org today.

- [Narrator] Additional support is provided by the estate of Evelyn Peckham.

(upbeat music) - [Videographer] Hey, aw dang, that was pretty good.

(group chattering) - Gravy's coming up.

(upbeat music)