Our Lady of the Hamptons' Eighth Grader Wins NYS Essay Contest

In 2018, Agawam Lake had the densest growth of toxic algal blooms ever recorded. Winslow Ryan, an eighth grader at Our Lady of the Hamptons School, won this year's NYCOM's essay contest "If I Were Mayor, I Would..." with his entry proposing solutions to Agawam Lake's algal bloom and chemical runoff issues. Winslow's essay won first place out of nearly 1,000 entries throughout New York State.

"Water use and conservation is an important civic topic and an important biblical topic," Winslow said when asked about his topic choice. "We are here to be good stewards of our environment and water is of great importance."

While Winslow's essay targeted the lake on Long Island specifically, his proposed solutions could be applied to several other bodies of water facing similar issues.

Southampton Mayor Jessie Warren had visited Our Lady of the Hamptons' eighth grade history class in early March to educate students on local government and discuss his role as the mayor. The visit came as the class was learning about local legislation and brainstorming ideas for NYCOM's essay contest.

Stony Brook University scientists have said that Lake Agawam's toxic algal bloom is the densest growth ever recorded in a Long Island body of water. Winslow wrote in his essay that the lake's current state is "unsafe for anyone, including local wildlife who suffer the most [from it] because of their now sullied home." The unregulated buildup of fertilizer and pesticide runoff from nearby homes has stimulating such overwhelming growth that the algae is blocking aquatic plants from receiving sunlight, disrupting the lake's ecosystem.