AUBURN - A group of 15 New Visions students from the environmental science and medical programs of the Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES went door-to-door in the Orchard Street neighborhood in Auburn Friday in hopes of teaching people with young children about the effects of lead poisoning.

“A lot of people don't really know about the harmful causes of lead and what it can do to children,” said Emily Costello, 18.

“It's also an experience for us because we're not learning out of a textbook,” Emily Meier, 17, added. “Lead poisoning is a big issue in health so it allows us to learn both sides.”

Costello and Meier are both in the medical program.

Students were divided into five groups of three. Each group was responsible for collecting data about the house, such as taking pictures of areas they suspect have lead and getting soil samples, filling out a 10-question survey if the owner or tenant was willing to do so and leaving an information packet at each house. One student from each group used a GPS unit to input information about each house that would later be used to connect a visual image of the house with an assessment of the property.

The lead poisoning awareness project is a collaboration among the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Cayuga County, BOCES, the University of Rochester and the Cayuga County Health Department.

“University of Rochester actually did a needs assessment of lead poisoning in our county and it pointed out that we were very strong in testing children under 6 (for) lead, but we were kind of weak on educating people about the effects of lead and also home repairs, so that's something that we were trying to do today,” said Renee Jensen, community educator of environmental issues for the cooperative extension.

The Orchard Street area was chosen because of the older housing stock and the amount of cases of lead poisoning in that particular area, she said. Because many of the houses in the area were built before 1978, there's a good chance that they have lead.

As of 2005, the latest year for which data is available, 1.09 percent of children in Cayuga County from 0 to 6 years old have elevated blood lead levels, said Lisa Donalds, lead coordinator for the Cayuga County Health Department. The county also has the 18th lowest incidence rate out of 57 counties rated in New York state. The data does not include New York City.

The students visited 72 houses along the Orchard Street area and collected 14 completed surveys, Jensen said. They also collected 17 soil samples, which will be sent to a lab for testing.

Students appreciated the opportunity of being able to implement lessons learned.

“I think you learn the most when you're out there pounding the pavement,” said Thomas Fessenden, 17, a student in the environmental science program.

His teacher, Anne Moore, believes that linking what the students learn in school with how it impacts the community plays an important role. Moore wants students to be able to connect science to public policy.

“This does not end here. It will become a continued effort,” she said. “Education is the epicenter of the solution.”

Staff writer Gitana Mirochnik can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or gitana.mirochnik@lee.net