When Pete Cramer, of Auburn, joined a group project for Steve Keeler's documentary course at Cayuga Community College three years ago, he had no idea what impact that decision would have.

The product, a 25-minute short film, “The Beauty and the Beast - A Tale of Two Lakes,” not only achieved national recognition, but also fit in nicely with goals of local organizations dedicated to protecting Finger Lakes watersheds.

The film, sponsored by the Institute for the Application of Geospatial Technology and Owasco Watershed Lake Association, will be shown at the Auburn Public Theater at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3. Organizers of the event hope to promote awareness and enthusiasm for the protection of Owasco Lake.

Cramer said when he and his five classmates brainstormed issues for their project, they narrowed it down to something local for budgetary reasons, but it also had to be a strong issue.

The production of the movie took more than a year, he said, and some of his classmates had moved on. But he and Caleb Kerlin, of Nedrow, continued to work on the idea until it was completed in 2006.

“When we singled out that one topic, we pulled in all the information we could get,” he said. “(IAGT) was right there, and we were able to use some scenes that show a synthesized flyover.”

The movie shows the history of Onondaga and Skaneateles lakes, demonstrating the need for proper management of all lakes.

Cramer said its message is to be aware of the damage that can be done.

“This horrible atrocity happened,” he said, referring to the pollution of Onondaga Lake. “Nobody sought to do it, they neglected it.”

Keeping the issue in the forefront of people's minds is a goal of the movie. Cramer noted that every aspect of the movie was largely a collaborative effort, his focus on the video and editing, Kerlin's on editing and directing.

Cramer subsequently began to work with the Auburn Public Theater as a technical director. David Carr, a project manager of IAGT, got to know Cramer through the theater.

“We have a lot of projects at IAGT to protect water,” Carr said, “and I got involved with OWLA. We got the idea that Peter had this film out, and, although the watershed is south of Auburn, the people here drink the water from Owasco Lake. We need to get more people interested in water.”

Carr will present a new project after the movie with an open discussion. The Owasco Watershed Network, a set of basic tools on the Internet, will allow anyone to go and access data, not only from OWLA but from many other links.

“We could do the same thing for the whole region,” he said. “It would be a portal to go out to where the information is, building access to data found in all related organizations with a built-in translation of data.”

He envisions the system becoming more powerful as more groups are added, getting people involved in helping protect the lake.

Bob Brower, chief executive officer of IAGT, was also on the board of APT. The institute was involved in developing design support systems and prototypes around Owasco Lake.

Brower's years as an environmental planner provided him with insight into the difficulties of watershed management, while the prototypes IAGT developed were useful tools for those trying to manage the watershed. He said he jumped at the opportunity to combine his love of theater with his planning skills.

“Using art to help motivate involvement in civil activities,” Brower said, “is a really great combination linking science and the arts. To champion the existence of this new venture in our community - what's not to like about that?”

Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net