Public trust in science is unraveling, strained by misinformation, political polarization, and a growing disconnect between data and lived experience. Communities historically harmed by environmental neglect or medical injustice often view scientific institutions with suspicion, questioning whose interests they truly serve. Following the COVID-19 Pandemic, trust in the scientific community exponentially declined, and years later, the effects have infiltrated every corner of scientific discussions. According to a 2024 report, 27% of Americans have no trust in the scientific community, a 14-point increase in distrust since the early stages of the Pandemic. Onondaga Lake, once one of the most polluted lakes in America, has become a local, Syracuse, New York, symbol of this mistrust. Despite measurable improvements from cleanup efforts, many residents remain wary, remembering decades of ecological damage.
Dave Smith grew up in Liverpool, New York. He grew up knowing never to go close to the lake. His firsthand experiences growing up at a time when Onondaga Lake was the most polluted lake in the country make him wary of ever trusting the lake again. After getting remarried, Smith visits the lake in the early morning before work multiple times a week to take photos of birds. While at the lake, Smith now also uses his photography, and Facebook, to raise awareness about places around the lake that he believes are still dangerous.
Tim grew up in Courtland, New York. Like Smith, Tim remembers a time when Onondaga Lake would make people sick just by standing near the shoreline. Now retired, Tim chose to move to a neighborhood right by the lake. He believes the lake is the cleanest it has been in 125 years, and chose to move closer to the lake to experience its ever-growing ecology.
Bruce Wagner never left the lake. Growing up in Liverpool, Wagner was threatened with being thrown in the lake by his teachers while he was in elementary school. Now, as a Senior Aquatic Biologist for the Upstate Freshwater Institute, Wagner gets nearly daily hands-on experience with the lake. His job, alongside seasonal biologist and recent ESF graduate Wint Maw, is to take mercury readings, algae readings, and complete a weekly process to stop mercury from entering the food chain. Wagner knows the difficulty of getting residents, especially long-time residents, of the Syracuse area to trust the scientists working on the lake.
This story aims to show the disconnect between citizens and scientists, the effects of mistrust, and how the political state of America has seeped into local communities.
Tires lay scattered across the lake front at Murphy's Island, the most polluted part of Onondaga Lake on Friday, October 3. This part of the lake is also home to nesting bald eagles and is the only section of the vital Syracuse lake that was not dredged.
Wildlife photographer Dave Smith poses next to trash found by a homeless encampment on Murphy's Island on the south side of Onondaga Lake in Syracuse, New York on Friday, October 3. Growing up in Liverpool, New York, Smith uses his newfound love for wildlife photography to share the environmental and community issues which still infect Onondaga Lake.
At the end of Murphy's Island, a fence blocks the area which remains the most polluted section on Onondaga Lake. Many homeless reside in this area and have knocked down the fence to access it. Dave Smith frequents this area as it is the home of many Bald Eagles. Fearing who might be beyond the fence, Smith takes many risks in going into this area, risking it again to locate areas of pollution on Friday, October 3.
A fish skeleton, a candy wrapper, and a beer can lay on the Murphy's Island bank of Onondaga Lake on Friday, October 3. Dave Smith says many photographer looking for eagles in the area walk by scenes like this daily. "Just plastic as far as the eye can see," Smith said. "And a lot of them just look up in the sky." One of the main issues Smith says is affecting the lake is the lack of community motivation to continue restoration.
Dave Smith photographs an area of Onondaga Lake he believes still let's run off into the lake on Tuesday, September 30. Smith says he uses his photography to spread awareness about pollution on the lake and the dangers of being near it.
Dave Smith holds up Zyn can on Friday, October 3 next to Onondaga Lake which contains a soil sample he collected from under an area where runoff was still seeping into the lake. Smith says he is waiting to test it until he can find a place he trusts will do the right things with the sample.
The lifeless body of a duck lays at the docking entrance of Onondaga Lake Park on Sunday, December 7. Dead wildlife such as this goose can be found littered around the lake, marking the lasting effects of pollution Dave Smith believes are still dwindling wildlife populations on the lake.
Local Liverpool resident Tim reflects on his decision to move from Cortland to Liverpool by Onondaga Lake on Sunday, December 7. Tim grew up in Cortland and remembers the lake from his childhood. "People used to get sick even walking by the lake," Tim said. "But even as kids we would come down to the lake with bows and arrows and shoot the carp sitting in the algae along the shore." Tim states that he believes the lake is the cleanest it has been in 125 years, and even as he has grown more conservative in his older age, the importance of protecting the lakes ecology has never been more important to him.
A housing development sits on the Eastern edge of Onondaga Lake Park on Sunday, December 7. In recent years residents of Syracuse and the surrounding townships have begun moving back to Onondaga Lake, including Tim. Development projects around the lake began in 2022, six years after the restoration was completed, starting with the multi-phase, 12 project, $108 Million Waterfront Revitalization Master Plan. Tim says that after retirement, being by the lake was the best decision he made. Even growing up seeing the lake’s pollution, Tim says that he has never once felt unsafe living by the lake.
A flock of seagulls sits next to two perching swans off the Onondaga Lake Park Pier on Sunday, December 7. According to Tim, he knows the lake is clean because of the diversity of wildlife he sees while taking morning walks alongside the lake. After moving to Liverpool to be next to the lake, Tim says he can see for himself the safety of the lake and how far it has come since his childhood.
The Upstate Freshwater Institute truck arrives at Onondaga Lake on Monday, October 27. UFI is responsible for monitoring the water quality of the lake. Taking measurements weekly in the spring, summer, and fall seasons keeps public record of the lake up to date.
![UFI Scientist Bruce Wagner enters the boat used to reach the water monitoring buoys on Onondaga Lake on Monday, October 27. Wagner has lived in Liverpool, New York for his entire life, and takes pride in his actions to protect the lake and its wildlife. "One of the punishments from my [high school] teachers was that they were gonna throw us in Onondaga Lake if we didn't behave," Wagner said, "but since then I have watched it, you know, for 60 years change so much. It has really come a long way."](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/68cd11c5-0ddf-4fb2-a393-76d141cf3739/066c8a27-e3ef-45b9-9609-7f7f320cbe7e_rw_1920.jpg?h=5ab755711a0d5e0d2d5116124da5bc0a)
UFI Scientist Bruce Wagner enters the boat used to reach the water monitoring buoys on Onondaga Lake on Monday, October 27. Wagner has lived in Liverpool, New York for his entire life, and takes pride in his actions to protect the lake and its wildlife. "One of the punishments from my [high school] teachers was that they were gonna throw us in Onondaga Lake if we didn't behave," Wagner said, "but since then I have watched it, you know, for 60 years change so much. It has really come a long way."
Bruce Wagner looks at the turnover of Onondaga Lake on Monday, October 27. Turnover of a lake is when a lake redistributes oxygen and cleans itself of pollutants. Onondaga Lake is special in that it turns over at a much faster rate, allowing pollutants to leave the nutrient system quicker.
Scientist Bruce Wagner and his assistant Wint Maw prepare the device which spreads nitrate at the bottom of Onondaga Lake on Monday, October 27. This process stops the methylation of mercury which is the process where certain microorganisms, like bacteria, convert inorganic mercury into a toxic organic form called methylmercury. Onondaga Lake still has excess levels of mercury at lower levels of the lake, and spreading nitrate limits the mercury's ability to entire the food chain.
Algae growth lines the edges of Onondaga lake on Tuesday, September 30. This growth once over ran the lake and is a symbol of an excess of methylmercury. Algae growth is a major way this mercury can enter the food chain, and the control of this growth is a major part of Upstate Freshwater Institute's work on the lake.
