Many years ago the Bronx River was know for oysters that provided delicious food for people and filtered water. Oyster reefs and most other original ecosystems in the Bronx River have been wiped out by industrial pollution, residential sewage, and channeling the river for freight transportation.
Rocking the Boat, a youth education organization in the South Bronx, collaborates with other organizations to bring oysters back to the Bronx River. Today I have participated in an oyster monitoring field trip with students and Chrissy Word, the Director of Public Programs in Rocking the Boat. They were observing how oysters are doing in one of oyster gardens, which has been created by Rocking the Boat a while ago. Usually oysters live in habitats that they create for themselves, where younger oysters attach and grow on older oysters. It is not easy to establish a new habitat for oysters, especially in the Bronx River, which still has some pollution and a different composition of species. However, educators and students in the Rocking the Boat are working hard to restore oyster reefs in the Bronx River to make it a more sustainable ecosystem.
In 2009 New York City celebrates the Quadricentennial of Henry Hudson’s voyage. He has sailed on his ship “Half Moon” from Amsterdam to explore an estuary from Staten Island to Albany, which is known today as Hudson River. He met with native Americans and observed almost undisturbed forested landscapes on an island, which is known today as Manhattan, or Mannahatta in a native language, the land of thousand hills. What has changed since that time? Streams, small lakes, hills, and forests gave way to skyscrapers and the first mega-city. Probably Hudson would never imagine this change, just like it is difficult for us to imagine what New York City will look like in 100 years from now.
This week Hunter College hosted a conference about the urban environment. One of speakers was Erik Sanderson. He is working on The Mannahatta Project, which recreates what Manhattan looked like 400 years ago – both visually and ecologically. Comparing the past and current Manhattan stimulates our imagination, and helps us to think about future changes of urban systems. This project is also very educational because it helps students to think about how to modify urban systems to make them sustainable and resilient in the long run.
In November after 5pm in New York City it’s already dark like at night. But youth in environmental after-school programs in the Bronx are working hard in all seasons to improve urban social-ecological systems. On-Water program in Rocking the Boat is one of such programs that combine a wide range of education and restoration approaches and youth development activities – anything from the restoration of oyster reefs to learning outdoor recreation skills, and from planting moss in walls to conducting various inquiry activities. For example, when I came earlier this week to Rocking the Boat, young people were conducting water quality monitoring. They were using a turbidity tube to evaluate water transparency and a number of other measurements such as temperature, pH, salinity, and dissolved oxygen. Rocking the Boat collects this data on a regular basis and submits it to the Bronx River Alliance, which in turn helps local environmental organizations to make more informed decisions about future restoration activities along the Bronx River watershed.
Can you believe that you are in New York City when you are walking through a dense forest on North Brother Island? This Island in the Bronx with the view of the Manhattan skyline had some houses and a hospital, which have been abandoned in 1960s. Now the NYC Parks Department manages this island as a non-cultivated land belonging to the NYC park system. The A.C.T.I.O.N. youth program from The Point Community Development Corporation in the South Bronx helps to maintain this area by removing invasive species several times a year. A.C.T.I.O.N. collaborates with the NYC Audubon on this project because the island is very important for birds nesting in this relatively isolated ecosystem in the middle of the city. This restoration project is a great learning experience for youth helping to improve ecosystems on this island because there are very few non-cultivated areas in the Bronx.
Who would imagine just 10 years ago that a former industrial site in the heart of the Bronx would transform into a thriving park? The local communities led by Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice with the NYC Parks Department and several other community-based organizations in the Bronx were brave enough to envision such a transformation and organize the whole community to make it true. The park is located along the Bronx River in the South Bronx, and offers plenty of ecosystem services: you can enjoy the view of the River, learn about restored ecosystems, meet with people from your community, and reconnect with the environment. Some educators are already using this site to educate students from schools. For example, today Damian Griffin from the Bronx River Alliance was teaching middle-school students about biological diversity in the river and testing water quality. I need to learn whether some of high-school student groups who I am working with will engage in some kinds of environmental stewardship in this park.
On this photograph Adrian Benepe, Commissioner of the Department of Parks & Recreation, delivers the opening speech.
I hope I will do research with the Mosholu Preservation Corporation next summer, but I decided to see one of its projects in the North Bronx today. During the tree and flower planting day in Mosholu Parkway I have asked high-school students “Why are trees important for your community?” Watch the video to learn what youth have replied. Most of them come from BuildOn, an organization that involves youth in weekly community service projects, and eventually sends some of these youth to build schools in poor countries such as Mali and Nicaragua.
Yesterday Katie Holten, an artist originally from Ireland, has organized a presentation about The Tree Museum. The Tree Museum is composed of 100 trees on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx. As you walk along this street, you will see phone numbers under each of these trees to call audio guides. When you call, you will hear a little story about a particular tree that you see or about various services that this tree species provides for urban communities. Before this presentation I did not realize that I live in a museum, but two or three trees that are part of this exhibit are growing near my house! The Tree Museum is a 4 mile long museum that collaborates with the MillionTreesNYC initiative, and is open 24/7. More information: http://www.treemuseum.org.
The South Bronx is often referred to as the poorest congressional district in the United States. But it might be one of the riches in terms of the diversity of cultures, potential for environmental improvements, and smart young people. A.C.T.I.O.N. at The Point Community Development Corporation is one of several organizations that help these young people in the Bronx to learn about environmental and social justice, teaches them to think critically, and engages youth in various community service and environmental restoration projects.
Adam Liebowitz, the Director of Community Development at The Point CDC in Hunts Point has invited me today to come to A.C.T.I.O.N.’s introduction session. This year more than 20 youth take part in this program; seven of them are new and others are returning students. This and next week returning students will be introducing new students into several ongoing projects organized by this community action program such as restoration of habitats on North Brother Island in the East River, urban agriculture, brownfields, greenway, and anti-tobacco campaigns.
On the photograph above, a returning student teaches a new student about several issues related to water quality in the Bronx River, invasive species removal activities, and stewardship in community gardens.
The diversity of backgrounds and experiences of youth in this program is tremendous and hard to control for in our research project if we use quantitative methods only. Adam has suggested that it would be hard or even not valid to use just surveys to explore the impact of this program on sense of place in youth and their social capital because the majority of students have already participated in environmental activities. Probably a combination of quantitative (such as surveys) and qualitative (e.g., semi-structured interviews) methods would be the best option to explore the impact of this and other similar programs on youth.
Illuminating glass pipes sticking out of the Bronx River look very futuristic and high-tech, they capture your imagination and stimulate curiosity. This fall the Bronx River features Amphibious Architecture, a fascinating education project designed by Natalie Jeremijenko, an associate professor at New York University, and her colleagues. The project is a collaboration between the Environmental Health Clinic and the Living Architecture Lab at Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. Yesterday Natalie conducted in Drew Gardens a presentation of this project for the Bronx community.
A quote from the Amphibious Architecture website: “Amphibious Architecture is a visual interface floating on the water’s surface, (…) housing a range of sensors below water and an array of light emitting diodes above water. The sensors monitor water quality, the presence of fish, and human interest in the river’s ecosystem, while the lights respond to the sensors, creating feedback loops between humans, fish in their shared environment. Additionally an SMS interface allows homo-citizens to text-message the fish and receive real-time information about the river, contributing towards the collective display of human interest in the aquatic environment. The aim of which is to simultaneously spark a larger public interest and dialogue about our local waterways.”
About twenty youth and adults came to this presentation, most of them have stopped by during the Pedal and Paddle trip organized by the Bronx River Alliance. They were communicating with fish in the Bronx River by sending SMS (text messages) using cell phones. Then carps responded by activating blue lights in glass-made structures floating on the river as well as by generating automatic SMS responses sent back to people’s cell phones. I think this is such a creative way to inspire curiosity about science, and reconnect people with the natural environment.
This September a newly opened Concrete Plant Park hosts the Waterpod – a floating sustainable habitat and navigable living space that showcases the connection between the environment and art. Before coming to the Bronx, this barge has docked at several piers in Manhattan and other boroughs in New York City. The Waterpod is open to the public and features a series of environmental features, including a hydroponic growing system, chicken coop, biological graywater remediation tanks, food compost, soil-based gardens, solar photovoltaic panels, and living quarters. This project is similar to the Science Barge, a sustainable urban hydroponic farm, the Waterpod represents a more self-sustaining, autonomous living system, and a great idea for water-based nomadic communities.
Photo: The High Line park, NYC, September 6th 2009.
Built in 1930s, the High Line lifted freight traffic 30 feet in the air in the Lower West Side in Manhattan. Trains have not used this line since 1980s and it was under the threat of demolition. A non-profit organization Friends of the High Line with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation decided to convert this historic structure into an extraordinary park, whose first section between Gansevoort Street to 20th Street was opened in June 2009. When I came here this afternoon there were crowds of people taking a walk through this park and enjoying a variety of native plant species, stunning view of the Hudson River and Manhattan skyline. Later this fall I will try to bring here high school students who I will be teaching in the Henry Street Settlement to prepare them to go to college to study the environment. Maybe during this field youth will explore various ecosystem services provided by this unusual park.
Today I feel that very often I have more opportunities to connect with nature here in the Bronx than upstate in Ithaca. Seriously. In Ithaca I have explored several beautiful gorges and parks around the Cornell University campus, but you have to drive if you want to experience more, and I don’t have a car. In the Bronx it’s much easier logistically to go on a river trip, to find opportunities to volunteer in a community garden, or to just to enjoy many other green spaces that are very educational – such as green roofs, rain gardens, and butterfly gardens. In addition, in the Bronx there is more contrast between densely populated areas and open space, which makes the former even more valuable.
Come to Rocking the Boat if you want to experience the Bronx River. Rocking the Boat is an organization that engages high school students in boat building and in the restoration of aquatic ecosystems in the Bronx River and the Upper New York Harbor. This summer every Saturday youth and educators from Rocking the Boat organize free community rowing. Today I could not miss this opportunity. The weather was nice and the tide was very high. Youth from Rocking the Boat welcomed me in the Hunts Point Riverside Park, and then I got on a boat with Addy Guance, the Director of the On-Water program, and several children who have never experienced a boat ride. Addy has tremendous expertise in youth development and environmental education, and I am looking forward to learning from her during the next year during our research project. When we got back from this ride, I have noticed that more and more people were standing next to the Rocking the Boat tent to sign up for a ride. Some boat riders were 10 years old, and one woman was about 90 years old; she said that she lived in this community 80 years ago and has not been here since then. Many discoveries and many meaningful stories happen here, and Rocking the Boat definitely helps local communities to reconnect with and appreciate the Bronx River.
