What: Approximately 4,000 students and teachers from New York City to Troy become “scientists for a day,” collecting and analyzing real field data during hands-on exploration of the Hudson River Estuary. The press is invited to attend.
When: Thursday, October 16, 2014. Most sites conduct programs during school hours. Full scheduled outlined in detail below.
Where: More than 80 schools travel to nearby waterfronts at 70 locations between New York Harbor and the Federal Dam at Troy. (The schedule below includes a selection of locations and schedules.)
Why: A primary goal of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is to connect New Yorkers to nature. DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program helps prepare students to become stewards of the river, a vital natural resource. The Hudson River Estuary Program is funded by the Environmental Protection Fund.
On Thursday, October 16, thousands of students–from first graders to college undergrads–will partner with environmental education centers to collect scientific data all along the tidal Hudson to create a snapshot of the river at dozens of locations. The Hudson River Estuary Program has recruited and trained educators to work with students at many sites.
“‘The Day in the Life’ annual event gives students an opportunity to experience the dynamic Hudson River firsthand with its diverse fishery, tides and currents, and the movement of its salt front,” said DEC Commissioner Joe Martens. “The event is a great opportunity for students to learn about the river’s communities, watershed and ecosystem. From the river’s headwaters in the Adirondacks to New York Harbor, the Hudson ecosystems are linked in ways that offer so many benefits for not only our state, but the environment as a whole.”
During “Day in the Life of the Hudson River” participants don waders and catch fish and invertebrates in seine nets, track the river’s tides and currents, and examine water chemistry and quality. More than a field trip, the event allows students to use hands-on field techniques to describe their communities’ natural resources, and explore how their piece of the river fits into the larger ecosystem. Initial findings are posted online within a few days of the event.
Now in its 12th year, “Day in the Life” is sponsored by DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program, in partnership with the National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, and Cornell University’s NYS Water Resources Institute. The event coincides with National Estuaries Day and World Water Monitoring Day.
Estuary Program staff will connect the field day with the classroom by conducting pre- and post-visits in numerous schools that will participate in “Day in the Life.” Lessons on-site and in the classroom fulfill NYS learning standards in a variety of subjects. Students will learn about the Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System (HRECOS), a computerized network of real-time monitoring stations extending from Manhattan to the Mohawk River. Dissolved oxygen levels, water temperature turbidity, and other parameters are measured by HRECOS every 15 minutes and posted on the World Wide Web.
“Participation in ‘A Day in the Life’ is a great way to inspire my sixth graders to become future scientists. It helps them to better comprehend the delicate balance between the natural world, living organisms and human beings,” said Philip Levine of Irvington Middle School in Irvington, (Westchester County).
Armed with seine nets and minnow pots, students collect data on many of the Hudson’s 200-plus species of fish, from the abundant Atlantic silverside, to the odd summer flounder, lined seahorse and spotted hake, each caught only once. Fluctuations in fish catches and ranges can be due to many factors including weather, tides and salinity. The striped bass has been one of the species caught at the most sites, from Manhattan’s saltwater piers to Columbia County’s freshwater shore. Most are young fish, evidence of the Hudson’s importance as a nursery habitat.
Students examine the physical and chemical aspects of the river with a wide range of equipment and contraptions, such as a home-made sediment corer assembled from local hardware supplies. High-tech refractometers and simple plastic hydrometers can both be used to measure salinity and find the salt front – the leading edge of dilute seawater pushing up the estuary. The salt front’s location is tracked and modeled by the U.S. Geological Survey, but the data collected on Day in the Life can pinpoint its location on this one day each year. In dry years, the salt front may push its way to Poughkeepsie, while in wet years heavy rains have flushed the saltwater well south of the Tappan Zee Bridge.
For additional information on teachers and partner organizations, or to schedule visits to a site, please email or call event coordinator Chris Bowser (chris.bowser@dec.ny.gov; 845-264-5041). Event details can also be found on the DEC website at http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/47285.html.
Participating classes continue to represent the diversity of the region’s school population in both urban and rural areas.
Day in the Life of the Hudson River, Thursday October 16, 2014
A list of confirmed sites for October 16th is below. “RM” refers to River Miles up the Hudson as measured from the Battery at Manhattan. “NYH” refers to New York Harbor, “ER” is East River, “BR” is Bronx River, and “HRL” is Harlem River.
|
RM
|
River Site
|
Partner Organization
|
School
|
Time at Site
|
|
NYH
|
Brighton Beach, NYC
|
NYSDEC
|
Poly Prep Country Day School
|
9:30AM-2PM
|
|
NYH
|
Gerritsen Creek, NYC
|
NYC Parks Salt Marsh Ranger
|
Brooklyn School of Inquiry
|
10:30AM-1:30PM
|
|
NYH
|
Fort Wadsworth, NYC
|
National Park Service
|
- Clare’s School
|
9:30AM-1PM
|
|
NYH
|
EcoDock, Bay Ridge at 69th street, NYC
|
Metropolitan Waterfront Alliance
|
Sunset Park High School
|
10:30AM start
|
|
NYH
|
Valentino Pier, Red Hook, NYC
|
|
Brooklyn New School PS 146
|
10AM-2PM
|
|
NYH
|
Governors Island, NYC
|
|
Harbor School
|
11:30AM-2:30PM
|
|
ER
|
South Street Seaport, NYC
|
South Street Seaport
|
HS of Economics and Finance
|
10-11:AM
|
|
ER
|
South Street Seaport, NYC
|
South Street Seaport
|
Blue School
|
12:30-1:30PM
|
|
ER
|
Beach under Brooklyn Bridge on Manhattan side, NYC
|
Lower East Side Ecology Center
|
Ella Baker School
|
9:30-11AM
|
|
ER
|
Fulton Ferry Landing, Brooklyn, NYC
|
Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy
|
Brooklyn Friends School
|
9:30-11:00AM
|
|
ER
|
Fulton Ferry Landing, Brooklyn, NYC
|
Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy & St. Francis College
|
Afterschool MS Program
|
4-6PM
|
|
ER
|
Gantry State Park, NYC
|
|
PS/IS 78 Queens
|
9AM-1PM
|
|
ER
|
Gantry State Park, NYC
|
DEP & Baruch College Campus High School
|
Hunters Point Community MS
|
9:30 start
|
|
ER
|
Ward’s Island, NYC
|
|
The Hewitt School
|
9AM-2PM
|
|
BR
|
Bronx River Concrete Plant, NYC
|
Bronx River Alliance
|
Globe School,MS272
|
|
|
BR
|
Bronx Zoo, NYC
|
Wildlife Conservation Society
|
Urban Assembly School
|
|
|
HRL
|
Swindler Cove, NYC
|
NYSDEC
|
Amistad Dual Language School
|
9-11:30AM
|
|
2
|
Pier 40, Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT), NYC
|
The River Project
|
Trevor Day School
|
10AM-12PM
|
|
3
|
Pier 45, Hudson River Park Trust, NYC
|
NYC Soil &Water Conservation District
|
PS 3
|
9AM-2PM
|
|
3
|
Pier 45, HRPT, NYC
|
Wallerstein Collaborative, NYU
|
M615, IS 227, M448
|
9AM-2PM
|
|
3
|
Pier 51, Playground Park, HRPT, NYC
|
HRPT
|
City and Country School
|
10AM, 2PM
|
|
3
|
Pier 54, HRPT, NYC
|
Wallerstein Collaborative, NYU
|
NYC Lab HS for Collab. Studies
|
12:30-2PM
|
|
3
|
Hoboken Pier, NJ
|
|
Hoboken Charter Upper School
|
12-3:30PM
|
- 8
|
Pier 63, HRPT, NYC
|
|
Avenues the World School
|
8:45-10:45AM
|
|
4
|
Pier 84, HRPT, NYC
|
Hudson River Park Trust
|
Baychester MS
|
10AM-12PM
|
|
4
|
Pier 84, HRPT, NYC
|
Hudson River Park Trust
|
- S. 51 Elias Howe
|
12:15-2:15PM
|
- 1
|
Pier 86, HRPT, NYC
|
The Intrepid Museum
|
James Baldwin School
|
9:30AM-12PM
|
|
5
|
59th Street, Riverside Park South, NYC
|
|
Speyer Legacy School
|
All Day
|
|
9
|
Pier at 125th Street, NYC
|
|
The Columbia School
|
10AM-3PM
|
|
11
|
Fort Washington Park, NYC
|
|
Marymount School of New York
|
|
|
14
|
Inwood Hill Park, NYC
|
|
Marble Hill School for International Studies
|
3:30 PM
|
|
14
|
Inwood Hill Park, NYC
|
|
Riverdale Kingsbridge Academy
|
11AM-2 PM
|
|
18
|
Habirshaw Park, Yonkers
|
Sarah Lawrence College at Beczak
|
Riverdale County School
|
9:30AM-12PM
|
|
19
|
Alpine Boat Basin
|
NJ Palisades Interstate Park
|
Alpine School
|
9AM-12PM
|
|
23
|
Kinally Cove, MacEchron Park, Hastings
|
|
Hastings HS
|
8:30-10:30AM, 12:30-2:30PM
|
|
24
|
Half Moon Restaurant, Dobb’s Ferry
|
Bio Boat
|
EF Academy
|
|
|
25
|
Matthiessen Park, Irvington
|
|
Irvington MS, HS
|
8AM-12PM
|
|
25
|
Piermont Pier, Piermont
|
Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory
|
Pearl River HS, Clarkstown S HS
|
8:30AM-2:00 PM
|
|
28
|
Memorial Park, Nyack
|
Dominican College, Rockland County Div. of Env. Resources
|
Upper Nyack ES
|
11:45AM-2 PM
|
|
28
|
Memorial Park, Nyack
|
|
Nyack HS
|
9AM-1:00 PM
|
- 2
|
Nyack Boat Club – launching in a sailboat
|
|
Pascack Hills HS
|
8AM-2:30 PM
|
|
30
|
Kingsland Point Park, Sleepy Hollow
|
|
Sleepy Hollow HS
|
8:45AM start
|
|
31
|
Lower Nyack Beach at Hook Mountain, Nyack
|
Strawtown Studios
|
Blue Rock School
|
9:30AM-2:30PM
|
|
32
|
Nyack Beach steps, Hook Mountain, Nyack
|
|
Nyack MS
|
9-11AM
|
|
32
|
Louis Engel Park, Ossining
|
|
Ossining HS
|
8AM-2:30PM
|
|
35
|
Croton Point Park
|
Tech Center at PNW BOCES
|
Our Montessori School
|
10:30AM-1:30PM
|
|
35
|
Croton Point Park
|
Westchester County Parks
|
Pierre Van Cortlandt MS
|
9-1:30PM
|
|
35
|
Bowline Point Park
|
|
Nanuet HS
|
8:30AM-1PM
|
|
36
|
Haverstraw Bay Park
|
|
SUNY Rockland Community College
|
10AM-2PM
|
|
41
|
Steamboat Dock, Montrose
|
|
Mahopac HS
|
9:30AM-1PM
|
|
43
|
Riverfront Green, Peekskill
|
Constitution Marsh and Audubon Center
|
Walter Panas HS
|
7:45-11AM
|
|
53
|
Garrison Landing
|
Hudson Highlands Land Trust
|
Garrison School
|
9:30AM-1PM
|
|
55
|
Little Stony Point, Cold Spring
|
Hudson Highland Land Trust
|
Haldane MS
|
9AM-2PM
|
|
57
|
Cornwall Landing
|
Bear Mountain Education Center
|
Willow Avenue ES
|
9:30AM-2PM
|
|
58
|
Kowawese Unique Area, Plum Point, New Windsor
|
Hudson Highlands Nature Museum
|
Bishop Dunn Memorial School
|
9:30AM-1:30PM
|
|
58
|
Kowawese Unique Area, Plum Point, New Windsor
|
Hudson Highlands Nature Museum
|
Orange County Community College
|
7-11AM
|
|
60
|
Dennings Point, Beacon
|
Beacon Institute
|
Oakwood Friend’s School
|
All Morning
|
|
60
|
Dennings Point, Beacon
|
|
Storm King School
|
1-3PM
|
|
61
|
Beacon Riverfront Park
|
|
Valley Central MS
|
9AM-1:30PM
|
|
61
|
Beacon Waterfront
|
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater
|
Orange County BOCES
|
Morning Sail
|
|
61
|
Long Dock Park, Beacon
|
Scenic Hudson
|
Haldane MS
|
|
|
63
|
Chelsea Yacht Club, Wappingers Falls
|
|
Wappingers MS
|
|
|
76
|
Waryas Park, Poughkeepsie
|
|
Pawling ES
|
|
|
76
|
Bob Shepard Park, Highland
|
|
Highland MS
|
9AM-1:30PM
|
|
78
|
Quiet Cove, Poughkeepsie
|
Cornell CEDC
|
- W. Krieger ES
|
9AM-1:30PM
|
|
84
|
Norrie Point Env. Center, Staatsburg
|
Hudson River Research Reserve
|
Poughkeepsie HS
|
9AM-2PM
|
|
85
|
Mills-Norrie State Park, Staatsburg
|
Cary Institute
|
Arlington HS
|
9AM-12:45PM
|
|
87
|
Esopus Meadows, Ulster Park
|
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater
|
Robert Graves ES
|
9:30AM-12PM
|
|
91
|
George Freer Memorial Park, Port Ewen
|
|
Rondout Valley HS
|
9:30AM-1:30PM
|
|
92
|
Kingston Point Beach
|
Forsythe Nature Center
|
Kingston City Schools and 4H
|
10AM-2PM
|
|
97
|
Sojourner Truth, Ulster Landing Park, Saugerties
|
|
Kingston High School
|
8:30AM-1:30 PM
|
|
97
|
Sojourner Truth, Ulster Landing Park, Saugerties
|
|
Mill Road ES
|
9:30AM-12:30PM
|
|
98
|
Tivoli Bay South, Annandale
|
Bard College
|
Red Hook HS
|
9AM-3PM
|
|
103
|
Saugerties Lighthouse
|
|
Woodstock Day School
|
10AM-1PM
|
|
108
|
Lasher Memorial Park, Germantown
|
Columbia Land Conservancy
|
Hudson HS
|
10AM-2PM
|
|
115
|
Cohotate
|
Cornell Cooperative Extension
|
Coxsackie-Athens HS
|
|
|
118
|
Hudson Waterfront Park
|
Cary Institute
|
Chatham HS
|
8:45AM-1:30PM
|
|
123
|
Coxsackie Riverfront Park
|
|
Albany Academy for Girls
|
9:30AM start
|
|
127
|
Stuyvesant Landing
|
Columbia County Soil & Water
|
The Alternative Learning Center
|
3-5:30PM
|
|
138
|
Henry Hudson Park, Coeymans
|
College of Saint Rose
|
Delaware Community School
|
9:45-11:45AM
|
|
144
|
Riverfront Park, Rensselaer
|
College of Saint Rose
|
|
4:30-6PM
|
|
145
|
Corning Preserve, Albany
|
NYSDEC and City of Albany
|
Montessori Magnet School
|
9AM-2PM
|
|
152
|
Hudson Shores Park, Watervliet
|
|
North Colonie LEP
|
9AM-1PM
|
|
153
|
Green Island Park
|
|
Robert C. Parker School
|
9:30-11:30AM
|
|
154
|
Peebles Island, Waterford
|
|
Pine Hills ES
|
9:30AM-1PM
|
|
|
Schoharie Creek
|
|
Middleburgh Central School
|
12:35-1:10PM
|
|
