This week we water tested, waded, went crabbing, sketched, walked, and canoed the Bronx river.
If you went on the trip, blog about your experience, if you stayed behind reflect on your leanings from this week (Bronx river restoration, alewife/oyster reintroduction).
Also check out some pics from the trip below.
At first I thought the bronx river would be disgusting with garbage visible from the water surface but after the trip I earnedsome new respect and the trip showed me how much people care about keeping the river clean for the animals such as the crabs and the human. I think the river is a beautiful place to get to see nature. This trip showed me that I should care more about the enviroment and I should get involved in cleaning the river so more wild life can roam free and have a safe home like much of us human have already. This gave me a new way to look at a tough job but make it easy by co-operating and working as a team. Nature is BROLIC!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe Concrete Plant Park is the place where the Bronx river is located. Canoeing at the Bronx river was an experience of a life time. I have never been canoeing before. There is a first try for everything. The Bronx river is known to be 22 miles long. Canoeing isn't something that goes through my mind on a daily bases but it has been a goal of mine to participate and not be afraid of the experience. Before arriving to the park my imagery on the river and park was dirty, polluted, and abandoned. The ideas came from the facts on how the Bronx river became a dump waste before it was a clean attractive environment full of fresh air. Researches considered once to make the river a suitable drinking area. Now these days volunteers have been making the effort to restore the park and perhaps replicate it as it used to be but it is unlikely. The environment has improved so much that the animals who used to live there (habitat) are slowly returning back like the blue crabs, which some of use caught a few and fishes. I was proven wrong. The area was a nice little area that is clean and maintained well by the volunteer workers. You felt as if you were in a suburban area, where still the concrete towers were in place to keep some of the memories and history. The outside surroundings at the park weren't so attractive. There were train tracks, highways, and bridges in the area. When we arrived, we were split into groups of four and each had to do different activities requiring group/team work. It was time for my group to canoe. I was feeling a bit nervous but in a joyful way. As Luz, Hector and I reached closer to the ramp with the canoe, we all felt anxious especially Luz, she thought she was going to lose her life! Hector and I made a plan on how to canoe as a team. We specified when to switch sides on the paddle and how to stroke. We also clarified the rules/instructions on canoeing. The plan all worked out and we were safe. It was awesome.
ReplyDeleteI did not go on the canoe trip, but this week I learned that the Bronx River is and was made up of animals that contribute positively to the river. For example alewife fish are a huge contributor to the river because, they allow other animals to feed off of them and therefore they are a big part of the food chain. If the alewife were to disappear, that would cause a disruption in the food chain and might cause fish that used alewife as a resource for food to go hungry. This relates to life as a human because we for example cut down trees for things like paper and wood and sooner or later that resource might be gone if we keep using that resource. But just like fish that need alewife to live, we need trees in order for us to keep breathing. We also learned about oysters and how rivers need them in order to help keep the water filtered. Without a river filled with oysters, it will be a huge challenge to get the water cleaner. This also relates to life as a human because our world needs us to keep it clean. The more we treat our planet bad the more likely it is for natural disasters to occur, which is something we all want to avoid.
ReplyDeleteThis week we went on a canoeing trip in the Bronx River. I really enjoyed the experience and it changed my perspective of the Bronx River. Even though we learned about the Bronx River Restoration Project I thought that the Bronx River was going to be heavily polluted. The river wasn't glistening from cleanliness, but it wasn't anywhere near the image of brown water I had in my head. I assumed that the Bronx River was polluted so much in the past that it would be near impossible to restore it, but when we went canoeing I noticed that the restoration project had a great impact on the ecosystem in the river. We went fishing for blue crabs and actually caught quite a few, which leads me to believe that the river is clean enough to sustain them. I also saw schools of killifish and for a few seconds I forgot I was in the Bronx. Afterwards I did some water testing and the only abiotic factor that I found out of the ordinary was salinity, which was 35ppt. However, I understand that we were near the mouth of the river where the water is brackish because it mixes with sea water. Now that I have this information on the Bronx River it seems strange that this nice place is surrounded by an industrial area where one often sees trains, and vehicles passing by.
ReplyDeleteThe Bronx River is a nice place thanks to the individuals that are helping to restore it, but I don't like the fact that people are still polluting around the river. People don't realize that rainstorms create runoff that ends up in the waterways, so by littering we are actually making the jobs of restoration volunteers more difficult. I found this topic the most interesting because it applies to any waterway, not just the Bronx River. If I were to litter and it rained hours later, my garbage could end up in the Hudson River. Now that I am more informed I know that the only way to completely restore the Bronx River is to have the community surrounding it respect it. On the trip I saw bottles and cans near the shore of the river, which is a sign that people have been littering in the area. There needs to be a greater concern for the wildlife in the river, By littering people are endangering these animals. This is like going to someone else's home to throw out your trash. The creatures in the river share this world with us, so it is our duty to respect them. They in turn maintain the cleanliness of the river, thus helping with the restoration.
This trip made me thankful that I have clean drinking water that I can access from my home. If we don't respect our waterways we could end up with thousands of polluted waterways that need restoration. We don't have the time or the funding to restore all of these waterways so in order to avoid this we just need to begin respecting water. I wonder if the Bronx River will ever be the great place it once was. Will water from the Bronx River be safe to drink if complete restoration is successful? What else does the future hold for the Bronx River?
This week we went canoeing at the Bronx River. It was a wonderful experience because I learned where the Bronx is located, its history and what people were doing today to help restore it. I learned that the area we were in was where the river was mostly impacted my industry. The Bronx River is located in Concrete Plant Park where we were able to canoe and go fishing for crabs. I thought the Bronx River was going to be more polluted. The river wasn’t crystal clean as before, but I didn’t see much garbage or tires as shown in the video. I actually saw a family of fishes swimming. I was excited and shocked when I saw them because I thought that ecosystems and different habitats weren’t able to live back in the river. My ideas changed in the way that it showed me how the Bronx River was restored and why it looked the way it did. Seeing how the water was dirty and how their were bottles and trash in the river makes me think that the river doesn’t have to be like the way it is because it is destroying the ecosystems and habitats living in the river. Furthermore, my ideas changed for the better because it makes me personally think how are the other rivers being sustained for future generations? How can I contribute to make the Bronx River and other rivers better? While I was fishing for crabs I noticed that the crabs were mostly by the shore not too deep into the water, I kept asking why? When my group got to canoe, I saw that in the other side of the river by the rocks, there were a lot of fishes swimming around but not around the shore like the crabs. Overall, I had a both fun and learning experience in the Bronx River and Concrete Plant Park.
ReplyDeleteBefore our trip to the Bronx river, I imagined the river to be dirty. The water would be murky, uninhabitable to wildlife and surrounded by a layer of trash bottles,potato chip bags and other wastes. the land surrounding the river would be a highway and the concrete park:eye-soars. But surprisingly, the Bronx river was actually pleasant. there was a lot of grass surrounding the area,almost like a park. The water itself looked cleaner than i expected but after consulting one the staff at the event i learned that when there is a storm like the one of the trip, the sewer system can only take so much waste so when it fills its capacity, the sewer system dumps wastes into the river, Unfortunately.I saw plenty of wildlife at the river. We saw many fish,and many crabs, we even caught a blue crab for ourselves. This experience changed my definition of what an estuary is. I pictured estuaries to be marshes, and swamp-like environments. My favorite part of the field day would have to be the canoeing. Canoeing was a team effort from all in the canoe, the two paddlers had to keep a steady motion while keeping balanced in the center and not tipping the canoe over, after that experience i felt closer to my friend and I plan on coming to their next event with family event to go canoeing
ReplyDeleteElmis Rodriguez 6th Pd
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ReplyDeleteBefore going to the Bronx River, I learned about the history behind it. I learned about how the Bronx River used to be a very clean but then it for polluted by industrialization. Over the years, people have tried to restore the river to its former glory by cleaning up the water and bringing back some of its native species.
ReplyDeleteI wasn’t entirely sure what to expect before the trip. On the way there, I was mostly thinking about how I would get to canoe again. When we got there, I didn’t expect to see the area the way it was. There weren’t many trees around. It mostly looked like the Hudson River to me in the sense that the only plant life comes out of the old buildings in the area.
I thought there would be a bit more greenery. I especially thought the water would be cleaner then it was. The last thing I expected to see was garbage in the river. The concrete structures were interesting though. I had no idea what they were but it seemed like some sort of water tank. I wonder what’s inside of it now-if there is something inside. Do they still use those things, whatever they are?
When we went on the walk, we saw graffiti on the walls. I guess they only care about cleaning the river and not really the area around it. Maybe they could have put a mural there. We also went to the other side of the river where the ABC building was. The path there was interesting because it was made of recycled glass. We also got to look at a board that showed all the animals that were supposed to be there. I really wish we could have seen a horseshoe crab.
I was very excited when I saw that people had already caught some blue crab. Even though I didn’t catch any, I was happy that I at least got to see the blue crabs. I don’t know why horseshoe crab and blue crabs fascinate me so much.
Canoeing was really fun too since we got to see the school of alewives up close. Although the water wasn’t clear, you could still see the fished. Maybe seeing the alewives made it so the color of the water didn’t bother me. I was happy to see the fish in the water since it means it’s clean enough to sustain some sort of life. The restoration is slowly making a change.
The only thing is that I wish it hadn’t ended up in such a polluted place in the first place. Water sources like rivers should be respected not treated as dumps. I wish people would take more care and take the extra step towards the trash can in order to dump their trash instead of tossing it on the floor or directly into the river. We should all be more aware of where we throw our trash because even though we simply toss a little bit of plastic on the floor, that plastic can become a life threatening danger the moment it reaches the water and the creatures that live in it. I am grateful for Bronx River Restoration Project because it shows me that people still care in this world and that is the one thing that should always exist: people caring about the environment.
As a student who was involved on the trip to the Bronx River this week, I would describe my experience as a very exceptional and enthusiastic journey. Before I even went to see the Bronx River, I though it would be filthy and revolting. But as I was exploring the Bronx River about to canoe, I realize “wow, these people have worked really hard to try to reconstruct this river in the best way they can”. After years of industrialization and human activities, the Bronx river will probably never be the same as it begun, but it can be sustainable enough for species to live in in a few years from now. Something that caught my attention throughout the trip was fishing for crabs. I asked one of the workers “could these crabs be eaten” and he said it wouldn’t be as healthy because crabs contain all the bacteria from the water under them, and when he said that I immediately though about oysters. Crabs and Oysters are similar because they filter the water. This became really important to me because humans can eat both species, but only if they come from a well tidy water area and if it doesn’t than it isn’t healthy eating all that bacteria the species absorbed. It was really exciting to be part of something so big and to know that the people are committed to make a change on the Bronx River. Even though The Bronx River wasn’t as clean as many people were expecting but it wasn’t the filthiest river I ever saw. This whole experience made me think of how as an individual I could contribute as well to volunteer and help maintain the river and the species living in them. I believe that if we unite as a community and encourage others, we can make a change and restore back what we deserve.
ReplyDelete~ Nadia Manzueta (4th period class)
This week, the class and I went canoeing on the Bronx River. Before going to the river, I expected there to be more plant life. Although I know the Bronx is a very urban area, since the river is located in a park, I had anticipated a large amount of greenery considering I had learned the river had been very lush concerning vegetation. However, I was very surprised to find that buildings and barbed wire fences, which gave a very industrial atmosphere, mostly surrounded the “park”. However, what I found strange was that the river was right next to a carpet and home warehouse since I expected the river to be secluded or at least have its own designated area. All of the expectations I had for the river were definitely changed by my visit.
ReplyDeleteSince this trip was my very first time canoeing, I was very anxious but excited to go out into the water. Although I spent a lot of the time worrying about the canoeing tipping over into the water while I was out on the river, I realized that there weren’t all negatives to the river. The water wasn’t as dirty as I had expected it to be. Also, I was able to see some marine life in the river such as a school of fish and even blue crabs caught my some of my classmates. I thought this was a highlight of the trip. I found it interesting that the restoration we had learned of in class was actually effective in bringing back life into the water that would actually be able to survive, unlike the scarcity of these species prior to attempts at getting the river to its “original” condition. Something else I found interesting was the fact that when I tested the river’s temperature, dissolved oxygen and PH, the results were very similar to the data I had collected with the water from class. The only difference in the data was the salinity, which was very high at about 35 ppt. I didn’t expect the water to be so salty, but that may be average for an estuary. Overall, the experience was fun and informative at the same time.
Something I did notice at the Bronx River was a secluded area containing debris and garbage such as cans and plastic bottles. This shows the cleanliness of people in New York City, or a lack of. Although they may not realize it, their littering on the streets or disposing of their garbage into the river has damaged its conditions and polluted the water. Not only is the water not as clean as it used to be, it has become unrecognizable to individuals who have grown up with the river during their childhood. Clearly, we New Yorkers need to educate ourselves because the ignorance of a community may lead to the downfall of the river once again. Our littering can lead to the disappearance of the marine life restoration organizations have tried so hard to maintain. As a community and individuals we should all think of ways on how to improve our habits and truly think about how our actions will affect the river in the future. What marine life would we be able to bring back? Will the river ever be “clean” once again? What would happen to the river if we do nothing to improve its conditions?
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ReplyDeleteConsidering that it was my first time seeing the river upfront so closely, it surprised me to see just how dirty the water was – all that garbage near the boom was extremely shocking. I knew that the river was polluted because of society’s actions over the years, but never did I consider that the river would actually look so unclean and murky. I’m not entirely sure if there has ever been a person who, after hearing so many negative comments about the cleanliness of the river, has firmly believed that there would be a lot of plant life and several organisms all around the river. Personally, I know I didn’t, but it was uplifting to see that there was some indeed some greenery around.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if people truly realize that the garbage they throw on the street actually ends up in several of the waterways surrounding the city. It was a bit upsetting to see wrappers, cans, bottles and other trash in the same river where other organisms live in. To be honest, just knowing that any type of living creature was able to live within the river was unbelievable. However, seeing the alewives and the killifish swimming and jumping in the river and catching the blue crabs that day definitely gave me hope that the river can slowly but surely be restored to its original stages.
Going canoeing in the river was definitely a huge highlight for me. I had gone canoeing once before, and I remember it being a lot of fun. This time though, even though I did feel nervous about it, I didn't expect to scream and get scared about falling (I was still having fun though!). I saw some of the alewives chasing the killifish in the water, which was a really cool thing to see from up close.
Seeing the ecosystem come back to life is very inspiring – it helps you realize all the effort and hard work that the Bronx River Restoration Project puts into restoring the river, and makes you proud that all of that labor is working so well. Being able to see the Waterwash ABC wetland/marshland park was also really inspiring, since its aim focuses on filtering stormwater from going into the river as well as to provide a place for the community to view the wetland up close. All in all, although there were many surprises throughout the entire trip to the Bronx River, this trip provided me with a positive outlook on the river simply by giving me hope for what’s to come. If the river was once known as being pristine, who says we can’t make that a reality again?
Last Thursday, most of us were invited to visit the Bronx River at the Concrete Plant Park. When we first got there, my group went on a short walk around the park. There was this one spot on the other side of the river that I thought was really cool because the path there was made of recycled glass. Not only was it really pretty, but its also good for the environment that it's recycled because something used is being put to good use. After our walk, we had some time to draw sketches for art class. We had to make gesture drawings of the river and of the remains of the Concrete Plant. I was so excited to get my drawings done because I wanted to go crabbing already! That was definitely my favorite part of the day because it was something I had never done before. I'm actually really terrified of crabs but I can't deny how cool these crabs looked. I think these were the blue crabs that were mentioned in the video we watched in class. Everyone enjoyed crabbing so much that nobody wanted to stop. I was really proud of all the other boys that actually caught the crabs because it was hard to get them! They kept slipping away. At the Bronx River, we also tested the water for some of the abiotic factors we learned about in class, such as dissolved oxygen, temperature, and pH. The last activity I participated in was canoeing. I've gone canoeing before so I knew what to expect, but I still had a great time. I got to canoe with my friends and it was fun racing around the river with people in the other canoes.
ReplyDeleteI was really surprised to see that the river and its environment was in a much better condition than I had originally thought it would be in. It's nice to know that so many people actually care about this river and want it restored to its natural condition because usually when I think of nature in New York, I imagine pollution and people not caring about where we live. I think this has been one of the best school trips I've been on. Even though we were there for educational purposes, I think everyone had so much fun that it didn't even feel like work.
As a student who was involved on the trip to the Bronx River this week, we experience a lot about this incredible expedition in many ways. First i thought that the Bronx river was a place where there were nothing that we didn't see and things that we didn't knew about, but we were wrong because there was many things that we didn't knew about the Bronx river. We were exploring many thing like we went to WATERWASH ABC and other places too. I realize that these people worked very hard to help the environment and the species that lived in the Bronx river and is hard to reconstruct this river in many ways because you have to do a lot of stuff and work as hard you can to reconstruct this river in the best way to helped this species to lived in harmony. The river doesn't look the same way it used to be because in back then they used the river as a natural sewer and that was a harmful thing to do especially to species that lived there. There were something that attract my attention throughout the trip was that when i was canoeing with McMahon and Mr. Fox, we saw a lot of fish jumping around and it was fun looking at them jumping and they were hard to see in the water. Me and my peers were so contented because we were fishing crabs and there's one thing that i learned and that is that if a crab have blue craw is a male and if the crab have red claw is a female. This is interesting because i didn't know that and now i know the difference between a crab that has blue claws and a crab that has red tipped claws. All the people that worked really hard to reconstruct the river, you guys are amazing and i believe that if we unite as a community we can make changes and keep doing great things to help our environment and species to lived in harmony.
ReplyDelete~Marino A. Ventura(4th Period class Environmental science)
This past week we had a chance to take a trip to visit the Bronx River. Before we went on the trip we build up some background knowledge about the history of the river and also learned about activities going on the river today. Before the trip I had my own perception of the Bronx River and I thought that it was going to be fairly accurate to the actual river. On our way there the environment was urban so I was not sure how a river would be flowing through such an urban area. When we got to Concrete Plant Park we were able to get a glance at the Bronx River. The park itself was nice because it felt like it was isolated from the urban surroundings. My previous perception of the Bronx River was not matched with what I actually saw. I expected the Bronx River to be similar to the Hudson River. The part that we got a chance to see of the Bronx River was smaller in comparison to the Hudson River.
ReplyDeleteI was able to take a sketch of the reaming structures of the concrete plant that are still standing at the park. It was good to see those structures because it adds historical significance to the park. Many people were crabbing in the Bronx River. It was fun to watch because it was exciting and challenging to catch a crab. It took a lot of patience and luck to catch a crab. Water testing was interesting because we were testing water from a different source than we would normally get a chance to. The data will help us give us better insight to the condition of the river. We also had the opportunity to canoe on the Bronx River. It was really fun, although it was a bit tricky to get the hang of it.
The trip to the Bronx River was fun and we were also able to learn about the river. Restoring the Bronx River has made a significant impact for the community and wildlife. The river is clean enough for wildlife to live there and for us to enjoy. It will be interesting what transformation the Bronx River can go through in the next few years.
Learning about the Bronx River in class made me get an impression that the River itself had much history. During the 19th century and most part of the 20th century, industrialist companies used this river to dispose of any sewage and waste every day, over a time span the Bronx River was becoming a hazardous place for herds of fish and birds to live off from. Ironically, the water at first was so clean that New York at one point was choosing this River to supply good amounts of fresh water to its inhabitants in the city and throughout the Boroughs. What really caught my attention was fact that the River was once all the way to upstate New York. This warned me of how much human activity there was from the next couple hundreds of years, which shows how much the human population has grown and how much of the natural ecosystem we had to destroy in order to live a sustainable life.
ReplyDeleteMy first impression of the Bronx River was being so polluted that we would actually have to brush off any thrash in order to canoe at first. Going to the River itself, I was amazed on how much of the park was actually restored, I even saw some staff members going to shore of the river to clean some debris that the water and the sand had. To my amazement this experience changed my view on the Bronx River as a whole, as before I thought it was an unmaintained piece of restored land. Now that I saw the river in person, I am aware of how the communities in the area of New York are really concentrated and worried in restoring the ecosystem and geography of the river itself. Although I was aware that the Bronx River would still have thrash floating around, I was glad that humanity still has the generosity to offer much help to restore the river and all its aquatic animals that are native to that part of New York. Another experience I really liked was testing the pH level, salinity and the dissolved oxygen of the water. This small test was very crucial to us, as we can able to compare the difference of how life would have been fore fish and bird life then and how sustainable life is now.
Overall my impression of the River drastically changed from it being a place with a putrid smell along with debris and waste almost everywhere, to an idea of almost clean and a place where life would thrive if we keep maintaining it as it is now. It would also be intriguing to see the difference of the river, in a place where animal and human can coexist without harming one another.
My experience on the trip was one that was both fun and interesting. Before I got to the Bronx River I thought the area wasn't going to be so developed as it was with benches and pavements and the water was going to be cleaner. As I was in the canoe I noticed litter such as water bottles in the water, but there were also fish and other wildlife as well. On the other side of the barrier where we weren't allowed to cross there was even more trash, but as mentioned in class these type of ecosystems take decades to be restored and even then they aren't fully ever restored back to their original state. When we took a walk to the other side of the bridge I found it very interesting how the path was made from reused pieces of glass, it looked very nice actually and was a way of reusing materials, which means being eco-friendly. We also learned how to distinguish a male and a female crab which was by turning it to it's bottom side and if it had a triangular shape it was a female, if it was shaped like the Washington monument then it was a male.
ReplyDelete~Karina Tavarez
On Thursday, all of the students who take the Environmental Science course and I, took off to the Concrete Plant Park in Bronx, NY to look at the Bronx River. The park only highlights a section of the 22 mile river. We began the trip by circling up and reading a poem on the Bronx River written in the 1800’s when the Bronx River was still a clean and beautiful river. We all then, broke off into groups to take on all the activities. My group first collected plankton, then we went crabbing with chicken necks. Collecting the water sample was complicated. Not because the actual task itself was hard, but because there was no shading in the park and by that point I was hot and hungry. Also, some students were making the water collecting kind of difficult for my group. The moment my group was yearning for finally came, we went canoeing! I was so excited putting on the life jacket and picking out the actual canoe. But when I got closer and closer to the water, I started getting nervous. I got in the canoe and the boat rocked, I screamed! Then when Carolyne and Amber got into the canoe, I felt a little more secure. Josue helped us understand how to guide the boat in the water and then he pushed the boat back to help us start paddling. It got scarier by then! When people from other group members splashed us, I got grossed out (poor Carolyne who was in the front of the boat). Then Josue explained to us that the river is an open sewer, and that’s why he tells people not to splash the water. Although I already was aware that the river was turned into an open sewer around the time of the construction of the New York Central Railroad, It hadn’t yet dawned on me that it was a sewer until I had heard it from Josue. The art was the most difficult part for me. I love drawing, but it becomes difficult when I am forced to draw, especially when I have to draw something to look exactly like the object. Also, by the time of the drawing I was hot hungry and tired, so my “artist mode” didn't exactly want to come out. Over all, the whole trip was a new experience, would I go canoeing again? Sure I will, it was great. But the only complaint I had was that it was too hot and sunny, which is a good thing for some, but I am not really best friends with the sun, especially when I am dirty.
ReplyDeleteDuring this week I learned about the Bronx River’s History and what different organizations are doing to restore it. The Bronx River is 23 miles down through southern westchester. My experience at the Bronx River was very interesting. When we first arrived to Bronx River It though the water would be more blue and clean. But I noticed that water was type greenish, there are some parts of the river that still have garbage. I also saw that the name was “Concrete Plant Park” this is because in this location there was a Concrete factory during the mid-1700s which was also powered by the rivers stream. During the canoeing water was splatted at me and it tasted salty this is because the Bronx river is an estuary,so the water is brackish. My image of the Bronx River changed because I didn't think I would see some crabs and fishes. Many of my classmates got the chance to get crabs by feeding them chicken necks. I did see many tiny fishes jumping in and out of the water. This is due to some of the projects the organizations are doing by restoring it’s aquatic life. I believe that the restoring back the Rivers aquatic life is very important because animals like an oyster can clean up polluted areas. Also shellfish they can slurp up toxins and eliminate decades of dirt. Concrete Plant Park is like a big green area. I personally think this trip was very fun and meaningful because we can see how our human activities destroy the natural habitats by not recycling or even throwing garbage on the floor. This also shows how our humans activities a threat to sustainability because we don't take care of mother nature.
ReplyDeleteI wasn’t even aware of a Bronx River until we began to learn about it. And when I first heard about it, I’d expected it to be filthy and polluted because this is in fact New York City, and most people have no concern towards the environment in cities. I was surprised to learn that people are actually taking action to restore the Bronx River.
ReplyDeleteWhen we visited the river on Thursday, the water wasn’t completely filthy, animals, like the fishes and crabs, wouldn’t reside there if it was. I remember seeing an empty bag of potato chips floating in the water, and next to it you can see the grease escaping the bag and floating in the surface of the water. Overall, the river looks like it has been worked on and improving over time.
Crab fishing was so disgustingly fun. It smelled gross, but catching crabs was a lot of fun. I almost caught a crab, twice, but it always let go before we were able to enter it in the bucket, and we would always scream. It was hilarious, at end, we caught four crabs. The water testing and sketching weren’t as fun, but canoeing was the best part. I’ve been canoeing once in the 6th grade on our camping trip, but this time was really fun. I hope to see the river evolve into a beautiful body of water.
My experience in the trip was really educational and also fun because what my image in my mine of how the bronx river was going to look like was different it look so beautifal in one part but on the other hand in the boom it look dirty and make me wanna help and clean it a little better to make it even more cleaner. On my walk i also experience someother think like how people made the park cleaner and also how they work together and what company made all work happen so they can show how they made the bronx rivier look so beautifal and awsosme.My opinion about this is i hope that the bronx rivier would be more cleaner in the spring i just wish that i could help just to make it look better to even chang the minds of people that make it look bad soo they can also make a change.I think mr.fox and the techeer for a awasome day also in mostly thank damian,josue,andre for makeing it so fun
ReplyDelete-whitney rodriguez
While on the canoe trip, I found myself surprised for the majority of the time there. At first, I expected the area to be dirty and heavily polluted, but what I saw was the complete opposite. Of course there was still an amount of garbage, but it was minimal. Also, I did NOT expect to see fishes and crabs there. That was the last thing on my mind. Once I saw that there was actually living species in the water, I began to think that all of the work that organizations have been putting into cleaning the Bronx river is finally paying off. Considering how the river was before, these small factors are what shows people the HUGE improvement that the Bronx river is undergoing!
ReplyDeleteThe trip itself was very fun. We (the students) were given a lot of freedom to explore the area and make observations of our own. It wasn't robotic, we went to different stations and performed a series of different activites and I thought that that was really awesome. A few of the things I did included fishing for fish and crabs, testing water for their Salinity, DO, pH, and Temperature, canoeing in the water, and exploring the area with my group. We were also givent a chance to sit and sketch two drawings of our surroundings. Those activites were fun because we were physically learning. By this, I mean to say that we were actually doing activities and interacting with ano another. That actually made the learning experience much more fun and productive.
Overall, the trip was a huge learning experience that, I feel, we ALL benefited from it. We were able to use our background information about the Bronx river to compare how its condiction has gotten worse and improved. It was very fun and I would relive that day anytime!
my experience in the canoe trip was very exciting because i read about the history of the Bronx River and wanted to see it for myself. It was fun experience especially enjoying it with my main peers this trip showed me alot from looking at the condition of the water to the way it use to look like before. I was a bit disappointing because i really got excited when they mention the grave and where it was located I really wanted to visit that spot because I find history very unique it wouldve been kinda cool to see someone grave from someone that was there sense the Bronx River was presented. it would really be cool to visit the Bronx River with my close friends and canoe again we had a blast especially doing something we really do dont everyday so it was really fun for me to do something different and enjoy it with my friends at the sametime. This trip thought me alot that if you dont take care of a place like before it would be different in the following future for example the Bronx River was once looked at as a place where you can drink water , now you cant even touch the water and not getting sick of how polluted the water has gotten throught the years. Finally it was nice experience im never gonna forget when we did crab fishing because it was my first time doing that and it was really cool to see other students catching crabs my goal for when ever i crab fish in my life is to catch one myself i was really upset i didnt catch one.
ReplyDeleteThe trip to the Concrete Plant Park/Bronx River changed my perspective on the river and allowed me to try new things. First of all, I was surprised to see the current state of the river. Although it's not the disgusting brown sludge with mutated fish swimming around that I imagined, it wasn't very clean looking either. The sort of water I wouldn't mind touching but wouldn't want my mouth or eyes anywhere near it. And the life swimming around the river seemed normal enough. I was actually surprised to see that there was life at all. I saw (and caught) lots of small fish and even shrimp. I see this as a testament to the good work the BRA has been doing in order to clean up the river and introduce species that have been long lost to the river. During the trip I also went canoeing for the first time. The canoeing experience was generally pleasant. I did not appreciate the Sun on my face or how Jose Castro would sometimes tilt his body to the left or right and make the canoe almost tilt over. Although I'm grateful I didn't fall over, I'm very curious as to how I would've reacted in the event that I did fall over. Would I have panicked because of my inexperience in waters deeper than 6 feet or would I have trusted the life jacket to do its job correctly? The rest of the trip did not really go well for me. It was really hot, I forgot to bring food or even water, and I was getting mild motion-sickness in the train rides back home which is never fun.
ReplyDeleteThis week I learned that the Bronx River was restored because Democrat, Jose Serrano put aside 30 million dollars for the Bronx River. The river had been changed by human impact and industry. Now they are restoring the rivers so that the animals can come back. They have restored the river by removing invasive species,bringing oysters,and releasing alewife. They also looked at old maps to see how the river looked before it was changed. The restoration has been successful because animals can now live in the river. The alewife were reintroduced to the Bronx River. It is an important part of the river ecosystem because it can bring back the native population of filter feeders that can help clean the water. It is also a major food source for animals like the blue fish and striped bass. People are constructing fish passages to get the alewife to the dams. The oyster was reintroduced into the Bronx River because it is a filter feeder. People are creating reefs to maintain the oyster population in different places of the Bronx River.They are also creating laws to prohibit the killing/eating and protecting from profiting oysters.
ReplyDeleteSabrina Diaz · sabrinadiaz1 · 7 hr ago
ReplyDeleteOn thursday"s trips to the bronx river I learned and enjoy it very much. When I got their the river seem much different to how I thought it will be. I thought it will be more dirty and kind of dry with plants life, but in my surprise the river was not as dirty just a little and it had many plant life green and bright. I also notice a lot of fishes in the river and by crab fishing also got ti see how two type of specie can live their at the same time,which were the fishes and blue crabs. I really enjoy going on the walk around the river. I noticed that ABC building helped restore the river . I got to see pictures and an area that was super nice with fresh plants and a nice stone path. However my favorite part was canoeing it was the most wonderful thing to look at the view of the bronx river from right on it on a boat.I nothing how long the river was and learned it is 22miles long. I had such a great time there and will love to go back some day.
Although I did not go to the trip this week, I did learn many things about the Bronx River and the actions being taken to restore it. Based on the articles that I read in class I learned that there has been a drastic change for the Bronx River in terms of its past and present. In the past, the Bronx River served as a home to species and served as a resource to humans. For example, the alewife had fewer toxins than other fish and was the only host for freshwater mussel. The alewife also served as a food source to humans, herons, bluefish, striped bass, ospreys, bald eagles, and cormorants. This is important because we see that there is a food chain relationship between the organisms. However, now in the present alewife’s are migrating from the oceans back to their birth place to spawn their eggs and this is important because this is a way for the Bronx River to be stable again. On the other hand, the Bronx River also had oysters that slurped up toxins, were responsible for eliminating decades of dirt, and fed Native Americans. The importance of oysters is that they work to provide a well-established environment and the change they have had on the Bronx River according to one of the articles is that an artificial reef had been placed with one million oysters to help restore this River’s habitat. Furthermore, now in the present the Bronx River is lucky to have individuals like Democrat Jose Serrano. Based on the article “Restoring the Bronx River” Serrano was given money from the federal government to rebuild riverbanks, reopen floodplains, restock fish populations, restore water quality, and turn wastelands into parklands. All of these actions are positive contributions because they help for the area of the Bronx River and the river itself to go back to stability as in 1609. These actions have helped influence the local and state government to consider the issue of damage towards the river and giving money to fix it. The only problem is that money will not fix the harm, only time and human intervention will. This week’s readings changed my thinking about life because I have noticed that people including myself has not been considerate towards nature because we leave all responsibility to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). As a result, even though I know progress has been made my wondering is why do people still harm the environment because that only makes us regress more and I still wonder what the environment will look like in the future.
ReplyDeleteDuring this week in school i have been learning about the Bronx River History how it went from almost being a water source for new york to being polluted and contaminated. I learned that the river runs 23 miles long also that the fish that use to live there got extinct which is ale-wife. I have also learned about different organization that help bring the bronx river back to life and restoring the natural species that use to life on that river such as the ale-wife that recently was re-introduce to the river. My experience of going to the bronx river and canoeing and capturing blue crabs was great. The thing that amazed me was when i was canoeing I saw fishes jumping around which made me realize that someday the river is going to be restore back to is natural state. When I first saw the river i notice that the water was still greenish I also saw a lot of trash still in the river but a huge progress. Still this day people are still helping and caring about the river and wont give up until the river could be restore also the government is still giving money to support the river restoration. They also put a lot shellfish that could help the rivers water by removing the toxins and each shellfish could clean up to 24 gallons of water each day. This I found every interesting because thats a lot of water. Also in the progress of cleaning and restoring the river a beaver was spotted which that is something rare. My experience going to the river was amazing catching the crabs was the best because we use to wait and they use to bite and then let go but seeing the river and the people that help clean the river made me notice that we could do what ever we wanted the only problem is that it will just take some time.
ReplyDeleteWhen I got to the park and saw the river, I was a little disappointed at the fact that we had learned about a clean river with living organisms in it, and when in reality it was full of garbage and not as clean as we thought. Despite the river’s appearance, I had the wonderful opportunity to fish and canoe there. I had a piece of raw chicken tied to a string and that was what held the crab up to land. However, due to my impatience and joking around – I did not have the opportunity to even catch plankton, let alone a crab. I guess I was too excited flinging the piece of chicken around, that it even almost hit one of my friends. However, even though I personally did not catch a crab, fish, or plankton – my friends caught crabs and I was able to distinguish between a female and male. Damian taught us that a female crab’s shape resembles a pyramid and the male resembles the Washington Memorial. It was also cool to see different amounts of male and female crabs, which means they’re abundant in both. Adding on, canoeing was also really fun! I was glad to be able to canoe with my best friend because we really enjoyed it. We saw canoeing as a bonding experience. Regularly we can be seen arguing and not agreeing on things, but we are still friends. On the canoe, we worked as a team to move from one side to the other and I was full of joy to see how much we were able to accomplish. We then worked on water sampling, where we had the opportunity to obtain water from the river and test the pH level, salinity, dissolved oxygen and temperature. Once we were done with water sampling, we were able to take a walking tour of the concrete park. During the walking tour, we were able to stop and observe the scenery, take pictures and even sketch! During lunch time, I decided to sketch the river and focus on the trees in the background while still drawing a couple of students on the canoe. I then decided to draw the plants on the concrete park that was once a factory. Overall, I really enjoyed this trip because not only did I get to learn about my environment, but I had a lot of dun while learning! I have always been able to learn any science pretty quickly. But with environmental science especially, it is important to have hands on experiences that make lessons in class clear to visually see.
ReplyDeleteMy experience in the canoe trip was interesting and exciting. Reasons it was interesting was because I learned more about the environment of the river then I expected. When the Bronx river was mention to me at first I didn't really pay mind to it because rivers didn't seem that important to me. What called my attention the most was that while i was canoeing you could seen the big fishes swimming around in the water. At first when the fishes were mention to me I thought that the fishes weren't gonna be in the river anymore. Which shows how the Bronx river is a good habitat for these fishes because many rivers don't have many big fish that you can site. The Bronx river wasn't what I expected it to be i found it to be in a very urban area. I thought the Bronx river was going to be surrounded by many trees and bushes and that its surrounding wasn't gonna be sement but grass and dirt I also expected it to be more closed in.Overall the trip was also exciting because it was the first time i ever went canoeing. Which was a surprise for me because i thought i wasn't going to be scared but at times when the boat would move a lot I would get scared.Also what was exciting for me was trying to catch crabs although I wasn't able to catch one but the part of at least trying excited me. This was a good trip and i wouldn't mind going canoeing again for a longer time.
ReplyDeleteThis week’s trip to the Bronx River was really fun and interesting. I saw a lot of people cleaning the park at all times which was pretty cool. Our instructors Damian, Josue, and Andre were all so excited and stoked to teach us the history of the park and everything they knew which made me happy because when someone loves their job I am more than happy to listen to them talk about it. I also had lots of fun canoeing, my partner Nadia and I were really good at it we beat everyone. Fishing for crabs was also really interesting they all had blue and they seemed to really enjoy chicken necks, they also seemed to enjoy some of my classmate’s fingers. It was pretty sad when we had to say bye to the crabs to because Ms. B and I named them, their names were; Hildegard, Roberto, Ann Bolin, and Methastophlis. Overall it was a good experience at the Bronx River it was a nice day and the currents weren’t so strong. I learned that the river is about 22 miles long, and it ends in Westchester. I also had the experience to encounter the diversity in the river we not only saw crabs but we saw fishes and shrimps, and all types of birds which was nice to see. Going to the Bronx River made me realize that here in New York we have a lot of beautiful places like the Bronx River that we don’t take advantage of and help restore. It makes me sad to think such a beautiful river like that got so polluted by the trains and factories. Going to the river inspired me to think about the next time I want to throw something on the ground, because eventually it will get washed up end up in a sewer and then end up in a river like the Bronx River. If we take care of our water ways then we can live healthier lives and that’s a known fact. I want things like spotting one of the first otters back in the river to re-occur, conservation of our wildlife means a lot to me and I will keep taking care of it.
ReplyDelete-yesica
My experience going to the bronx river canoe trip was entertaining because since we learned about the bronx river and how much work people have already put on it like putting over 30 million dollars of work on it. Going to the bronx river my mindset was that it would be disgusting but then seeing it with my own eyes i noticed that it has come a long way in getting cleaner. My favorite part of the trip was crab fishing because it was something that i had never tried before. During the trip I was mainly interested in the water filter thing that was keeping most of the garbage out looking at that made me think a whole different way because now I where some of the garbage that we just throw in the floor ends up.
ReplyDeleteThis trip I thought the river will be clean since they talked about how they wanted to make that river soo people could drink from it. But onces i got there the water was all dirty with bottles and other dirty stuff. Then they have fishes and crab living their wich could hurt them and kill them if the river keeps on being dirty. My experience in the bronx river was excited I expierince new stuff like I went cunnoie I never done that and also when crab fishing wich was exciting even though i didnt catch any crab it was still fun being with our friends trying catch them.
ReplyDelete~ Felix Guzman
I was very surprised about the Bronx River. Before I thought the Bronx River was going to be dirty with garbage waste. However, I was surprised of how clean the river looked and how beautiful it was in person. I do think differently now about the river, kind of makes me want to go back for a walk and canoe again. As I was walking on the bridge above the river, I noticed where we were in the Bronx. I was happy about that because I live 10-15 minutes away from the river (by car). Therefore, when I can, I would like to visit the river again and tell my parents how fun it was to canoe there. One thing that really took me by surprised was when Raymond splashed the water at my group and literally drenched us. A little bit of the water went inside my mouth and it tasted REALLY salty. So I actually got curious and asked the instructor Josue, why was the water that salty? Josue told me that the river was not 100% clean. The water is still kind of dirty with toilet waste. So when someone uses the toilet, the water went into the Bronx River. I was pissed. At the end of the day, my mission was to get back at Raymond.
ReplyDeleteDuring this week i learned about the Bronx River history and many organizations that are helping out to restore it. the Bronx River is approximately 23 miles thought southern Westchester.During the 19th and 20th century the industrialist companies used this river to dispose any trash and every day waste, over the time the river was a bad environment with the water being polluted and poor habits . the team of people help out by adding fresh water also adding fish and some water animals such as blue crab, oysters , clams , alewife and other species.However Jose Serrano who secured $ 3000 million in federal findings to support the Bronx River.
ReplyDelete- Nadine Gomez ( 6th period class)
This week in class and outside of class I learned about the Bronx river, my experience in the river on thursday was really educational and also at the same time fun. During the trip I learned more about the Bronx river, the Bronx river is 22 miles it reaches southern westcherster. In the trip we water tested, waded, went crabbing, sketched, walked, and canoed the Bronx river. My favorite was the canoeing, we got to see the river closer and also we saw some kind of protection, it stop the garbage for going any further. I didn't expect the Bronx river to that dirty, animals need to have a cleaner. People should take care of the river, they should care more of their environment. During the trip I learned that the area we were in was impacted my industry. When my group was working across the small bridge we saw a lot of killifish. My classmates when fishing for blue crabs and they were able to catch a few of them. I was able to do two sketched of the area I was in. I enjoy the environment in the Bronx river, it was every peaceful. I didn't get as much information about the Bronx river but I did learned some small details that I didn't know. Thanks to Damian, Josue, and Andre my classmates were able to learned more about the Bronx river and have some fun at the sometime. I believe that people should take care more of the Bronx river because it was once a beautiful place to be around.
ReplyDeleteThe field trip to the Bronx River was both educational and entertaining.The experience I had fishing crabs and canoeing were the highlight of the day. At first I dint know what to expect when i went canoeing because I've never done that and i was type scared that I was going to fall in the water , but once I got the hang of things I found it easy and I was canoeing like a pro.The biggest take away I had from this was that I notice how easy i cant contribute to the Bronx river , and i learned many Was I can help clean the Bronx river. I also said to myself that if everything I did was so easy and fun why not just do that again,this made me think a lot because I feel motivated to go and try to contribute to the cause and help fix the park because as much as i enjoyed it I would like that other can enjoy it too .
ReplyDeleteBefore the trip i had a different idea of what was the Bronx River. I thought the water would be more green/blueish and they wouldn't be that much garbage as they were. Also it was a great experience I had going over there, and the folks were very nice explaining many things that happens over in the river and where the waters from. While we was over there we did some water test, when canoeing an fished some crabs and took amazing pictures. Now that I had a view of how the water runs and how dirty it looked. It makes me realize thy we have to recycle and help our community be more cleaner. And also if we have any can, bag or food we should throw it in a trash can instead of in the streets or floor. Thats what makes our community less recycle because some people just throw things everywhere. Well with that said their should be more recycling bins and people should pick up themselves.
ReplyDeleteAs we were studying the Bronx river I got more and more excited to see how the river looks because from how much funding was given to it since about 30 million dollars was given to the work of the bridge I expected it to be very clean. As we approached the bridge I saw the river very polluted in my head I was thinking how can life live in that? Then I saw a think that looked almost like a dam that had A LOT of trash from the other side of that “dam” it was a lot cleaner. Seeing that big of a difference made me think about the past and the present, the part with all the trash made me think of the industry polluting the river and how abused that river was. The clean side of the river would show the result of a small fraction of people caring about the river and I started to think how much of a difference could be made with more people caring about the river and not polluting in it because I’m sure that even though all this effort is being put into the cleaning of the river people would still pollute in it without thinking twice. I for one am going to try to stop my uncle from polluting because he just throws his trash on the ground on highways even in rivers so if my uncle and I stop polluting one day maybe ill be able to see the Bronx river be returned to its former glory and even make a difference someday.
ReplyDeleteWhen we first arrived to the Bronx River I thought I was going to see garbage everywhere and just a really disgusting river . But when I went on the canoe I realized it was pretty clean. In class we have been learning about the Bronx River restoration process , I learned people and organizations have spent a very high amount of money and time trying to restore the Bronx River to how it originally was. Back then the Bronx river was so clean that the government was thinking of using its water as drinking water but now i know it is no longer how it used to be. I know the Bronx River will no longer return to its original form because so much damage has been done but what I did realize was that there was a division in the river. One side was very clean the other was full of some kind of trash or wood. I really wanted to see the turtles but it was kind of cool seeing my peers fish for the crabs. Canoeing was pretty fun even though Cerelys and I had some difficulties at first , we learned how to canoe forward and backwards. I sketched for a little while , while sitting on the benches I sketched the poles and the trees I also tried to sketch the canoes but they weren't coming out the way I wanted them to so I just sketched the Trees. I also didn't expect to enjoy canoeing so much it wasn't my first time but it sure did feel like it was because I didn't even remember how to paddle. The Bronx River is pretty large and seems pretty deep I was terrified of falling in the water. Hopefully in the future many oysters will repopulate and suck up all the toxins and dirt in the Bronx river, and make it cleaner . The trip was truly amazing and I hope we do have many more trips involving environmental science topics.
ReplyDeleteEven though I didn't go to the canoeing field trip, I still learned as much about the Bronx River in school then going to the trip. I've learned the certain factors in the past that have made huge contributions to it's degradation. Back at the colonial times people would build many mills killing a lot of the marine organisms and taking away there habitat. Colonist would also hunt many of the animals for their pelts during cold seasons. Also during the Industrial Era many businesses that accumulated many waste had no other way of disposing it then to dump it all in our river. These waste that contained so many toxins killed off the organisms that inhabited it and destroyed the river. But over the course of all these negative mistreatment of the Bronx River the youth and many adults have been aware of these pollutants and they've taken it in their responsibility to restore it back to original value. Organizations like Bronx River Restoration Project, Con Edison and many others found their common goal in making it a purer river and are working together and formed the Bronx River Alliance in a better force to tackle this predicament in a stronger way. Other than a larger group of people even individuals have been making a effort. Democrat Jose Serrano gave 30 million dollars into restoring it to its previous clean state. These efforts were all successful because of the native organism returning to it's native river. The alewifes and oysters. Alewifes that's been killed off the river by destroying there respawn land are suddenly coming, back, a sign that these efforts are indeed a step forward in cleansing it. The same thing goes for the oysters. Learning about the Bronx River in class has broaden my view of how we as a society or community take for granted our river because back then we didn't think we would cause this much of a damage to it and now that we've realized it we are trying to undo the wrongs we've done to it. Hopefully during my life time, I could see the Bronx River in its purified state.
ReplyDeleteLUIS MATA
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ReplyDeleteDuring the Bronx river trip I first thought the water was going to be spotless but when I saw the river I was speechless. The river had one side that had all the trash and some of that trash was seen floating around the cleaner part of the river.Before i saw the river i thought it was going to be cleaner due to the fact that so much money was put in to fix the river. The positive thing was that I saw alewives swimming around in there groups and shrimps were also found. My experience was great because I felt like I learned about the history of the Bronx river and all he effort to make it look like the river it Is today.
ReplyDelete(4rth period environmental class) Kenneth Rufino
My experience about the river was that, its amazing how much animals can live on this river. My learning experience was brighten because it showed me how important life is but also how the enviroment is to these animals. All sorts of animals life there like blue crab, alewife fishes, sea horse, shrimps, plantine, and many other animals. This helped me realize how important not litering is because it hurts the ecosystem in general along with animal life; especially at sea. Some parts I connected to was everything because it was determination that allowed me to be able to do everything; especially catch blue craps and fishes. I learned that when trying to help better the ecosystem, the littlest things matter especially letting drop even the tinest of paper.
ReplyDeleteUsually, in school trips is just a regular educational trip. But this trip was educational but as well one of the most excited trips ever. This trip was to the Bronx River and to learn more about estuaries. Also to learn more of how the Bronx River has changed since the first settlers on New York City. Once we have reach to the Bronx River we have split up into 4 different groups and all the groups were split up to different activities. My group started out going to walk around to the back part of the Bronx River. Walked by some entrance with ABC boardwalk. The path was made out of recycle glass. A suggestion, don’t walk barefoot. We walked the end of the pathway and we have reached to an information board. The board has a lot of information of the river and the species that it contains. After the walk around the river we went back and started the sketches for science and the sketches I have done could have been better but it seemed that there wasn’t enough time for me to finish but I gave it a try. Then it was time to crab fishing. Now this is where it starts becoming more exciting. At first I was like, “oh its just crab fishing”. But once I started to try it just became like an addiction because my goal was to capture at least one. That wasn’t the case for this trip and while I was waiting to catch one and I just saw others catching few crabs. Not everyone captured crabs but it was exciting to watch others having fun and almost catching crabs. Even though I didn’t capture one I was able to see others catch one but I acted like I caught one as well. It seems that experience has made me think more about New York City society and why isn’t the society trying to change and improve the river. Not only the river but as well our surroundings? Then again it takes time to make changes. We have done the water testing and tried the pH, dissolved oxygen, and nitrate level. The data seemed to be normal and we can conclude that the river is safe and is not contaminated. We tried the salinity level but could continue with the procedure and had no choice but to leave that out. It’s great to know the water is safe but it needs improvement with the trash being found in the river and the people should take account of that. Finally it came time for the main reason people came to the trip, which was to canoe. I teamed up with Eric and I had made a huge mistake of not going to the back to lead. Even though we were moving the canoe, it wasn’t moving as we intended to do. The canoe kept moving to the side or kept making circles. But overall it was fun to canoe. The last time I have canoe was in the 6th grade and it’s great to revisit old memories.
ReplyDeleteAll this pass week in class we talked about the Bronx River and how it’s changed over the year, finally on Thursday we were able to go out to the river. This was not my first time going out to the river, I actually when on the river, a few year ago but instead when to the Bronx Zoo port. Even though this was not my first time on the river I had a completely different experience.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all Concert park was not a real park it was an old remodel concert factory, so it looked very hard dense and there weren’t a lot of trees around. Then I saw the river which look bigger then I remember, I even saw fish jumping. After that we were introduced to Damian, Josue, and Andre, which were going to be leading us for the day. They told us that the river was approximately 22 miles long and Concert Park was at the mouth of the river. Then we when into groups I was first fishing and doing water testing samples. When I brought up the bucket of water from the river I was a bit surprise to see it was almost clear. Then I when fishing and saw a school of tadpoles and even got a few bites of crabs with the chicken necks we had as bate.
Later on after fishing a while and testing the water I was able to go out on the water and paddle around. I was in the front and Jianny on the back of the canoe, when I was out in the middle of the water I was able to see everything around the river from the train track to the furniture factory on the other side. I was also able to see all the trash that had floated in to the river. This really go me thinking about where does it all come from and what can I do to help stop it, because of all the animals I saw on the river were getting hurt by all of the pollution in the water. After paddling up stream for a while we made our way back to the dock.
Finally after canoeing a while we trade our paddles for our pencils and when out to the other side of the river. Where there was an area created for recycled glass and has many plants. For there I could see all of Concert Park and how different it was to the other side where there were trees and marches where the plants were both in the water and the dry land. Because after all the Bronx river is an estuary a place of constant change, that I got to see when the tide change from high to low while we were there. Overall my idea of the Bronx River changed a bit I know thought of the different sections of the river that make it unique and the different animals that need it to survive.
My thoughts about the Bronx River changed because i thought it was going to be much more different than what it really is. I thought that it was going to be more abandon and way dirtier than what it really is. The park looked cleaner than other parks I’ve been to in NYC which actually left me kind of surprised too. I see things in a different way now and i hope that the river stays getting even more cleaner than what it is today so that future generations can have a chance to do what we did and hopefully enjoy it as much as we did. At first I also thought that the river was going to be unstable for life but was amazed when i saw the different creatures we found and saw just by looking right there, I could only imagine how much more creatures are there if you look further into the water. If more people start getting involved and work together the Bronx River the change would happen much sooner. This was a very fun and exciting experience for me because i have not done any of those things before and especially to do it around my own neighborhood and having an experience that not many people get to have. Overall, my perspective and thoughts about the Bronx River has changed after going on this trip and having this experience.
ReplyDeleteOn Thursday September 27, I went to the Bronx River with my classmates and teachers. Arriving at the river, I noticed it looked a lot different than it did on the videos. In the group I was in my first activity was to walk around the river seeing the different viewpoints. We also had a little competition between boys and girls about several facts posted about the river. After, we walked back to the canoeing area and saw people fishing for crab so I decided to give it a go. I grabbed some string and chicken neck strapped them together and threw it to the river. I had to be very patient when fishing fir the crabs because there were other people doing the same and crabs weren’t biting that much. After a while I went to get my sketchbook and drew the river and the concrete plant. It took me a while to capture the image while the sun radiating in the sky but I did it. When I finished my sketches I continued fish crabbing and then I got a couple of bits but no catch. Then I went to test the different factors of water and that didn’t take long. My group was the last one to canoe and when our turn came I was excited to go. This was my first time canoeing and I can’t lie I was a bit sacred I was going to fall but then I got comfortable. When I was canoeing I noticed fish in the bottom of the river jumping above. When I finished canoeing the grade had to huddle up for a class picture. I though the trip was great and I had lots of fun especially with the fish crabbing I think that was my favorite part. If we could do this again or another trip like this I would love the experience.
ReplyDeleteThe Bronx river is apparently in the middle of the Bronx borough. When I heard the name Bronx River I thought of the river that the Washington bridge went over, although I also thought it was the Hudson river, obviously I didn't know what river it was. Wasn't until I got to Concrete park that I realized that it was located in the middle, at that moment when I looked at the map of the river I had an epiphany. From the class readings I leaned that the river was in the process of a clean up and and restoration. When I got to the river i could see that there was still a bit of trash and debris floating around, though the debris was kept back by some sort of dam. I also read that the native aquatic life was being repopulated, which might have been what I saw in the river. The fishes I saw could have been an alewife in its early stages, blue crabs, and I think some tadpoles. While i was there my group did multiple activities, but unfortunately canoeing was the last. I say unfortunately because i really enjoyed crab fishing so there wasn't really much time at the end to go back to fishing. In the beginning I went on a hike and to my surprise the road in a recreated park like section of the river was made of recycled glass, not pavement or cement. I thought to myself, isn't this dangerous? Especially for little kids. Luckily Jonathan tested the sharpness of the walkway by rubbing his finger on it, not the safest way, right? After crab fishing my group did some testing of the water for dissolved oxygen, nitrogen, temperature, and pH levels, though people just shared the information.
ReplyDeleteOverall I give this trip two thumbs up, a great way to start the senior year. As I think about this trip I ponder on the amount of work people must have put into the river to make what it is today, and also what kind of people they were. From the readings I learned that it was the community that complained to the officials to do something and it was also members of the community that helped in the restoration along with some hired help. It's actually great to know that people of the community are doing something about this (even though I'm not). Though it would be even more impressive if they were volunteering. I've also thought about how the planners plan to restore the river with its originally landscape, with all the buildings and junk in the surroundings. well, that's something to look forward to in the future, and who knows, it might turn into something like central park.
At first when i got to the bronx river i thought the river was dirty. I thought it was dirty because i saw alot of trash on one side of the river but as i kept going down the river i saw that it was clean. It was clean on the other side because something was holding all the trash back from getting to the clean side of the river. Overall i had a great experience where i got to fish for crabs which i found really exciting and made me want to go back to the bronx river just to fish for crabs. I also enjoyed canoeing because it brang back memories when i went camping in sixth grade and we also went canoeing. I think that canoeing this time was more fun because there was live species around us and there was also a little current making it more difficult and exciting to canoe. I also had fun going to the bronx river because i felt like i got more closer to people i really didn't talk to and we got today as one. As a result this trip made me learn about the area itself and the history around it. And how the bronx river has become what it is today. Overall i had a great experience i would like to do this again because it was intertaining.
ReplyDelete-jesus guzman (4th period)
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ReplyDeleteOverall, my experience on this trip was really fun! I was able to canoe, and at the same time gain more knowledge about the Bronx River. Before going to the Bronx River and knowing a bit of background information I expected for the river to be really clean because of all these projects they have created. I also thought that these projects were just trying to reintroduce some specific species to the river. Once we arrived, more than half of the river was dirty with lots of trash and the other half was partly clean but there was still trash included. This shows that although the government has wasted an abundant amount of money to get the river to once how it was, it still takes a lot more to do and more years. One thing of the things that I really liked about this experience was being able to walk through a walk-through made of glass bottles that they collected from the river before. Furthermore, it was really exciting trying to catch crabs that surprisingly still live there with although that water is really dirty.
ReplyDeleteThis week the WHEELS senior class of 2012 and some juniors visited the Bronx River/Concrete Plant Park. The experience was quite interesting and fun. Before we arrived to the river, I expected it to be extremely dirty, but not the whole thing was. There was a division between the cleaner part of the river and the really dirty part with tons of accumulated trash. My favorite part of the trip was canoeing. Although I am definitely not an expert at canoeing, it was fun to try something new. During the canoeing experience, I also saw a lot of jumping fish which surprised me because I didn't expect there to be a school of fish in a not-so-clean river. Another notable part of the trip was going in the river with waders on to pick up fish/live water particles. It was a funny part of the trip because it was the first time since the summer that I have actually gone into a body of water with more than my ankles getting wet. Although I did not find anything, I enjoyed the experience. I spent the rest of the day water testing and placing a cone shaped instrument into the water which picked up some live plankton. One of my other favorite parts of the trip was using raw chicken necks to catch crabs. I did not have the luck to catch one but I was aware that there were about 4 caught. Overall, it was a notable, fun, experience which I will definitely love to do again.
ReplyDeleteKarla Arroyo
Environmental science Period 2
9/30/12
My actual thoughts about the Bronx River were very distinct once I got there. I thought the location was going to be muddy and very icky. On the contrary, my view changed my thoughts very quickly. Another thing I thought was that we were going to canoe around a waterfall, but we actually canoed around the middle of the Bronx River. I was planning to have a chance to do everything that was available to us. For example, I really wanted to catch a fish or a crab because I have never in my life had done that before. Unfortunately, I was too much into the things that were being done in the water. I also wanted to paddle, but at the same time I didn’t because I wanted to take pictures. The last time I paddled in a canoe was in 6th grade, so I was really excited to get the same feeling I had before being on a canoe. Also, while I was taken around to take a look at the Bronx River in a bigger picture, I was amazed at the fact how big was the Bronx River and how clean it was because I actually thought it would be real dirty. I also thought the idea vice versa sometimes, as well. This experience was really helpful for me because it helped me see a clearer view of the Bronx. I never thought there was a Bronx River that existed. I’m very proud that I’m able to join this class and go to many trips in order to learn lots of new things. So far, this has been one of the best experiences during my senior year. I have learned many things that I can be able to do in the future as well. For example, I can be able to do water testing with the correct materials and instructions, I can able to catch crabs and fishes with a chicken neck, as well. Overall, I really hope this trip can be repeated in the future before senior year ends. This time, I want to actually have a chance to catch crabs and fishes and be able to paddle a canoe.
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ReplyDeleteThis week in environmental science class we had a trip to go canoeing in the Bronx river.Sadly I couldn't attend the trip but i still learn as much as the people who went to the trip. This week I learned how events from the past such as urbanization, deforestation and the growth of factories have affected different species. A few weeks ago I talked about the book “ The Lorax “ and how industrialization affected the main character. This week we learn how the same problem occurred in new york with species such as the Oysters and alewife wish. Sometimes us as humans feel that damaging a certain species habitat won't affect other animals. This week we read an article about how important Oysters are. They are so important because when they spawn they create some type of beds for other animals to heal on also they are a source of food for some animals.This is very important because if we keep damaging the habitat of the Oysters we would also be affecting other animals. Finally we also talk about the Bronx river. we saw pictures and me at home did some research on it. From far sight it looks disgusting. There is dirty water with garbage all over the place. When we pollute and drop waste product into the water we don't think actually think about the animals that live in those waters. The animals that still manage to live in those dirty waters and still spawn in my eyes i see them as heroes.This week made me realize that us as humans we need to stop polluting the waters of our planet.We are destroying habitats. Even though some species manage to live that does not mean that they will hold up for ever.
ReplyDeleteMy experience in the Bronx river was that it was very fun , something new I've never tried like crabbing , catching blue crabs which now I know will survive and do well in the brackish water and shrimp as well. I also saw the group of alewife fishes that was together similarly to the blue crabs that will survive in the water. The water is very deep and very dirty from the mix and also that I recently found out, dirty from the littering from people which ends up in the sewer and sometimes ends up in the river. For example while I was canoeing on the boat, I saw a lot of bottles, cups, and a lot of dirt surrounding the material. There was a lot of dirty, old, and rusty bottles just floating around and it makes me think twice about littering because we want our waters clean and for the animals in the water to survive and spawn for the benefits of our water.
ReplyDeleteDuring our trip to the Bronx river, we saw the current state of the park. The river itself had ha separation called a boom, an orange border type wall dividing it in half. One side had a lot of trash, the other was cleaner, and filled with fishes and crabs which we caught a lot of. In the cleaner side, we were allowed to canoe in, it was fun, one of my partners wouldn't stop screaming because she thought we’d tip over, so I’d wobble the canoe on purpose. We also had to sketch the former concert plant, and the river, which is difficult to draw detail of water. Over all it was a fun experience, canoeing, watching my friends fish for crabs, and learning about the nature we have near by in a urban area.
ReplyDeleteWhen we was planning for the trip, I thought it was going to be a bunch of experts talking and then we were going to get a chance to go canoeing But the experience was better and more fun then my expectations.
ReplyDeleteWhen we walking there I notice that there was highways and railroads. Graffiti was written in in almost every wall. Litter was all over in the streets. A horrible place to put a park if you ask me. As we walk up to the entrance of the park it was a nice view. There were stone chairs and picnic tables with grass all over also we got to see the old structures that was said it once belong to the concrete factory that once stood in the park. If you look across in the water you notice the boom. It is a long line that help filter the water by keeping the waste in one said while the water past threw the boom. All the floating waste products made me realized that the majority of us humans are destroying the earth then helping it. We need to do a better part on preserving the earth then hurting it for our future generations.
In the trip we got to go on a boat ride and go crab fishing witch was the best part for me. As we was fishing for crabs we saw school of little fishes and saw bigger fishes jumping out of the water and going back in. It was a nice view and made me appreciate the land and the what the Bronx River Alliance did for us and making the world a better place. Overall this experience was a great learning experience and I hope that more trips like this one is planned for us.
Before the trip we learn about the estuaries and the Bronx River. Since we learned about the restoration of the river and the cement plant I expected the river to be clean, full of life and surrounded by some huge factory. Instead the water was smug, it had some life, and the plant wasn’t as big as I expected. Even though it wasn’t what I had expected I was had a lot more lively than some of the other rivers I had seen in New York City.
ReplyDeleteMy experience in the Bronx River was amazing. Riding in a canoe and being able to see the fish swim next was an experience I had only been able to do once before. I even got close to the plant and tried to see the oysters that we had learned were being restored but was unable to see any. It was the first time I was able to fish for carbs. At first I didn’t believe it was even possible to get carbs with chicken necks and string. Then I saw one of my classmates was able to fish one out and I was excited to do the same. I had a lot of chances to fish a carb out but every time something happened and the carb would release itself. It was still nice to know the filling of having a carb pulling on the line. Another exciting experience was putting on the weightier and walking around in the water while trying to fish for the alewife. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to catch any fishes either but I was able to see one jump out of the water when I was in the water. If I could I would do it all over again.
My experience in the canoeing trip was very exciting , we had many different activities in just one day which made it very interesting. On my way to the trip area my thoughts were immense and looking after the correct answers or at least close to the answer. I managed to find my self day dreaming about how would the water look like?, how would the place look like?, will the canoes be average sized or large?, or will it be fun in my case. Once arrived at the canoe place , I saw the map of the Bronx river and I noticed a lot of confident areas, it made me think if we were going to canoe the entire thing but unfortunately not. We tested water and we saw a lot of crabs that were fished out by us. We had tested for Salinity, ph level , temperature, DO level, etc. It was interesting finding out the numbers of the levels. We had different teammates and my teammate was Jonathan we went canoeing together and it was a blast, it was my first time canoeing and that experience was the best. I thought we were going to flip the boat but unfortunately it wasn't that way, When we both sat and took our places on the canoe, we were more ready than ever, once we started paddling through the water it was an incredible feeling but easy moves. We got the hang of paddling through the water so we started moving around in circles. It was also a funny moment because we saw other teammates having trouble so we helped them out by moving their boat to the side and get through the water without trouble . Also the fishing for crabs was extremely fun and enjoyable, some were able to catch them and some were not. I remember we tried catching a huge crab and place it in the bucket but unfortunately the crab got away. I would love to go back to the Bronx River, it was something unique. - Pablo Torreblanca
ReplyDeleteI found canoeing to be very interesting in many different ways. Canoeing and crab fishing were interesting to me because it gives you more hands-on experience to river wildlife. Also, they are very interesting because you can feel the difference between the environment of your community and the environment of the Bronx River. Furthermore, I personally have felt that the Bronx River was not important. I though it didn’t influence my life in any way, as though it were just a river that flowed near my house, that’s it. Now that I witness the river and its features many questions arose in my mind, is the Bronx River one of Manhattan’s sources of seafood? Are people allowed to fish in the river and take whatever they catch home? For example, if a family comes together and catch 5 crabs in the River are they allowed to take those crabs home and make a living out of what they catch? In addition, the River is very interesting and fun to canoe on! That was my first time canoeing and I can’t wait to try it again!
ReplyDelete-Wilson Ortiz
i found the canoing trip very fun.this trip was fun because i never went canoing so it was like learning a new experience.I also like that we had a lot of freedom to go around the park learn about it and also do our work.Something i also like was that i learned how to catch crabs and a bunch of fishes that live in the bronx river.I also learn about team work because when i was in the boat with alfredo we had to paddle the same way or the boat would turn around or stay in the same place.in addition the bronx river has had a lot of restoration that had clean it and brought back the species that live their and now their reproducing and making the river
ReplyDelete-Manuel Espinal
I found the canoing trip a lot of fun. I found it fun because it was my first time canoing ever. All the activities that we did was fun. How we went crab fishing, catching fish like alewife from the river, and canoing. When we were canoing we had to do a lot of team work with the two people that were rowing and the person in the middle of the canoe. The rowers had to work on where they were turning, how to move forward and backwards. The person in the middle had to work on putting a balanced weight which made sure the canoe didn't tip over. There I felt like there had to be alot of teamwork between all the activities we had done. But for my first experience I had a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteJeffrey De La Cruz
The Biobus just by it’s name I knew it was going to be something I will find interesting. Having science class in a bus was great. The new environment and teachers also who are scientist were perfect. I loved the bus in as a whole. The Biobus got my attention on how it runs, for example it using vegetable oil to run instead of gas, it is kept cool by the plants garden it got in the roof and it also is given light by solar panel it has on the roof too. This is not like your everyday science class it is special not only because its location is on a bus but also because it has inside special zoom side microscopes.
ReplyDeleteI got to see our classes Trout up close, so close that I got to see their blood flow inside them. This was nice to see because I never seen something so up close before expected for an X-ray I got. The Biobus changed the way of how I see science. Now I see science as something beyond what people think it is but to how everything works in life. However this don’t change my mind on what I want to be when I get older but it does make me feel more like a scientist in class, a student scientist I would say. The bus allow me to see and learned more about Trout too, it help me learned how they form and what they look like when they are just Alevins. I also saw how their fins and gills are their first body part to form said maybe those are first because those are the most necessary part to the Trout.
I love my experience in the Biobus I will love to do it again and learned so much in just a matter of one class period.