- In the days leading up to the Bronx River trip what did you find interesting about what you learned?
- How did what you learned influence your expectations of the trip?
- Was the trip similar to or different from what you expected? Explain.
- Be sure to write about the river itself... how was it different from what you expected.
- What were the most interesting things your learned and most memorable things you did on the trip?
- Now that you have seen the condition of the Bronx river what do you think should be done to continue to improve it? How would/could we make this happen?
Didn't go on the trip?
- Write about what you learned over the past week of class.
- What was interesting and why?
- Did you make any new connections between what we learned and your life? Explain.
- What was the most important thing you learned about the Bronx River. Explain, reflect, connect
- Read and leave a COMMENT on three of your classmates posts
- comment on what you found interesting about what they wrote and why.
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ReplyDeleteI had never explored any large bodies of water however when I heard that we were going to explore the blackish water at the Bronx river I got really excited. The week prior to this field trip we learned how to do water testing .The testing of the water was really interesting because we learned how to test the temperature , the dissolved oxygen, phosphate , nitrate and turbidity. This all helped me understand that there is a lot of chemicals in the water and depending on the levels it can influence the sea animals. I connected this all to the survival of sea creatures because I learned that clams and etc . need an specific amount of each to survive or else they would die. This connects to my life because I have heard that there was a bunch of mercury found in tuna fish. Which can be lethal for the body , knowing this now I understand how these levels of toxics can be acquired. This has changed my life in a way because it has made me think about the fish that I would consume because depending on the place that it was acquired the toxics would be in them.
ReplyDeleteUnderstanding what an estuary is and its components really helped me in order to develop a better experience in the visit to the Bronx River. Understanding the level of pH water contains and whether it is acidic or basic according to the measurement between 1 and 14 gives an idea of how much free and less free hydrogen ions there are as well as creating basic conditions within the water, the water on the surface tends to be basic or acidic because of geological and biological influences. The level of pH water has affects which kinds of aquatic organism there are in the water because each organism has a certain pH range in which they are adapted in order to survive. The Bronx River contains a mixture of salt water and fresh water, which can be called brackish water, as well the Bronx River has gone through a variety of physical changes since the past 400 years, comparing to Henry Hudson's descriptions of the types of landscapes, has all but vanished. I didn't expect the best looking river, as a person who lacks of the understanding of how clean and safe our water is and should be, I looked forward to a river who's water would be brown and would contain thrash swimming around. Fair enough when my group and I went fishing and canoeing we were surrounded with brown water and thrash by the shore. Although the water was how I expected it to be, I did not expect to catch a type of Jellyfish along with some Killyfish that kept jumping around in my hand. However what catch my attention the most was that the Jellyfish that inhabits the river dissolves within a couple of minutes no matter if it is inside the water or not to never return back to its original shape, and that at night they glow from the help of the moon light. Aside from being my first fishing, I was overwhelm by the canoe ride with my group members and the thousand spins we made trying to reach different places of the area we were permitted to roam around.
ReplyDeleteIn order to improve the river we all must take action and begin to involve ourselves to make a better environment in the river and what surrounds it, we can all take care of the river by starting doing the minimum. We can all begin by cleaning all the thrash that goes down miles and miles all across the river, not just because it pollutes the river but because there is life inside the river such as fishes who can die getting caught up inside thrash, every organism inside the water is important and they play an important role that helps maintain the river sustainable. How much are we really contributing to the well being of the Bronx River? In my opinion, we aren't doing anything. Instead we polluted it, it is bad enough that the river has gone through a series of physical changes and if we do not take action, our future generations will not be able to meet a clean Bronx River. In fact, who knows if there will be a Bronx River for our future Generations.
I didn't know what an estuary was, I just knew that there were many bodies of water but never tried to think if there were animals living there. This help me realize that I was going to see fish and maybe other type of animals. I think that this trip was more than what I expected because there was so much to do and learn about the Bronx River. I seriously thought that we couldn't fish in this area and I also didn't know that it had brackish water before I learned about estuaries. The most interesting thing I learned was that jellyfish could glow, and the fact that they don't look like jellyfish outside the water was something interesting to me. A most memorable thing on this trip was learning how to canoe, I've never been canoeing and it was actually exciting to do something new. Now that I've seen the conditions in which the Bronx River is I could say that in order to improve its conditions we can clean the areas where there are pieces of garbage. We can also introduce other animals in order for the other living animals in the water to have more food webs.
ReplyDeleteIn yesterday's canoeing trip, seeing the condition of the Bronx River it looked more clean and less garbage was in the river. I think what should be done to improve it is to keep the river clean as it was yesterday because if the river is kept cleaned then the organisms can live longer. In addition,I think that the Bronx River Alliance should keep on making sure that the river is never going to get polluted because then the Bronx River Alliance can keep on bringing back more organisms that once lived in the Bronx River in the past. We can make this happen by making sure that more organisms live in the river for example, Alewife,Blue crabs, and other organisms. Also the Bronx River Alliance should improve on the condition of the Bronx River by planting more trees around the Bronx River so that more organisms can live in the estuary because with trees,it makes the place look all clean and more greener.
ReplyDeleteThe Bronx River Alliance should keep on protecting and restoring the Bronx River because the river provides the necessary slice of nature for ducks and bike-riders,turtles and toddlers,perch,tuliptrees, great blue(heron),and fathers and daughters with fishing poles. We could make this happen by making sure that the temperature of the Bronx River is balanced because the data that our group collected the temperature of the water was 22 degree celsius which means that the water is balanced and also that the organisms can live in the river. Also the dissolved oxygen was balanced, the dissolved oxygen in the Bronx River was 4ppm meaning that the saturation was .46%, the Bronx River Alliance should keep on improving the condition of the Bronx River by making sure that if any thrash is mistankenly thrown into the river that to throw it out and put in the places that it rightfully goes. In addition, the Bronx River Alliance should have different recycling bins so that they can put the garbages in the right recycling bins,in the end the Bronx River should be kept clean because then the environment will be clean and people will see that the Bronx River is an important estuary and the organisms that live in the river because they will live longer.
What I found interesting about the Bronx River was the video how they fixed the river. It was interesting to see the people helping out and it was also interesting to see the way the reentered certain types of species back into the river to make the environment more sustainable and balanced. Watching that video led to me to expect that the river would still be in good shape which it was and so was everything else around it. Although the river was different from what I expected because I did not expect the river to be in such a broad area or also so deep. I expected the river to a small stream like river in the middle of some small woods. The most interesting thing I learned on the trip was a person caught a shark in the river. The guide told me the shark was a sand shark and there are usually a few in the waters but these kind of shark don't have teeth. The most memorable thing I did on the trip was canoeing and beating Mr.Fox in a canoe race. After seeing the condition of the River I believe people can do things to maintain the rivers quality like littering less also not flushing waste through the toilet. Not doing that would stop the waste from ending up in the river and polluting it. People can also take a day off and clean the Bronx River or help restore a river near them.
ReplyDeleteThe interesting part of this trip was seeing the big difference about the Bronx River how it went from being a horrible and uncaring river to being a beautiful river in which we could enjoy in a positive way. It was so interesting how back then the river used to be a mess how cars, motorcycles even dead bodies would be thrown in the river. But now thanks to those who wanted to make a change by getting the river clean we were able to canoe and fish in this river. Back then no one would even dare to do these things like fish or canoe because it was just a disaster. But the job is still done because how back then people would be able to drink from that river but now probably no one will drink from that river for right now but it’s incredible how we are trying to fix the ecosystem because how we are putting new species to live in this new conditions. The next step is that we should look around our community and see what can we help. There is a lot of things we can volunteer and not just waste time. There is parks,streets and much more to get clean but if we continue to just pollute these beautiful sites then no one would be able to enjoy it because it will look terrible. We should maintain this river clean because it just looks beautiful and it’s a river that you can enjoy and spend a great time with friends and family and also let others enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI found interesting the process of how the Bronx river came to be, from a very mistreated river to a river that's no longer as polluted. The dedication put into making the river more sustainable and healthier for the environment really stood out to me. I knew that the river was not going to be the best river to swim in or fish at because even though there is much dedication into making it better, there is still a very bad history of pollution and garbage on this river. I still did expect to see some fish and species that were recently put back on this river, even though their mightve still been some dirty areas around the river. I didn't get to see many of the species that i expected to see but the river its not very clear, so i do not doubt that they were swimming around the river. At least i got to see a few blue crabs, and a few alewife. I also expected to see a bit more garbage on the river, and there was trash on the river but they put something on the river so that the trash does not go to the rest of the river or the ocean. The most interesting and memorable thing i learned from the trip was finding out the pH, temperature, salinity, and DO of the river. Also getting a chance to fish for blue crabs and getting on a canoe.The river up to this day is looking real good, how ever still one thing that can be fixed it the sanitation of the river. Making sure that no garbage at all is tossed into the river and the river one day becomes sanitized enough for any human or animal to drink from it. this could be done by literally having people check on the river everyday and making sure there is nothing harmful floating threw the river, and by making sure there’s no harmful chemicals in the river.
ReplyDeleteLearning about ph, temperature, DO, salinity and conductivity and Estuary influenced my expectations of the trip. The ways they influenced me was by knowing what type of fishes and other animals may live in the bronx river by taking different measures of the water. Also learning that the bronx river was a Estuary also a Brackish meaning its half fresh and half salty water it was recommended not to drink from which was hard to believe because once that water was going to be part of the New York water supplies. Learning about the bronx river past also influenced my expectation because i thought it was going to be more dirtier since it was used as a dumpster and dead bodies were found in that location. The trip was different from what i expected because i didn’t expect there to be a man getting energy from the sun to then be able and charge it in his house. Also i didn’t expect there to be a line the separates the water in which one side had garbage in it and the other side was clean enough for us to go canoeing.Also i didn’t expect the river water to give a very salty smell i thought it was going to be more fresher than salty and not look so green. The most interesting thing i learn was that there use to be a italy mafia around that river which traded and due to that the river was shut down for a while. The most memorable thing i did in the trip was canoeing which i was very afraid of because i never been so close to 20 feet of water in such a small boat and not knowing how to swim but i was glad i faced my fear and did it.What i think should be done to the river is surround it by more green like plants and trees.We do this by planting more trees and also making a garden around the area. Also what i think should be done is more people should join in cleaning the side of the river that is dirty.We could do this by allowing people to sign up on a website to join in on the cleaning and help around.A final thing that should be done is educate people to learn about why it’s so important to keep the bronx river water clean. We could do this by making the bronx river have open community opportunities from young kids to learn about the bronx river so they could grow up and keeping fresh and clean.
ReplyDeleteIn class, learning about the Bronx River I thought it was amazing how the people made a difference in cleaning the river. Before cleaning it, it was dirty and polluted. The video that we saw in class caught my attention because I saw kids around my age volunteering to clean their river. They brought a little more wildlife into the river. When we were all walking into the park, I didn’t want to canoe because I was afraid of the canoe tipping over and I fall into the river. I never went fishing because I didn’t have patients to sit and wait. When I sat down with my partner Jayson, all I kept doing was looking down at the water praying and hoping a crab would appear , when I looked away to the others who were canoeing I looked back down at the water and saw a crab approaching my bait, I got really excited and began to yell out for the green bucket. As I was pulling up the string with the crab, once the crab was close up to the surface and felt the air I’m guessing it got scared and it let go. I won’t forget when this happened. I won’t forget when I was canoeing with my partners Linda and Jayson was really fun because I was really scared at the beginning. When walking into the park and seeing the grass really green and well maintained. The water where we were canoeing and fishing was cleaner than the other side where we couldn’t go across. I learned how to test water. I tested the water and learned a lot. I think this will be a memorable trip that was very fun.
ReplyDelete-Rachelle Rodriguez
Recently, in class we've been learning about estuaries. An estuary is unique because it's where salt and fresh water mix. This process helps create a different type of habitat. Organisms such as oysters, blue crabs, jellyfish, and turtles have adapted to this brackish environment. Brackish water is the mixing of both salty and fresh water, which is found in estuaries. To test an estuary, there are four abiotic factors that test the water’s quality: temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and salinity. Temperature is the measure of kinetic energy, dissolved oxygen is the amount of oxygen gas that is dissolved in a sample of water, salinity is the measure of the dissolved salts in water and pH is the measure of the amount of hydrogen ions in a solution. These factors are important to test because it helps to determine if the water is in good condition for the organisms that live their. According to what I learned in class as years have passed, the Bronx River has become polluted. Surprisingly, enough when we went to the Bronx River I expected it to have a lot of garbage in the water however it wasn't exactly the case. Yes, there was few garbage, such as plastic bags and plastic bottles but I see how they are really trying to preserve the Bronx River. I think that in order to continue preserving the Bronx River we should help by NOT polluting the environment itself. This means don't litter! It can really go a long way and even help save a species habitat. I will always remember this trip because firstly it tough me a lot about species and a lot about this beautiful river we have (the Bronx River) and it was my first time going canoeing, it was a great experience! Anyways, organisms that live in estuaries are interesting because they have to learn to adapt to their environment in order to live. In a way living in an estuary kind of measures the limits of tolerance a specie is to have. Both species and humans need to learn to adapt to their environment and both need certain abiotic factors to help them survive.
ReplyDelete-Edelin Contreras / 2nd period.
It was very interesting to learn that an estuary contains fresh water from a stream and salt water from the ocean. This made me think about what kind of species live in an estuary. It really impressed me that through the process of the restoration of the Bronx River the local, state, and federal government have spent more than 100 million dollars. This is really good because it tells me how the improvement is shown based on the money spent. Because of that, I expected to see the estuary to be mostly clean. When we arrived to the river I saw little garbage close to the shore but most part of the water seems kind of fresh. It was very interesting that the guide told us that this part of the concrete park was used by the Italian mafia as a money laundering location, and that the concrete plant were used to make cement for the mafia to make cement shoes to drawn their enemies in the river. Learning how to canoe was the most memorable thing to do in this trip. When I touched the water I expected it to be hotter because the sun was out. It was really fun and I learned quickly for being the first time doing it. To improve the conditions of the river people should stop throwing trash in the river. A sign should be placed near the river to let people know that they shouldn't throw garbage inside the river.
ReplyDeleteThe trivia of the involvement of the mafia with the Bronx River was quite interesting. Knowing that humans were drowned there made me think of maybe the dead bodies were a major part of the contamination of the river and of whether it impacted other abiotic factors. Such possible intricate relationship between biotic factors and abiotic factors is riveting.
DeleteWhat I find interesting about this trip is the fact that this river is now so beautiful, compared to before when it was disgusting and known as trash dump. I didn't know that an estuary, a mix of salt and fresh water, could be so beautiful. I expected dirty green water with plastic bottles floating around and what i got was clean water with many organisms swimming around. For example, my group caught a jellyfish, not the ones that sting you, this jellyfish was just a clear blob. There were also Alewifes, small ones, slightly bigger ones and i'm sure there were more but i fell in the water and had to get out. The most memorable thing i did on the trip was conquer my fear of going in the water with other fishes, i'm terrified of living things swimming by me, iv seen too many deep sea scary movies. When one thinks of a jelly fish they immediately thing of a scary looking organism that can sting you, then someone has to pee on you, but i learned something completely different. I learned that not all of them can sting, to be honest, that was the most interesting thing i learned, other than the fact that if we all come together as a community there is nothing we cant accomplish. The only way to keep this river clean is to STOP throwing trash into the water, there are trash can literally on every block, this planet is our home, its about time we start treating it like it is. Also, no more dead bodies in the water, the whole mafia throwing bodies in the water DEFINITELY cant be good for the water.
ReplyDeleteIn class for the last two weeks we have being learning about estuary. An estuary is an enclosed body of water where fresh water and salt water meet and mix. It could also be where two bodies of fresh water meet and mix that are chemically distinct. To see an actual estuary we went to the Bronx River. The Bronx River 50 years ago was nothing compare to now because it was use as dumpster and it was abandon. The Bronx River Alliance helped clean the polluted river preventing to lose the only estuary in New York and the many lives of many different organisms like oysters and alewife. This trip made me realize how as human we can destroy things so easy and fast but as human we can also fix things if we put effort. The Bronx River is a great example. The river before used to be a great source for New York because of how cleans it was but after time we started polluting it and almost made it disappear. We were letting it disappear because we didn’t care and didn’t realize the importance of the river to maintain certain species alive like the alewife. The community took action when they realize that it was going to be too late if they didn’t act fast and protect the barely estuary because by then the river was abandon. The mayor wanted expand the highway that would of disappear the river. When people took action they changed the mind of New York to remove the river instead of preserving it. The river is now a place where you could go visit and go canoeing just like our class did. This show how when we humans work together we can accomplish major things like changing the environment for good but that only happens when we are on the same page and work together.
ReplyDeleteThank you for including that the river was going to disappear due to highway expansion projects, I seem to not have remembered this until I read your post. It was a pleasure to read just how in depth you considered the impact humans have in the environment and your realization of it. Seeing the evidence of human destruction unless in a rural area I believed was more than rare but you made me realize even a city can have it's share of nature destruction.
DeleteUnderstanding what an estuary is and its components really helped me develop a better understanding of the Bronx River and the different species that live there. Learning what an estuary is not only lets one see how nature works but how we humans effect the different organisms that live there. Not only affected by humans but by lunar or storm driven tides. I learned that in estuaries, all plants and animal species live in a transition zone where fresh and salt water meet. What causes change in estuarine environment fall into the two categories; abiotic and biotic. To measure changes we learned that biologists use factors that relate to natural processes humans actions include pH, Temperature, Salinity and Conductivity, and Dissolved Oxygen. My experience on this trip was very unexpected, I thought I wouldn't be so engaged into this body of water and it's organisms. However, after listening to the Bronx River's history and important it is to people who live near it changed my perspective. The most memorable experience from the trip was canoeing because it was the first time I've done it. Although I was skeptical about attempting it but I had fun and enjoyed it. I honestly believe that more people should be informed about the river, especially target the youth. Before I wasn't as interested in the Bronx River, but after receiving some information I want to see the Bronx River rehabilitation continue. Getting the youth involved can help improve the Bronx River, not only is it helping the environment but also spreading knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI find it quite interesting that although you find canoeing interesting, you wrote more about rallying youth to help restore the river. Do you believe that youth will really have the drive to restore the river and not just canoe on it?
DeleteI found everything we leaned interesting considering my passion for animals. I especially loved learning about the organisms that live in the Bronx river, like the Alewife, Blue Crab and all the abiotic factors that go into their survival rate such as pH and disolved oxygen. It helped influence my experience because I wasn't as ignorant when it came to identifying things like salt mashes and Alewife. The trip was everything I expected it to be since it has been a difficult task to recover from the disgusting filth described before. It's why I wasn't surprised when I saw a section of it cut off filled with floating trashbags and styrofoam cups. Also, all the articles that we read in class helped me visualize everything.
ReplyDeleteThe most interesting pat of my experience and most memorable were the moon jellyfish. While I was fishing with a net, I caught several blobs that at first I thought was mucus, when actuality they were a certain species of jellyfish called Moon Jellyfish. Apparently, they barely have any organs and have the ability to disperse but never recuperate again, almost like suicide, which I found very fascinating. I believe that in order to preserve and live a sustainable life, people need to stop littering. When we throw things on the floor without properly disposing them, most end up in our rivers, canals, and even estuaries. If we take that extra step of just throwing it out, we'll be helping not only the environment but our way of life.
Honestly, I would like to say that I’m very interested on how we learned what an estuary actually was; I never thought that a body of water would actually contain fresh water and salt water at the same time, which was pretty cool. I was very interested on how the results differed between the pH, D.O, temperature levels were in the estuary and the actually tap water back in the sink of the classroom, huge difference! & I was very surprised of how much progress that the cleansing mission to clean the Bronx River has accomplished! I thought that it was a very slow mission, but when I got the chance to see the river for myself, I thought very different. Also, I think that if the mission keeps on going at this very pace that is going on right now, the restoration would happen very quick. As for the experience, the canoeing was fantastic, how I saw some aquatic wildlife that I never heard before was very pleasing., for the example, the alewife, never seen it or heard of it until I saw it in the river. From this experience, we as people know that why it’s important to conserve water and just mess with it like if it didn’t have any value, because maybe someday, water may go disappear & maybe that’s when we finally know how it’s important and finally know not to pollute it.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the example because i didn't get to go on the trip but now i feel i know what happen because you explained it so well
DeleteIn class we had already seen videos of the Bronx River so when I went on the trip I already had an idea of what I was going to see. One surprising thing was that the river was 24 feet deep and that the crabs went all the way to the top of the water. The most memorable things I did on this trip was canoeing and fishing. I have gone canoeing but I never paddled and this was my first time paddling. Also, I have gone fishing but I didn’t have a lot of patience and after 10 minutes I would stop fishing but this time it was different even though I didn’t fish anything I didn’t give up right away. The Bronx River is the cleanest river I’ve seen in my entire life, it is well maintained. This demonstrates how teamwork and unity could make a difference in an environment that was completely destroyed. One thing that should be done to continue to improve the Bronx River is to not throw garbage in the water so it won’t pollute/kill the species.
ReplyDeleteI like how you mention the videos because i actually forgot that we much them and they kinda showed how the river was before major human influence
DeleteHonestly, I didn't go on the trip but these past two weeks gave me a lot information on the unit. This reminds me of living environment when I learned about how the environment affects animals, Because of this i saw how important estuaries are, because it can give homes to so many types of animals making it a big part of nature, because of this I am greatly impressed on how the cleansing of the Bronx river is going. The Bronx River even though is in the middle of a city is still part of nature so must maintain a balance, so by humans trying to restore it and then maintain it makes the world a better place because we done so much to ruin it.
ReplyDeleteknowing the abiotic factors of an estuary help me understand the importance of the bronx river. It even made me be more sustainable so that rivers like the bronx river wont end up like it was before it started getting restored. the things i learned in class helped me know for examples about the species that we were going to find in the river. it was fun almost catching a crab. the trip was everything i expected, i though the river was going to be more polluted but it was indeed cleaner than that. knowing that species were actually having life in a place that decades ago was dirty and polluted was the most memorable thing, that i would remember about this trip. also learning that the money the government gave was put to use with the success that the bronx river had. the bronx river is going to take a lot of years to finally be restore and the way we can help it is by keeping our enviroment cleaner and safer, so like that the waste people have everyday wont be send to a river like they used to use the bronx river as , as a waste place. knowing the fun you can have in rivers can help a person realized that when they don't recycle rivers get unhealthy and if they do , its good because they can go canoein like we did.
ReplyDeleteIn Enviromental Science we learned many thing that relates to our enviroment and how thing work. So far we have learned about estuaries and how things work in them. The thing i have found the most interesting is that abiotic factors can be lethal to any biotic organism in a estuary. Learning the few concepts about estuaries before the trip was really nice because what I had learned altered my experience due to that when i was out in the river I focused more on how we have changed some of the abiotic factors of the Bronx River through pollution. The river was everything i expected. Which is crucial because my expectations were extremely substandard prior to arriving in the river. Don't get me wrong i loved canoeing its an activity i want to continue doing it's just a shame that we have deteriorated a river that once was essential to human settlement. Throughout the course of Enviromental Science so far the most interesting I learned was how to check for abiotic factors because i believe thats the skill that will follow me for longer if i choose to pursue a career in science. In order for us to improve first we must stop polluting the river. Then we must inform people of the disaster of our loving river. After that we must unite and demand that the government invests more money on projects that will attempt to clean the river. Finally they must make laws that will protect the river.
ReplyDeleteBefore we went on the Bronx River, learning about all of the factors that go into play when looking at an estuary, like which animals are able to survive there and their unique factors that they all have in common really captivate my attention. I knew that difference species live in different bodies of water, but to know that the temperature of the water or the HP valance could affect everything really surprise me. Also, I found it really interesting how scientist and conservationist said that to restore the Bronx River to its natural state, it would take decades, yet people are so determine to preserve and make this body of water cleaner that they get together and as a community, work on trying to restore the river by doing things like creating artificially reefs, introduction alewife’s back into the estuary and cleaning out the Bronx River to the best of their ability. Just by learning all this information and seeing videos about it and the restoration process really made me excited for this trip and made me except a river that all though it wouldn’t be perfect, it would have organisms to see and explore and a wide open space for all to enjoy.The trip was actually very different from what I expected because I thought it would just be a simple, fun experience, but it was more than that. For example, it was challenging for me to canoe because even with a life vest, I am really scare of drowning and falling of the canoe, but after I took that risk and went through with it , the experience was 100% more rewarding than everything. Also putting on the outside to go in the water and try to catch organism was so fun and every different from what I thought it would be like, it was probably the best activity of the trip. When we were going finishing , I expected there to be moderate amount of garbage in the water since a lot of people choose to dump things in the river without really thinking about it, yet surprisingly the water was much cleaner then what I expected, which was a pleasant surprise. That really showed in a way all the hard and effort the volunteers put into cleaning this estuary.
ReplyDelete--Part 2--
ReplyDelete.During the whole process of learning about estuaries-which I didn’t even know existed before this, the most interesting thing I learn was how some fishes actually have to travel from salt water to fresh water or vice-versa in order to have babies or also known as spawning. This brings up a lot of questions in my mind (like why would they have to go to another water type to spawn? Or wont their babies get adjusted to the different type of water rather than what they will be living in?) Yet it fascinates me how this whole process works. Also I find it very interesting how estuaries have the ability to find homes for so many types of species since its fresh water on one side, salt water on the other, and mixed in the middle. During this trip I feel that everything will be memorable since it was an experience that u don’t get to do every day, yet one of the most memorable experiences from the trip would have to be the activity where we put on uniforms in order to go into the water and try to catch fish and anything else that we found because it was a way to get a hands on experience to see what the Bronx river had and see the efforts that all the voluntaries put into the river and trying to restore it.After the trip and actually getting to see the Bronx River in its current conditions I think that to improve it , there should be a bit more cleaning and try to get more organism into the river. I feel that the best way to actually get this – and some done is to have a day full of events and activities that has as their main focus to restores the river that we should all be able to enjoy. This event should take place around once a month and to encourage people to come, there should be a lot of advertising for it and people spreading the word about this event. This would be the best thing to make this happened because of a fun day, people who attend could became aware of what is going on in their community and that we all have to work together in order to restore this estuary to the beauty it once had , and still has on to this day.
When learning about estuaries and about the Bronx River, i was always skeptical to understand the purpose of learning it. Before attending the Bronx River we learn how it was extremely polluted and blighted do to Industrialization. In the 19th and 20th century it became a natural sewer. Meaning industrial waste was being poured daily. I asked my self why are we learning about an old sewer? Well after learning and experiencing The Bronx River, i was more than happy of doing so. I've learn that this River has been slowly getting cleaner. People have been working hard on making the Bronx River as clean as it used to be before we destroyed it, because of ignorance. To start of i was extremly shock when i saw the Bronk River, i couldn't picture the river i was canooing on was once a natural sewer. Even though theres still places to be clean, This investment of making the river clean again was a complete sucess. Visiting the Bronx River is something that people most really experience. I truly recommend it because when ever you here the Bronx, you never think about its river. But when seeing the diversity of that one river you would definely reconsider. The trees , plants, animals , and the massive river are all things you dont normally see in the city of New York. I give a lot of credit to The Bonk River Alliance for bringing back to live that environment. I would definitely consider contributing on events like this because i am interested in living in a sustainable life style.
ReplyDelete*Bronx
DeleteThere were many things that I found interesting throughout the days leading up to the trip. The most interesting had to be the about the estuaries themselves. It was interesting because I never knew there were waters that had both fresh water & salt water. I figured it would be hard for animals to live there but I also knew they would be adaptive to that environment. Another thing I learned & found interesting was how the water is tested. I thought it would be a lot more complicated but it turned out that it was actually really easy. I think what I learned influenced me by basically having me ready for what we would be doing on the trip & the type of environment I would be around. For example, we got to the Bronx River knowing how to test the water for each abiotic factor which saves us time. I also learned about how the river has had progress compared to how dirty it was years ago which made me expect a much dirtier river but it was actually cleaner on one side than it was on the other. While canoeing I felt the water & it actually felt really good, I thought the water would have felt different. I feel like the trip was what I expected because I expected a really fun trip & that is exactly what I experienced. I also thought I would see a lot of trash floating around in the river but I didn't see much of that if at all.
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DeleteIn the past 2 weeks of class what I’ve found to be the most interesting factoid is the effect nitrate has in aquatic life. This was only briefly covered when we were doing the water quality tests and we have yet to go in depth into it but it’s effects are fascinating. While temperature, ph and dissolved oxygen affect aquatic life directly nitrate does not. Nitrate is used as a food source for aquatic plants so only herbivorous aquatic animals will be directly affected by a fluctuation of nitrate levels. Other aquatic life will just have to navigate through more algae and other plants.
ReplyDeleteI made a connection between the Venus Flytrap and aquatic life. While the Venus Flytrap digests flies due to their high nitrogen content due to the low nitrogen level in their soil. I had thought that this was unique to Venus Flytrap and not that plants in general needed nitrogen to survive or thrive. I have an interest in fauna, enough so that botany could be a possible major, this new aspect of their growth has driven me to further research in botany.
That the Bronx River was twice considered to be a supplier of water to New York City is the most important fact I've learned of the Bronx River. Both in 1798 and 1832 the Bronx River was a possible candidate to supply New York City with water. While it hasn't occurred, the possibility that it actually could at one time be used for our tap water is astounding. Of course as it is no it is doubtful that it would be considered until the restoration efforts by the Bronx River Alliance is complete. That it could serve as a emergency water supply in case of an emergency and yet still be polluted and not more founding being set aside for it makes me think about the priorities of our leaders.
I found it interesting the way that people are repairing the river because I like nature and I think it’s cool to be able to see nature repair itself slowly and prosper. The trip was somewhat similar to what I had imagined, but I thought that the river was going to be flowing; instead it was blocked off by a dam. This makes me confused if it’s still an estuary since it’s blocked on one side. The canoe was definitely the most memorable part of the trip for me because it was the second time that I've been on a boat and it was exciting. While I was on the boat I saw a crab on the surface and I didn't know that crabs could swim, I always thought that they just crawled at the bottom of the river. I don’t know about the entire river, but if most of it is like the section that we were at, then I don’t think that much should be done to it except cleaning up the few cans and bags that are there and probably reintroduce some of the native species that died off.
ReplyDeleteIt’s been interesting learning about estuary and the factors that impact that the environment of abiotic factor in the mixture of fresh and salty water.I found it a struggle for this aquatic animals like the blue crabs,oysters,and etc. to have to adapt to a habitat like this where at times when there are high and low tides they get different concentration. What I learn about estuary in class inspire me to think differently about water pollution the effect abiotic factors and the salinity in the water levels.The experience of what I learned in class was a little different than what I expected on the trip to the Bronx River but mostly the same.For example i thought we were going to canoe with an adult in our canoe but we had fun learning for are self with partner of teamwork ,also learning how to test water was interesting on the different factor of substances in the water like dissolved oxygen,ph and salinity that the organisms in the water depend on to survive was the same as testing the water in class but easier since we gain more experience in class.I expected for the Bronx River to look a little different where there would be more animals and more trees but in was more of a park with benches and space and big construction pipes.the most memorable thing I did in the Bronx River was race in canoes and crashing into trees and then coming back in the race to come in second .Also I was into Carb fishing where we threw chicken and tried to catch carbs with a bucket. An interesting experience on the trip was learn how the fresh water was on top and the salty water was in the bottom so some plant could support living in estuaries. What we should do as a community is to help clean up estuary because there was lots of garbage in the water with hunt the environment of the organism living in the water.We should also replant trees in these area for the food chain to stay maintain.
ReplyDelete-Aneurys gonzalez,
This week has been very interesting since I didn't even know about estuaries. It was a surprise to learn that an estuary was near my neighborhood. I never really focused on the abiotic factors that keep organisms alive but learning the key four abiotic elements made me realize that we have the power to either damage or repair our environment. Most of the time I don't worry about hurting the environment, but now I'm trying to figure out ways to not damage it more than it already has been damaged. Big companies and their burning of fossil fuels have damaged the the temperature in the environment which in my opinion is an extremely important abiotic factor for living organisms because now the sudden change of temperature if causing them to die. This week has also been interesting because there has been a bigger realization of future generations not being able to enjoy the environment the same way our generation has, so why don't corporations use their heads to come up with different ways for us people to continue our daily lives, but without destroying our environment with the usage of the earth's natural resources? An alternative would be very useful in preserving the beauty of the environment and the safety of the living organisms on the planet other than humans.
ReplyDeleteEverything we learned prior to the trip I found very interesting just because of the fact that I always though that the Bronx River was a dirty wasteland. Then we learned how much effort organizations like “Rocking the boat” and others have put into making it beautiful. My expectations about the river were met, I knew exactly what I was going to see there. I knew that I was going to see a concrete plant, on the other side of the river an old industrial area, the loud noise from the train, lastly the trees and grass around the river. What immediately caught my eyes was a larger section of the river that was blocking a lot of waste from getting into the clean part of the river. This showed me that the people taking care of the park and river are really doing everything they can to keep it clean. Being at the Bronx River felt freeing from where I live because it was a wonderful experience and I felt happy that I got a chance to go on this trip. My favorite part of the trip was being in the canoe because I got to sit in every spot on it and learned how to row the canoe. If more money and time was put into the river it could be much more clean, people should gather together one or two times a month to clean and fix the river so that is can last a long time free of waste for future generations, they should get the experience I had.
ReplyDeleteLaddy Duarte – Period 5
I find it interesting how in the past, people have written articles about how Bronx River being really polluted and dirty with liter. Though, when on the trip, I was impressed of how much the river has improved of towards restoring back to its normal, healthy watered self. I read an article before and it has said how the Bronx River's water was so clean, that NYC actually tried to tap into its water system in order to provide drinking water. This shows how healthy the water was on the Bronx River and how human construction and littering has affected the river and made it really dirty and polluted. I actually appreciated Mr. Fox for organizing this trip because mostly I learned how much dedication and hard work workers have put into restoring the Bronx River. I also learned that the Bronx River is restoring slowly but with great progress. Though, when i was at the Bronx river canoe trip, i noticed how there were concrete plants around. Also, I learned that organizations like "Rock the Boat" are some of the people that are actually giving time to bring back the Bronx river.
ReplyDeleteAlgelis Pastor- Period 5
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ReplyDeleteWhen I went to the Bronx River, I noticed that people do not only need air to breathe, but we also need the beauty of places like the Bronx River.An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Many different species of fish live there, they feed many different types of birds. The people need those fish because they are not only a good aliment for humans, but also for other species. It is important to keep cleaning the Bronx River because its important to keep a sustainable life and environment. There is no reason why future generations should not enjoy the resources that we have today, since we know what to do to keep a sustainable life. We can recycle, use less water, stop cutting down trees, etc. We need to give back to others the things that we got by our ancestors.
ReplyDeleteAlfha Gonzalez