On one day each autumn, thousands of students from New York City to Troy participate in the annual “A Day in the Life of the Hudson and Harbor” event. Students collect scientific information to create snapshots of the river at dozens of locations, then share their data via the web so they can better understand how their piece of the river fits into the larger Hudson estuary ecosystem. “A Day in the Life” is sponsored by DEC’s Hudson River Estuary Program and produced with assistance from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University” (promotion from the Department of Environmental Conservancy (DEC)).
Counseling in Schools’ afterschool enrichment program at JHS 223 once again participated in this ecologically important event. The CIS Explorers Group, as they are called, joined DEC marine biologist Sarah Mount to examine one of the most southern points of data collection for the State, Valentino Pier and Park in Red Hook Brooklyn. Students eagerly conducted tests and gathered ecological data at the location where the Mighty Hudson meets the Great Atlantic Ocean. For several years now JHS 223 students participating in CIS after-school programs analyzed threats the river is facing and learned how their actions impact the river’s health and how the river’s health impacts them.
By bringing young people to join the DECs ecological analysis of the Hudson, CIS is supporting a platform from which students can take charge of their futures. The more these students learn about the physical world around them, the more confidence we all can have that they will be diligent custodians of a sustainable planet.
