HarborLAB provided two paddling programs at one of New York City’s most promising shorelines, Herman MacNeil Park. The site holds many access, safety, and environmental challenges but has the great advantage of immensely capable local advocates, Coastal Preservation Network. It could be truly amazing and is reachable by the Q25 bus from the heart of Jamaica.

Coastal Preservation Network hosted its annual Family Earth Fair yesterday on Saturday, June 4, and we honored to again provide the free public paddling element. After the program ended we held a special session for the Girl Scouts with Guardians of Flushing Bay. There were many lessons learned in terms of our new equipment and procedures, and it was a great demonstration of the abilities and dedication of HarborLAB students and volunteers. We’ll also join Coastal Preservation Network in advising our friends at NYC Department of Parks and Recreation on what landscape and infrastructure work must be done to make the site viable for safe and steady programming in the future.

Our apologies for canceling today’s program, June 5. We have students and volunteers ready to serve but three experienced program leaders are ill and we determined that without them the program could not be operated safely.

After a rain and water quality delay two weeks ago, HarborLAB had a great Newtown Creek Sweep! The event is coordinated with a wider regional Riverkeeper Sweep program. Under the direction of HarborLAB Board Member Ingrid Veras, PhD, biology professor at LaGuardia Community College and HarborLAB NYC Infrastructure Manager Elsie Perez-Ingabire, volunteers and students removed plastics, documented biota by uploading photographs and observations to iNaturalist and this year paid particular attention to access possibilities along the creek.

As Dr. Veras explained, “We need safe access to the creek so we  can educate our students and the community about the importance of proper garbage disposal and preserving our environment and our waters for future generations, and to show them the impact our actions have on ecosystems.”

Special thanks to HarborLAB Student Outreach Manager Jamilah Grizzle and volunteer Richard Furlong for assisting with the program.

Thank you, Jamilah Grizzle, for tabling for HarborLAB at CUNY LaGuardia Community College! Thank you Holly Porter Morgan and the environmental science program for putting the event together and for advancing the LIC Greenway effort! Thank you Scott Sternbach and Rich Furlong for supporting Jamilah’s efforts!

If you’d like HarborLAB to come to you school or university, drop us a note at edu@harborlab.org!