On October 15 the HarborLAB Board voted to add three new members. We are honored and grateful to include these outstanding people in our community!
Jamie Ong Environmental Protection Project Manager, NYC Department of Parks & Recreation.
Prior to joining the board, Jamie Ong worked with HarborLAB volunteers for the benefit of the habitat of South Brother Island, a Harbor Heron Preserve.
Ingrid Veras, PhD Assistant Professor of Biology, CUNY LaGuardia Community College.
Prior to joining the board, Dr. Veras came out with HarborLAB on Newtown Creek, a waterway she’s monitored for years alongside her colleagues and students.
Ebony Young Nonprofit leader, CSR executive. Update: Appointed Deputy Borough President of Queens.
Prior to joining the board, Ebony Young partnered with HarborLAB for Instruction for Inclusion winter pool sessions at the LIC YMCA and supported our work as a corporate executive.
The Peace Lanterns Festival at Gantry Plaza State Park.
Because of pandemic safety considerations, we agreed with NYS Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to not host a Peace Lanterns Festival this year. Please instead accept these words of peace from our co-producers and partners.
“On this UN International Day of Peace we HarborLAB volunteers reaffirm our deeply held and scientifically validated guiding principle that peace relies on a healthy global environment. Unchecked climate chaos will bring water wars and refugee crises. Responsibly used science will bring water wealth, sustainable and cruelty-free food choices and energy options that lift us out of fossil fuel dependence. HarborLAB volunteers work toward peace by helping people, especially the young, to derive lessons from billions of years of evolution and to recognize that this legacy of a living world must be justly shared.
We look forward to holding our Peace Lanterns Festival in person again at Gantry Plaza State Park as usual next year. As a STEM education organization, we note that such a return to health and normalcy will be achieved thanks to those who act with compassion and in accordance with evidence by masking and receiving vaccinations to end the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Erik Baard Founder and Executive Director HarborLAB Co-Producer of the annual Peace Lanterns Festival
“On this year’s International Peace Day, I would like to bring your attention to the Treaty on the Prohibition of the Nuclear Weapons, which has been signed by 86 countries and ratified by 55 countries, and came into effect on January 22 this year. Though nations that possess nuclear weapons have not signed it, it is time to start eliminating nuclear weapons before they greatly damage our planet. If just one of the 13,000 nuclear weapons were used, even accidentally, it could explode with more power than up to 5,000 of the bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In a spiritual sense, may we nurture our mind-eyes to see the preciousness of all lives regardless of our tastes, likes and dislikes, friends and enemies, without discrimination. May all beings be happy, well and peaceful.”
Rev. Toshikazu Kenjitsu Nakagaki, DMin Founder and President Heiwa Peace and Reconciliation Foundation of New York Co-Producer of the annual Peace Lanterns Festival
“On this International Day of Peace, the 2.4 million residents of Queens renew our hope for an end to conflict and for the successful resolution of all issues that lead to conflict, including environmental crises such as global warming and health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. Our borough’s diverse communities unite with the world in calling for all nations to work together in peace to build a more sustainable future.”
The Honorable Donovan Richards Queens Borough President
“With a singular view of the United Nations from across the East River, Gantry Plaza State Park offers tranquil repose in quiet celebration of the value of our natural world. We thank the community and all our partners for appreciation of the critical importance of the environment to our health and overall peace of mind.”
Leslie Wright NYC Regional Director NYS Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Due to uncertainties introduced by the Delta variant of COVID-19, HarborLAB will steer a narrower safety course for the balance of 2021 while still remaining active. As before our programs will be staffed by volunteers who are fully vaccinated, but we will now require the same of those we serve. In practical terms, that means youth ages 12 (the current youngest age for vaccination) and up affiliated with trusted nonprofit and school partners. We’ll work in groups of up to 10 participants on the water at any given time, composed of 2-4 HarborLAB volunteers and up to 8 guests (youth and partnering organization chaperones).
HarborLAB can offer youth groups:
Introductions to paddling and the estuary throughout NYC, and in particular at Gantry Plaza State Park — 12 and up.
Stewardship paddles, to weed and seed and remove plastics on remote shores and islands within NYC — 16 and up.
Educational paddle tours (natural history, energy systems, climate chaos and resilience) — 16 and up.
Remote lectures and presentations — all ages.
We will not be offering “open paddles” to the general public because we can’t guarantee masking and/or distancing as recommended by the CDC for even outdoor events where people might not all be vaccinated.
In September we will not produce the Peace Lanterns Festival as usually conceived, but will strive to safely adapt our commemoration of NYC’s 9/11 losses and celebration of World Peace Day (9/21/21) to these new circumstances. .
This is disappointing but domestic cultural resistance to vaccination efforts and inadequate vaccination assistance globally have allowed the pandemic to persist through mutation. HarborLAB is a very small organization and must follow the data and be realistic about our ability to provide safeguards to unvaccinated youth and other vulnerable people, both potentially in our programs and in contact with people who could experience breakthrough infections.
Thank you for understanding and please let us know if your organizations or schools might benefit from small, targeted environmental STEM programs for vaccinated youth and their vaccinated chaperones. Sincerely,
9TENTATIVE) FREE KAYAKING! July 25, 10am-1pm at Gantry Plaza State Park (Heat Advisory/Storm Watch/Flash Flood Watch/Storm Watch Postponement from July 17)
We apologize but our boats are outside NYC with a volunteer who is recovering from a life-threatening blood parasite. If another volunteer is able to transport the boats on Saturday, we will move forward. Otherwise we must delay.
As part of City of Water Day, come enjoy free kayaking at the dock in Gantry Plaza State Park (50thAve and Center Blvd) from 10am to 1pm (sign-up ends at 1230pm and last boats go out at 1245pm).
This is a super mellow 15-minute introduction to kayaking and our estuary within part of a small embayment. The views are fabulous!
No registration needed. Just sign a waiver, wait on line, and follow instructions and commonsense safety practices.
What to bring:
1) Clothing and sturdy shoes you don’t mind getting wet. Quick drying nylons are great. 2) Sun protection, as you would for a day at the beach. We recommend these eco-smart choices: https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/executive-summary/ 3) A reusable water bottle to refill from fountains and tap. 4) Snacks that eliminate or at least minimize packaging. 5) A dry pouch for electronics. Salt water is no friend of mobile phones.
Safety tips (not exhaustive): 1) No running or lingering on the dock or ramp. Head down only when directed and back up immediately after getting out of your boat. 2) Wear only flat shoes like sneakers and sandals and boat shoes, and feel free to leave them on the dock. 3) Sit down on the dock immediately upon reaching your boat. Don’t stand around, and certainly don’t step into your boat or stand on your boat. 4) Avoid rocky areas and piers. Stay in the center of the water. Don’t stray past the buoy line. 5) Stay in the center of your boat. Don’t lean, sit sideways, or engage in horseplay. 6) No drugs, including alcohol, that could impair you. 7) Life vests must be worn fully clipped and snugly on the ramp, dock, and boats at all times. 8) Follow all instructions given by volunteers.
PLEASE OBEY PANDEMIC PROTOCOLS. If your licensed medical doctor recommends vaccination, please get vaccinated. If your licensed medical doctor says that you’re medically unable to receive a vaccination, please wear a mask.
We thank the Hudson River Foundation & NY/NJ Harbor and Estuary Program and Waterfront Alliance and our regular sponsors for supporting and promoting this program, which is brought to you by HarborLAB volunteers.
STORM AND FLASH FLOOD WATCHES This is a direct danger to programs starting at 2PM, but even more certainly a danger to volunteers who must pack away and transport boats. We have no boats on site, so we must bring them there. We are working hard to raise funds for a mobile boathouse solution to overcome the lack of a boathouse at Gantry and other sites. At the moment we must bring boats back and forth from Poughkeepsie but expect to have our fleet inside NYC again by August.
WATER QUALITY
From the NYC Water Trail Association, a lead partner in the local citizen scientist water monitoring program: Still recovering from the parting of the skies last Thursday night. On Friday the Department of Environmental Protection issued advisories for 32 waterbodies, which might be a record. This week the Department of Health, which follows different protocols, issued its first advisories of the season for public bathing beaches. Click here to see our latest results.
Note that Gantry alone is in the yellow caution level, while all other sites in the immediate area are red. That gives us cause to suspect that the result might be an outlier.
HEAT ADVISORY Issued By New York City – NY, US, National Weather Service
HEAT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM EDT THIS EVENING… WHAT…Heat index values in the upper 90s. Action Recommended Execute a pre-planned activity identified in the instructions ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Highest temperatures and heat index values expected between 1 PM and 5 PM. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! In cases of heat stroke call 9 1 1.
On the bright side, no plague of locusts (don’t make mean comments about the innocent cicadas), no frogs raining from the sky and the East River isn’t running red with blood.
HarborLAB is coming to the realization that with more frequent extreme weather events, we will need to be more nimble. mobile, and able to provide alternative programming (like making seed balls, for example). Our volunteers will have a discussion this week about these approaches and others. Also, a physical boathouse at Hunters Point South for HarborLAB, as earlier announced by the City, would greatly ease logistics. safety concerns, and maintenance of equipment.
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