Tag Archives: science

Catskills Boating with ReservoirLAB!

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The view from the ReservoirLAB launch Chandler’s Cove on the Neversink Reservoir in the Catskill Mountains.

HarborLAB warmly invites NYC public schools and community organizations to paddle with us for FREE on our Neversink Reservoir kayak and canoe fleet to learn about the natural and engineering wonders that make our city’s water wealth possible!

Here are our initial program dates:

June 10 and 11
July 8 and 9
August 5 and 6
Sept 10 and 11
Sept 17 and 18
Oct 8 and 10
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We’ll add dates as volunteer staffing and public demand both grow.
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To participate please email edu@harborlab.org with the subject line “Neversink Reservoir.” To volunteer for this program, please email volunteer@harborlab.org with the subject line “Neversink Reservoir.”

All adult participants must have free access permits from the NYCDEP. Apply here:  http://www.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/recreation/access.shtml

No permit is required of children under the age of 16 if accompanied by a valid permit holder over the age of 18, as will always be the case with our programs. Anyone 16 years old or older must apply for a permit.

Bus transportation grants are available from the Watershed Agricultural Council for groups incorporating forestry education into their visits to the Neversink Reservoir. ReservoirLAB will take participants on forest walks and using NYCDEP materials we’ll teach how forests protect and clean our drinking water. Classroom visits by NYCDEP professional educators also cover this topic. Apply for grants here:  http://www.nycwatershed.org/forestry/education-training/urbanrural-school-based-education-initiative/bus-tours/ 

We’re grateful to HarborLAB Camping Co-Manager Ray Tan for exploring alternative affordable busing options.

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HarborLAB educator Kamala Redd and camping co-manager Ray Tan exult in the knowledge that ReservoirLAB will soon launch!

 

The ReservoirLAB program is provided by HarborLAB volunteers and was made possible by a Catskill Watershed Corporation grant and its kind donation of boat racks; the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, which taught our volunteers to be “watershed docents” and provides reservoir access (NYCDEP also provided funds to the CWC for the grant); and ExxonMobil’s community outreach program for the Greenpoint Remediation Project, which financed a dozen volunteers’ Red Cross certification in CPR, AED, and First Aid (all for juveniles and adults) and basic water rescue for all of our programs from the Newtown Creek to the Neversink Reservoir. HarborLAB Facilities Manager Patricia Erickson is kindly allowing HarborLAB to use her mobile home as a camping base (for volunteers serving multiple days) and equipment storage site near the Neversink River and reservoir. Frost Valley YMCA has stored our five canoes and ten tandem kayaks, and our paddles and live vests, while we completed training and permits.

Below is a gallery of photos from a recent site coordination meeting of HarborLAB volunteers with NYCDEP and CWC officials at the Neversink Reservoir. Note nearby campgrounds, posters about invasive species and other environmental matters, a hiking path, Chandler’s Cove, and the boat racks donated to us by the CWC.

ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.
ReservoirLAB, a HarborLAB program based at the Neversink Reservoir, provides educational paddling programs to teach NYC youth about our drinking water.

Sweet Sweep of the Creek!

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HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.

HarborLAB volunteers, environmental science students from CUNY LaGuardia Community College, and a mix of visitors from other schools and walks of life had a fantastic time tending to the Newtown Creek on Saturday! Our work was part of the annual Riverkeeper Sweep of Hudson River and estuary sites from New York City to Albany. Our Newtown Creek home base is a waterway so blighted with pollution that it qualifies for the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund cleanup program.

HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep had two basic components, cleaning and gardening. We offered a variety of activities so that people of all ages and abilities could participate. More than 30 people helped over the course of the day. We were especially grateful to have educators among us to add learning to the labor. Holly Porter-Morgan, Diana Szatkowski, Harald Parzer, and Thomas Dieter brought knowledge and encouragement to our students and volunteers.

The core of the program was removing plastics from our shoreline and the creek itself. Volunteers wend their way through broken bulkheads and boat lines to pick trash from the shores while our canoes went out in two waves to scoop up litter, mostly plastic bottles and bags. These smaller items filled seven large trash bags. Larger hauls included a lawn mower, two chairs, a 55-gallon steel drum, a bird feeder, and antiquated electronic sound systems.

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We’re under no delusion that our cleanups will remove the tonnage necessary for an ecosystem rebound, but the exercise educates people about the severity of the plastics problem. So what works if picking up plastics is a measure that’s too little, too late? Recycling is also an inadequate solution by itself because it requires a great amount of energy (often from carbon-releasing fossil sources) and sustained administrative focus. With petroleum and other commodity prices low, private carters in New York City are recycling even less material than usual despite New York City’s public commitment to eliminating waste. While a reduction in unthinking, rampant consumerism is laudable, instilling new virtues across the culture will be a slow process. Real penalties and enforcement for littering will help a bit, but not enough. That leaves voters and activists to demand a reduction in wasteful packaging at the design and production stage. We must also push to eliminate combined sewer overflows, which gulch marine debris as well as pathogens and other pollutants.

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Gardening was also a big part of the day, and is a huge part of HarborLAB’s work. Volunteers — especially a group from New Hyde Park High School — made thousands of native pokeweed seed balls that we’ll distribute as we land at rest stops on our harbor journeys across to stabilize shorelines, buffer storm surges and waves, feed birds, and sustain pollinators. Those up for heavier lifting helped restore our shoreline by layering cocoa husks from MAST Brothers Chocolate with burlap sacks, kitchen scraps, and soil in a system called “lasagna composting.” This fresh soil covers a broken brick substrate that mimics the glacially transported rocks of our region. The resulting slop will be planted with staghorn sumac, pokeweed, goldenrod, milkweed, and other indigenous species, and footed by smooth cordgrass and shellfish. Some of these species are already making headway. We were delighted to see that our dozens of shadbush saplings were fruiting copiously and our hackberry and American persimmon are also thriving. Our raised bed and container-grown dessert cultivars are doing great too, including apricots, apples, pears, and figs.

We’re tremendously grateful to all who came and helped, and to Riverkeeper for creating this unifying event and helping direct volunteers to sites.

 

HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.
HarborLAB’s Newtown Creek Sweep, part of the Riverkeeper Sweep event at sites from NYC to Albany.

 

 

Hunters Point Eco-Day Memories

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Seedball making team ! Questus at Hunters Point Community Middle School with HarborLAB.

HarborLAB and friends from new sponsor Questus shared a wonderful day improving the ecology of Hunters Point and enhancing the environmental science programs of Hunters Point Community Middle School. The students made the day even sunnier, and we got so much done!

We started the day by continuing HarborLAB’s work to turn our launch on the Newtown Creek Superfund site into a green and welcoming habitat area and orchard. We planted more shadbush and tended to our orchard trees, built up fresh and composting soil cover on our sloping bank, cleaned the shore, and gathered pokeberries for our seeding program. Questus Co-Founder Jeff Rosenblum joined HarborLAB Facilities Manager Patricia Erickson in revamping our water access, preserving our dock and replacing — and better securing — our ladder. They did a stellar job!

The rest of us headed over to Hunters Point Community Middle School with a wheelbarrow of supplies to make seed balls! Our partners were Mary Mathai’s special needs science students and the school’s Eco Club. The students were delightful, and Ms. Mathai, other faculty members, and Principal Sarah Goodman have been amazing partners with HarborLAB since before the school even opened!

Seedballs are an efficient way to distribute seeds with a nutritive soil head start, whether for agriculture or habitat strengthening. HarborLAB got its start through lessons provided by the NYC Seedball community. We make our seedballs from powdered red clay, compost, cocoa shells, a pinch of sand, and seeds gathered from indigenous shoreline plants. Our Hunters Point Eco-Day seeds were seaside goldenrod gathered by Hunters Point Community Middle School students last year. Goldenrod is a vital part of our estuary, sustaining butterflies and other beneficial insects and sheltering the nests of black skimmers, one of our most unusual shorebirds. The HarborLAB and Questus team worked with the students in two sessions, with two or three adults to a table. The group effort produced thousands of seedballs and the kids will use up leftover material next week.

This activity and our illustrated presentation reinforce curricular lessons about the purposes of flowers, fruits, and seeds, and how seeds are distributed in nature. Seedballs replicate frugivorous endozoochory, or how animals spread seeds, packaged in dense nutrition, through their droppings after eating fruits. When students gather seeds with us, they learn how to identify plant species and about how plants support other species and stabilize shorelines. We also discuss, of course, how plants can remove CO2 from our air to reduce climate chaos and ocean acidification. All spring and summer, HarborLAB volunteers and students distribute seedballs as we paddle shore to shore, under the direction of conservation groups and park and preserve authorities.

The Questus team also enjoyed peer bonding, diving into a delicious lunch provided by COFFEED LIC Landing in Hunters Point South Park and canoeing from the HarborLAB GreenLaunch to the mouth of the Newtown Creek on the East River. In both cases they were exhilarated by Manhattan skyline views.

We’re deeply grateful to Questus’ team for their support and camaraderie, and to the students and faculty of Hunters Point Community Middle School for their spirited engagement in education to meet our world’s ecological challenges.

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Questus afloat with HarborLAB!

Seedball Making at LaGuardia Community College!

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Seedballs. Photo by Maureen Regan, president and founder of Green Earth Urban Gardens.

Hurricane Sandy, pollution, and development have stripped away much of our dune and coastal meadow habitats, so HarborLAB is joining the effort to restore them! To this end, HarborLAB and other conservationists are following Permaculture farmers in adopting an ancient Japanese and North American no-till agriculture tool that mimics the natural dung distribution of seeds (called endozoochory). It’s simple: make a ball of clay, compost, and seeds and toss them over the area to be revived. The warmth and rains of spring and summer then signal the seeds to germinate. Before long we’ll green the shores of NYC by bombarding them with seed love from our armada of kayaks and canoes!  😉

HarborLAB volunteers learned the art from SeedBall NYC‘s Co-founder and President Anne Apparu in a room made available to us by Dr. Sarah Durand of the Natural Sciences department at CUNY LaGuardia Community College. We made several hundred seed balls, and will make thousands more! The trick is to get the proportions right so that the balls hold together firmly but dry out before the seeds germinate. In terms of consistency, think cookie dough.

Another great instruction resource comes from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

HarborLAB used seeds we gathered with Hunters Point Community Middle School and Dr. Stephen Grosnell‘s Baruch College conservation biology students from Gantry Plaza State Park, Hunters Point Park, and our own GreenLaunch, along with seeds provided by SeedBall NYC and Briermere Farms. Hunters Point Parks Conservancy Vice President Mark Christie kindly help guide us in our seed gathering. Species included aster, milkweed, beach plum, beach pea, goldenrod, viburnum, pine, switchgrass, pokeberry, and the humorously named panicgrass (gallery below). These salt-tolerant species support endangered monarch butterflies and other pollinators, and feed birds. They also stabilize the shoreline, allowing complex ecosystems to develop while also protecting property from surges and erosion. We also gathered beach rose from Hunters Point South Park but must be very careful about where to use them, if at all, for biological productivity without enabling invasion.

See Newtown Creek Alliance historian Mitch Waxman‘s great write up of one of our outings at Queens Brownstoner.

We’re also grateful to Maureen Regan, president and founder of Green Earth Urban Gardens for participating and to Gil Lopez, president and co-founder of Smiling Hogshead Ranch Urban Farm, for inviting a naturalist to join us. We also thank the New York State Department of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation for permission to gather seeds. An especially welcome newcomer was Philip Anthony Borbon, a sailor who moors on the Queens waterfront of the Newtown Creek.

Our next step is to go into classrooms to make seedballs with kids, and to then bring the balls with us when we paddle to areas in need of habitat restoration! If you’d like a classroom talk and seedball making activity with HarborLAB, please email us at edu@harborlab.org!