JOHN WALDMAN TALKS ABOUT THE CHALLENGES FACING NEW YORK HARBOR’S WILDLIFE.

New York Harbor has a long history that starts way back in the 1600s. It’s home to all kinds of species and wildlife, but throughout the 19th and 20th centuries the harbor was filled with trash and sewage sending the harbor on a downward trajectory. But now, it’s making a comeback and things are looking better. Today on the show we’re talking to John Waldman. He’s the author of Heartbeats in the Muck: The History, Sea Life, and Environment of New York Harbor which is now available from Fordham University Press.

An audio podcast of Waldman’s talk is streamable here.

JOHN WALDMAN TALKS ABOUT THE CHALLENGES FACING NEW YORK HARBOR’S WILDLIFE.

New York Harbor has a long history that starts way back in the 1600s. It’s home to all kinds of species and wildlife, but throughout the 19th and 20th centuries the harbor was filled with trash and sewage sending the harbor on a downward trajectory. But now, it’s making a comeback and things are looking better. Today on the show we’re talking to John Waldman. He’s the author of Heartbeats in the Muck: The History, Sea Life, and Environment of New York Harbor which is now available from Fordham University Press.

An audio podcast of Waldman’s talk can be streamed here.

Friday, November 9, 2018 at 7:00 PM

Hunter College, West Building, Room HW615

This page describes a past event hosted by the Institute for Sustainable Cities and co-organized by NYC H2O.  You can find more information about the event, including Adam Bosch’s slides used in the lecture, at this NYC H2O event page.  You can view video of the event at this NYC H2O Facebook page.

Adam Bosch, Director of Public Affairs for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), will discuss how DEP operates, maintains, and protects the largest municipal water supply in the United States. The talk will also include a special look at the $1 billion Delaware Aqueduct Bypass Tunnel project, the largest repair in the 176-year history of the City’s water supply.

The water supply is considered a marvel of modern engineering. Its system of reservoirs and aqueducts supplies 1 billion gallons of water each day to 8.6 million people in New York City and another 1 million people in the counties of Westchester, Putnam, Orange and Ulster. The programs that protect its reservoirs in the Catskills are considered a worldwide model for protecting the quality of water at its source.

As director of public affairs, Adam is charged with broadly sharing information about the City’s water supply with members of the public, local journalists, elected officials, and through education programs. Before joining DEP in 2012, Adam was a journalist in New York for more than a decade. His reporting earned five Associated Press awards for investigative reporting, breaking news coverage and public service.

Adam Bosch will be introduced by Dr. Allan Frei, Hunter College Professor of Geography, and Deputy Director of the Institute for Sustainable Cities at Hunter College.  Dr. Frei will discuss the ongoing climate modeling project he directs to understand the potential impact of climate change on New York City’s water system.

This free event is presented in collaboration with NYC H2O, and is open to the Hunter College community and the general public.  To RSVP for the event please click this link to the Eventbrite page.

NEW YORK LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS FORUM: GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE DELAWARE RIVER WATERSHED

Wednesday, June 20, 2018 at 10:00am
Ethelbert B. Crawford Public Library, 479 Broadway, Monticello, NY 12701

This policy forum will focus on the economic, social, and environmental benefits of green infrastructure (GI) as an approach to managing stormwater. We are bringing together expert speakers and panelists to provide an overview of green infrastructure vs. traditional gray approaches and how it can be used to protect and restore water quality in the Delaware River Watershed region. From innovative examples to barriers and opportunities, this policy forum will equip local landowners and municipal leaders with the information and tools needed to get involved and bring more GI to their communities.

Refreshments will be provided.

SPEAKERS/PANELISTS:

• George Schuler, The Nature Conservancy

• Freda Eisenberg, Commissioner, Sullivan County Department of Planning

• Paul Beyer, Director of Smart Growth, New York State Department of State

• Stephanie P. Dalke, Pinchot Institute for Conservation

• Bryan Quinn, Environmental Entrepreneur, founder and principal of One Nature

• Jeff Skelding, Executive Director, Friends of the Upper Delaware River

• Molly Oliver, Delaware County Department of Watershed Affairs

• Diana Weiner, Sullivan Renaissance

Register at this NYLCV event page.

NEW YORK CITY’S STREAMS – A LECTURE BY ERIC SANDERSON

As beautiful as New York can be at times, the big buildings are as nothing compared to the humble artistry of a free-flowing stream running down to the sea. In this presentation, Dr. Eric Sanderson of the Welikia Project at the Wildlife Conservation Society and author of Mannahatta: A Natural History of New York City, looks back at the more 700 miles of streams that once coursed through the five boroughs.

After seven years of effort, he will share for the first time the digital elevation model of the pre-development topography his team has built, discuss why the climate and geology of the city together make our landscape conducive to streams and springs, give a borough by borough tour of ancient watersheds, and suggest how we can bring living water back to the stony city again.

Presented in collaboration with NYC H2O.  This event is free and open to the public, but we strongly encourage making a reservation at this Eventbrite site.

Friday, December 8, 2017, 7:00 to 9:00 PM, Hunter College West Building, Room HW-714

Enter Hunter College through the main entrance on the southwest corner of 68th Street and Lexington Avenue.

Eric Sanderson PhD is a landscape ecologist at the Wildlife Conservation Society. He is the author of Manahatta: A Natural History of NYC and Terra Nova: The New World After Oil, Cars, and Suburbs and other books.

Spend a visually engaging evening with Stacy Levy at a lecture on water, art, and ecology. Levy is an internationally known artist who specializes in creating artful, site-specific interventions and engagements with water ecology. This event will explore Levy’s collaborations with urban nature that meld art, engineering and ecology.

“Water is one of our favorite substances, yet we know very little about its ways,” says artist Stacy Levy. She explores the less visible aspects of water, from tiny microorganisms to large watersheds. This event will explore Levy’s collaborations with urban nature that meld art, engineering and ecology.

The lecture is presented in collaboration with NYC H2O, and will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 PM, Friday, May 12, 2017, in the Hunter College West Building, Room HW714.  The event is free and open to the public, but requires RSVP at the Eventbrite page.

Preceding the lecture, Levy will lead an interactive workshop from 4:00 to 5:30 PM. Workshop attendees will consider formerly visible waterways to create a temporary visualization of extinct patterns through a participatory drawing activity.

A multi-disciplinary conference to imagine the potential for Green Infrastructure to act as a catalyst in driving urban design into the 22nd century.

The Institute for Sustainable Cities at Hunter College joins the City College of New York Student Chapter of the America Society of Landscape Architects to invite students and professionals from design, planning, engineering, and environmental fields to attend a day-long symposium and charrette to identify opportunities and strategies to expand the scope of green infrastructure.  This is an opportunity for the next generation of urbanist thinkers to catalyze and interdisciplinary and protracted approach to urban design.

The conference will take place on Friday, April 14, 2017, from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM in the Hunter College West Building, Room HW714.

Landscape architecture professional attendees of the conference will be eligible for 3.0 continuing education credits for attending the conference and participating in the design charrettes.

Advanced registration is required.  Click here to register.  Registration is $10 for students and $25 for professionals and the public.

Schedule:

Keynote  9:30 to 10:15 AM
Mark A. Focht, Deputy Commissioner & Chief Operating Officer, NYC Department of Parks and Recreation

Panel 1: How Can We Design Green Infrastructure with Greater Impact?  10:30 AM to 12:00 PM
Rebecca Hill, RAFT
Alex Renner, E-Design
Thomas Reeves, FXFOWLE
Andrew Lavallee, Siteworks (moderator)

BYO Brown Bag Lunch  12:00 to 1:00 PM

Panel 2: How Can Green Infrastructure Engage More People and Places?  1:00 to 2:30 PM
Shaun O’Rourke, Green Infrastructure Director, The Trust for Public Land
Jason Smith, Biodiversity Ecologist, NYC Dept. of Environmental Protection
Lindsay Campbell, USDA Forest Service, NYC Urban Field Station
Thomas Rainer, Co-author, Planting in a Post-Wild World
Andrew Lavallee, Siteworks (moderator)

Gowanus Blue Charrette: Designing for Zero CSOs

Introduction  2:45 to 3:15 PM
Andrea Parker, Executive Director, Gowanus Canal Conservancy

Workshop  3:15 to 4:15 PM
Break into interdisciplinary groups to address design challenge.

Conclusion  4:15 to 5:00 PM
Presentation of designs and final remarks.

E.E. Cummings once wrote, sitting near the long-since forgotten edge of Minetta Water in Greenwich Village,

…For whatever we lose (like a you or a me),
it’s always our self we find in the sea.”

In this talk, Dr. Eric W. Sanderson of the Wildlife Conservation Society will attempt to find the part of the soul of New York City in its waterways, some missing, others less so.  We will wade into the braided streams of different disciplines, geology, hydrology, cartography, literature, ecology, as the Welikia Project does, to reconstruct the historical streamscape of New York. We will also flow forward to make visions of future waters through the Visionmaker Project. Sanderson will discuss latest findings from a new book about the Prospects for Resilience for Jamaica Bay, with special relevance to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers $3.8 billion plan to stabilize the Rockaway Peninsula and reduce flooding with a system of tidal gates.

Eric Sanderson, Ph.D. is a landscape ecologist at the Wildlife Conservation Society. He is the author of Manahatta: A Natural History of NYC and Terra Nova: The New World After Oil, Cars, and Suburbs  and other books.

This event is presented in collaboration with NYC H2O.  The presentation is free and open to the public, but please RSVP through this link.

The Institute for Sustainable Cities at Hunter College is pleased to host this presentation by Eric W. Sanderson, Ph.D. on Friday, December 9, 2016 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM at Hunter College, West Building, Room W615.  Please enter Hunter College through our main entrance on 68th Street at Lexington Avenue.  Our campus is most easily accessed via the number 6 MTA subway line, 68th Street – Hunter College Station.

Friday, November 20, 2015, 7:00 – 9:00 PM

Room 714 Hunter West Building

The Institute for Sustainable Cities at Hunter College is pleased to present “Bringing Back New York’s Oysters”, a presentation by Pete Malinowski, Director of the Billion Oyster Project, to discuss the Project’s efforts to rebuild the oyster reefs that once populated New York Harbor.

“Oysters were once the dominant habitat type in New York Harbor. When Europeans first arrived, over 200,000 acres of reef provided food and habitat to hundreds of species of fish and invertebrates. Without its reef, the bottom of New York Harbor is flat with nowhere to hide and nothing to eat. At the Billion Oyster Project we are working to restore oysters to the Harbor, and with them the ecosystem services they provide. By working with public school students, we are working to connect a generation of New Yorkers with the ecosystem and to empower them with the knowledge that New York Harbor can be a healthier and more bountiful resource for all of us.“

Damian Griffin, an educator at MS 118 in the Bronx and citizen scientist, will describe how the Bronx River oyster reef was started in 2006 by a partnership with the NYC Parks Department and the New York Harbor School. It is now the largest, most successful reef in NY Harbor to date.  Says Griffin, “It is incredible that such an amazing ecosystem exists right below the surface; out of sight but not out of reach.”

This presentation is produced in partnership with the Billion Oyster Project, NYC H2O, a New York City based environmental education group, and the National Park Service.

Learn more about NYC H2O

Learn more about the Billion Oyster Project

Coverage of the launch of the Billion Oyster Project from the New York Environment Report

This event is free and open to the public, but we urge you to RSVP

Photo courtesy of the New York Environment Report

When: Friday April 10, 2015, 7:00pm 

Where: Hunter College Room 714 (West Building)

It can be argued that using chlorine in drinking water created the biggest improvement in public health in modern history. Typhoid fever was not eradicated in the U.S. until the widespread use of water disinfection was realized.

Michael McGuire, PhD, is the author of The Chlorine Revolution. McGuire will recount the story of how chlorine first got introduced into municipal drinking water supplies and its ensuing critical impact in advancing 20th century public health.

Anne Seeley, M.P.H., is Section Chief of Health Assessment & Policy Coordination for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Seeley will talk about how NYC treats its water and why the city has such excellent quality drinking water.
Tickets are free but reservations are required.

Click here to RSVP.

When/Where: Friday March 13 at 7pm – Hunter College West Building Room HW714

The High Bridge is slated to reopen as a walkway in summer 2015. Come hear Bryan Diffley, the Project Manager of the renovation, speak about NYC’s oldest standing bridge. An engineering treasure, the High Bridge was built in 1848 to bring water from the Bronx into Manhattan via the Croton Aqueduct, and remained in use for the Croton system until 1955. Its deck was used as a pedestrian bridge until the 1970’s when it was closed due to vandalism. The city began restoring the bridge in 2012.

The High Bridge was designed by John B. Jervis, Chief Engineer of the Croton Aqueduct, modeled on the great aqueducts of the Roman Empire.  In fact, the Croton was the longest aqueduct built since the Roman era!

Tickets are free but reservations are required. Click here to RSVP.

More on NYC H20When/Where: Friday March 13 at 7pm – Hunter College West Building Room HW714

The High Bridge is slated to reopen as a walkway in summer 2015. Come hear Bryan Diffley, the Project Manager of the renovation, speak about NYC’s oldest standing bridge. An engineering treasure, the High Bridge was built in 1848 to bring water from the Bronx into Manhattan via the Croton Aqueduct, and remained in use for the Croton system until 1955. Its deck was used as a pedestrian bridge until the 1970’s when it was closed due to vandalism. The city began restoring the bridge in 2012.

The High Bridge was designed by John B. Jervis, Chief Engineer of the Croton Aqueduct, modeled on the great aqueducts of the Roman Empire.  In fact, the Croton was the longest aqueduct built since the Roman era!

Tickets are free but reservations are required. Click here to RSVP.

More on NYC H20

HUNTER COLLEGE’S EAST HARLEM ART GALLERY AND INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE CITIES AT HUNTER COLLEGE PRESENTS:

OCEANS OF TRASH: TACKLING MARINE PLASTIC POLLUTION

A PROGRAM IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE EXHIBITION WASHED UP: TRANSFORMING A TRASHED LANDSCAPE, PHOTOS BY ALEJANDRO DURÁN.

Saturday, January 31, 2015
2:30 – 5PM with reception to follow
Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work
Auditorium
2180 Third Ave at 119th Street
New York, NY 10035

Speakers include:

5 Gyres
The 5 Gyres Institute conducts research and communicates about the global impact of plastic pollution in the world’s oceans. 5 Gyres employs strategies to eliminate the accumulation of plastic pollution in the five subtropical gyres. 5 Gyres founders Marcus Eriksen and Anna Cummins will present on their most recent research.

Alejandro Durán
Artist Alejandro Durán’s fascination with collecting and rearranging trash on the shores of Mexico’s Sian Ka’an region led to his ongoing project, Washed Up. As an educator, filmmaker, and artist, Alejandro’s work promotes awareness of ocean pollution and advocates for change.

Carson Farmer 
Carson Farmer is Associate Director of the Center for Advanced Research of Spatial Information (CARSI) where he works on a number of urban issues, ranging from transportation to human impacts on the oceans. Recently, Carson has begun to examine sustainability issues surrounding urban impacts on the worlds oceans from a quantitative and policy perspective with Dr. Tim Stojanovic from St Andrews University in Scotland.

Plus more exciting participants and practitioners.

Supported by the American Chai Trust and Hunter College Arts Across the Curriculum program sponsored by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

For more information, please contact ehartg@hunter.cuny.edu

Download a PDF flier for the event.

In 2001 the MTA retired its fleet of Redbird subway cars. It gave the trains to states on the Atlantic coast to serve as artificial reefs for fish. The program has been successful in supporting the web of undersea life and attracts game fish, which in turn draws sport fishermen and scuba divers to the reefs. New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia have “reefed” about 1,000 subway cars in all from the MTA.

Come hear Bob Martore, the Artificial Reef Manager from South Carolina’s Department of Natural Resources, explain how subway cars help provide homes for marine life.

When:  Friday, November 14, 2014, 7-8:30 PM

Where: Hunter College, Room 714 West, Entrance on 68th Street and Lexington Avenue (6 Train to 68th Street / Hunter College)

Please Click Here to RSVP.

John Waldman is the author of the new book, Running Silver: Restoring Atlantic Rivers and Their Great Fish Migrations.  Prior to being a professor of biology at Queens College, he worked for 20 years at the Hudson River Foundation.  His talk will explore the historic abundance of fisheries in the Hudson River Watershed, including the Moodna Creek, and discuss what can be done to restore them.  Fee includes appetizers, special prix-fixe three-course dinner, networking and book signing opportunity. Cash bar. Space is limited.  Cost $25.00 paid at the dinner. RSVP required by Friday, June 27 at 1 pm – call (845) 615-3868 orecruz@orangecountygov.com. Location:  Brookside Grill in Highland Mills, NY. www.brooksidegrillny.net

The Moodna Creek Watershed Intermunicipal Council and its Education and Outreach Committee and Science and Data Committee are made up of designated representatives from 15 municipalities within the Watershed, the OCWA, as well as non-governmental organizations and individuals. The Council and its Committees will work cooperatively to address priority issues of the Moodna Creek and its watershed. The creation of the Council was an outcome of the Moodna Creek Watershed Conservation and Management Plan. Benefits of forming the Council include increased eligibility for many grants, due to intermunicipal partnership, improved communication across municipal boundaries and more effective solutions to water resource issues due to comprehensive (watershed) approach and coordination of organizational efforts.

Information about the Council and other educational events this month can be found at:

http://waterauthority.orangecountygov.com/moodna_council.html

What: This visual presentation brings into conversation diverse and intriguing perspectives on the relationship between nature and America’s most prominent city. The author intermingles elements of natural history, urban ecology, and environmental politics, providing fresh insights into nature and the urban environment on one of the world’s great stages for the clash of these seemingly disparate realms – New York City.

When: Monday, May 20, 2013, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Where: Mid-Manhattan Library (Map and directions)

About the Speaker:

Professor John Waldman, works on the ecology and evolution of anadromous fishes, historical ecology, and urban waterways; he is an expert on the environment and management of New York’s harbor. Before joining Queens College, he worked for 20 years at the Hudson River Foundation for Science and Environmental Research. Waldman’s recent books include Heartbeats in the Muck: A Dramatic Look at the History, Sea Life, and Environment of New York Harbor and The Dance of the Flying Gurnards: America’s Coastal Curiosities and Beachside Wonders. Professor Waldman is one of the key leaders of The Institute to Nurture New York’s Nature at Queens College and one of the organizers of BioBlitz which surveys thousands of acres within the federally protected Gateway National Recreation Area, which straddles New York and New Jersey. (For information on the BioBlitz, see http://nbii-nin.ciesin.columbia.edu/jamaicabay/index.html)

On March 20th, 2013 from 6:00 to 8:30 PM, join NYC Parks Uncommon Ground Lecture series and the Bronx River Alliance as we celebrate the start of construction of NYC’s first fish ladder and fish migration with an evening of discourse, discussion and dance.

Scientist and author John Waldman will preview his latest book on the history and fate of diadromous fish, researcher George Jackman will share early results on a current WCS/NOAA Bronx River eel study, the Bronx River Fish Passage plans will be presented and choreographer Paloma McGregor will present a work based on her long term interest in fish and the people who study their behavior.

Reservation required with NYC Parks

Contact Email: uncommonground@parks.nyc.gov

In the spring of 2013, construction is expected to begin on the first of three fish passages on the Bronx River. The “Fish Ladder,” as it is also called, is intended to permit fish migration for alewife for the first time in 330 years, and improve migration of American eels. Both of these species are on the decline worldwide and this small project is part of larger efforts to support biodiversity in the world’s oceans.

This event is the first in a series of four to be organized by the Bronx River Alliance. Wade into the Bronx River 2013, is a series of lectures, workshops and walks to learn more about the Bronx River.