The Beczak Experience - From the Eyes of the Eastchester High School Interns

The first time we visited Beczak, we were intimidated by the people we saw along the way. Coming from a racially homogenous bubble, venturing into downtown Yonkers was, at the least, an adventure. We were only partially joking when we claimed that everyone wearing red was part of a gang, even if they were under the age of ten. Pulling into the Beczak parking lot, we couldn’t help but notice that we were conveniently located across the street from the Yonkers city jail. As we stared across the street, two policemen were escorting a man in handcuffs into the jail. We looked at each other and the same look was mirrored on all our faces. What are we getting ourselves into?
Over time, we began to feel more comfortable in our new surroundings. The four of us were surprised when we first were given the tour of Beczak, since we wouldn’t have thought that an urban area would have such green space. The park was larger than we expected, complete with a marsh, tidal pool, campfire, and beach area. People often came to the park with strollers and dogs in tow. While taking some kids on a scavenger hunt, we noticed a display board showing how the whole area used to be a landfill. We were amazed at how Beczak was able to restore such a pristine area from a grimy, polluted wasteland.
During the programs, we would sit idly in the back and observe. By the end of the experience, we could recite entire lessons by memory. We were most shocked at how much environmental knowledge the children have at such a young age. It’s great that they are growing up with the environment in mind. When Vicky asked the kids what the “whiskers” on catfish are called, we looked at each other, dumbfounded. The children fought to say “barbels!” first, but we had never heard the term before.
After the first few experiences of seining, we realized that we had underestimated the patience and versatility needed to work with young children. After a day of teaching and allowing children to experience the natural habitat around them, we were wiped! However, the knowledge that we exchanged and the personal encounters we had were well worth all of our time and effort. We all enjoyed making new friends each day as the children seemed enthusiastic and willing to learn. However, the most interesting part of this entire experience was the myriad of facts we absorbed by working here. If asked on the spot, we could recite the exact length of the Hudson (315 miles) and the location of its source (Lake Tear of the Clouds, Mt. Marcy - 5,000 ft in elevation). We also learned about the various species of fish and wildlife found within the Hudson’s entire estuary. We now know the names, translations, and identifying characteristics of marine life (Mummichog is Native American for “fish that school”). It sounds nerdy, but we would exclaim various facts when applicable in everyday conversation with friends.
Overall, this experience has allowed us to strengthen our understanding of environmental science, our interpersonal work skills, as well as our awareness of our own surroundings. We realize the ramifications of malignant actions and how the river and all aspects of the ecosystem must be held responsible for human selfishness. This internship has also reinforced our decision to enter the field of environment science to remedy situations like our current Gulf Coast crisis. We will take each lesson we’ve learned with us and apply it to our lives. Life is like seining; you never know what you’re going to catch.

Raina Gandhi

Nicholas Parisi

Andrew Raffo

Gianluca Salza

Resurrection Tour

What’s the riverfront like in your town? Can you get to it? Why or why not?

The 3rd – 6th graders of South Church, in Dobbs Ferry, talked about these questions last Sunday morning before leaving on an Eastertide/Earth Day field trip called Resurrection Tour. Our quest was to see if new life could happen out of environmental degradation.

My family’s VW was the sweep in the five-car caravan. First stop: Anaconda Wire and Cable. We parked at the Hastings train station, climbed to the overpass and looked down on the football field of gray cement along the river. It was the remains of the factory that had dumped oil and solvents into the river for decades. The buildings were demolished earlier this year; the first step in containing the contaminants.

We drove south into Yonkers and stopped in the parking lot of the Greyston Bakery. “This bakery, run by Buddhists, hires people who have a hard time getting jobs—those who have been in prison, or are homeless, for instance,” said Mark, an environmental lawyer and one of the leaders of Resurrection Tour.

Next stop: Beczak Environmental Education Center, two run-down, riverfront blocks south. We walked through its lush green park and stood on a small bridge spanning a tidal marsh. Kalle and Ben jumped on rocks at the river’s edge; Sasha and Armand got their feet wet. Bob Walters, one of the founding board members of the Center, met us and told how regular people—fishermen, factory workers—had the vision to turn this old Navy Militia Site and former factory social club into a park and environmental center. The man-made tidal marsh—home to many creatures—was build with funds from a lawsuit against the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line for an oil spill.

Our final stop was Groundwork Hudson Valley’s Science Barge, where Bob Walters serves as Director. This floating urban farm grows tomatoes, squash and other foods in water, not earth. The Barge shifted on the wake of a powerboat. Children peered into the cisterns filling with fresh rainwater. “We give our produce to the Franciscans for their soup kitchen,” said Bob. “And, we’re working with the homeless on creating a community garden for them.”

On the way home Claudia, an environmental psychologist and one of the Resurrection Tour leaders, asked the children in her car what they remembered from the morning. “The Anaconda fire and soon-to-be remediation, Greystone hiring formerly incarcerated, Beczak marsh, hydroponics.”

Bald Affection

Every day that I have been at Beczak this winter, I look out at the river and wonder when I am going to get that wonderful chance to see a bald eagle standing on an ice floe like so many others have. My coworkers have even seen eagles eating fish on the ice!

As I pondered this jealous feeling, I also realized that though I have studied the historical environmental effects surrounding bald eagles and the laws that protect them, I do not know much about their behaviors.

This is when I did some research and fittingly enough for the month of February, I learned two interesting things. The first is that bald eagles in this area begin their mating season around our Valentine’s Day in mid month.

The second is that like some monogamous couples in the Hudson Valley area, bald eagles have one mate for life. They search for their mate once they reach four to five years old and can partake in amazing in-flight ritualistic dances during their courtship. Some dances include talon holding in the air and then falling to the ground before letting go. Once they do mate, eagles can produce eggs for up to 30 years and choose which years they want to lay eggs. If the weather, habitat or environment isn’t right, they will opt out of laying eggs for that year, just like some human couples!

I have learned that there are great similarities between bald eagles and humans. I just wonder if one bald eagle showers gifts like chocolate and jewelry on its mate like we do at this time of year…

Susan Juggernauth
Educator

Oyster Gardening - Month Seven: “Oysters on Ice”

Beczak Environmental Education Center, located on the Yonkers riverfront, is part of the NY/NJ Baykeeper Oyster Restoration Program. In June 2009, six hundred “seed” oysters from Baykeepers’ Governors Island site were resettled in a floating cage hung off a piling in the Hudson River behind Beczak. Fifty of the oysters are in a sample study and kept in a separate cage. Educator Vicky Garufi checks them monthly to report back to NY/NJ Baykeeper. Watch this blog for her updates.

What happens to oysters when the water temperature drops and the river freezes? Do oysters hibernate like some mammals? Do they migrate like some fishes and birds?

I was very excited to participate in the oyster restoration project with NY/NJ Baykeeper but I was the first to admit that I was no oyster expert. For instance, I really didn’t know how oysters survived the winter.

I did some research before our last cold snap and, to my surprise; I learned that oysters could tolerate freezing water but not freezing air. When the water temperature drops below 32 degrees and the river becomes covered in ice, oysters temporarily stop growing. They survive in their tough shells and then continue growing when the ice thaws and the water temperatures rise.

Because our oysters are in a cage that hangs from a piling—not resting on the river floor like they would be in the wild—I needed to make sure they were secured and fully submerged at the lowest tides during the winter.

Right now at Beczak the oysters and I are in hibernation. I have stopped recording and submitting the data for the winter season. I will continue in March when the water temperature is slightly warmer and more tolerable for me to enter the river and pull the cage out. Be sure to check in on their status!


Vicky Garufi
Director of Education and Outreach

Find out more about Beczak’s oyster gardening program. Click on these links below.

Month One: The oysters arrive
Month Three: Oyster Check-up
Month Four: Students Observe the Oysters

NY/NJ Baykeeper Oyster Restoration Program
Beczak begins oyster gardening press release
“Moving Back Home” Hudson Valley Magazine

Ice, Ice and Away

January 12, 2010

Last winter I remember when it was so cold that the entire width of the Hudson River was frozen. I watched as boats had to cut the ice as they traveled north.

It hasn’t been that cold yet this winter, and the ice is not continuous from the east to west shorelines. But there is a lot of ice traveling.
I’ve been pulled to Beczak’s marsh, mesmerized by the view of ice traveling up and down the river. Slowly it travels north, but when it travels south man does it travel. A huge piece of ice, probably 6 feet in length, looked like it was traveling at the speed of a jet ski. How cool would it be to surf on that ice!

Dorene Sukup
Educator

A Tidal Marsh Meditation

I am the newest member of Beczak’s education department. I applied for a position here because I was interested in hands-on environmental education, but I did not know much about the Center apart from what I read at its website.

My first days at work were spent inside and at schools. It was not until I went down to the beach looking for water chestnuts that I realized just how serene and special Beczak’s marsh and the waterfront are.

I was standing at the marsh’s edge when it hit me that I was listening to birdcalls and waves crashing and very little of anything else. Maybe it was just the time of day that I was out there, or just a freak occurrence that no planes, boats or trains were passing by, but I realized I had never experienced more serenity anywhere in Yonkers than at Beczak’s riverfront. I glanced across the water to the Palisades and looked as far up and down the river as I could. A sense of peace and well-being enveloped me.

I have lived in Yonkers for about six years now and have heard all sorts of rumors about the dangers that lurk in downtown Yonkers. I have even been warned of working in the polluted Hudson River in such an urban environment. However at that moment, looking out at the water and the surrounding non-developed land, I was thrilled to be right there, right then. I was impressed with the transformation of the river from the polluted waters it once was to the crisp, enjoyable scene that lay before me. It is heartening that amidst all the development there could be such a place as our tidal marsh where people can enjoy and learn about this amazing river.

This experience opened my eyes to the joys of Beczak, the tranquility of the Hudson River and the promise that Yonkers holds. If a river of this magnitude could change so dramatically at the insistence of a small group of people, imagine what could happen to the city of Yonkers with the increasing influence of Beczak and its community of river-lovers. This is one more transformation I cannot wait to be a part of.

Susan Juggernauth
Educator

Sea Robin Scenes

Sea Robin flesh is described as firm and tender when cooked. Great for a Julia Child bouillabaisse or for bait when fishing in the Long Island Sound, or so I’ve heard.

They can be seen at Beczak listening to Bizet, nodding their heads, fins swirling as they dance.

Sandra DeSando
Business and Grants Manager