High School Trainees Explore and Share Rich Biodiversity of the Hudson River
My partner Monica and I came up with an information video game revolving around polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and fishing in the Hudson. Numerous efforts have been made to clean the Hudson of PCBs, they still have an effect on the fish and wildlife in the river with particular fish accumulating more PCBs than others. Our video game is called “Fishing Frenzy,” where you are fishing the Hudson River using toy fishing rods to catch as many fish as possible in a given quantity of time.
Jiaming and Talha created the game “Survival of the Herring” revealed here.
Our other pals developed their own unique video games. Jiaming and Talha produced the game “Survival of the Herring” where you play as three different herring species and need to make it to the end of the board video game; Janice and Sarah-Gails “Guess Who” Hudson River types video game has gamers identify their Hudson species by guessing qualities about them; Kaitlyn and Shania created a decision making game about water chestnuts and an information Jeopardy video game!
Producing a video game was one of my preferred parts of the program as I had the ability to take all the concepts stirring in my mind and bring them to life. Gathering feedback through concepts and suggestions from our peers and mentors was really helpful, and they played a huge function in the advancement of our game. It was such an unique experience, and I hope individuals playing these games have as much fun as we did making them!.
Trainees Arianna Smith (center) and Charity Dikson (right) were welcomed to present on their experiences and share suggestions for much better appealing youth and ecological justice communities in future watershed planning at the Hudson River Watershed Alliance yearly conference.
Creating the video game was a bit difficult as my partner and I had so many ideas that we wished to include. We needed to go through each situation of the video game in our minds to forecast the result and ensure it would conclude smoothly. This part of our video game making process was filled with numerous obstacles, but in the end we were able to produce a fun, easy to comprehend game that informs individuals about the Hudson for individuals of any ages to take pleasure in.
The Hudson River is one of the most important geographical features in New York, impacting the communities that lie along its banks. Despite the close distance to the river, numerous of the communities along the Hudson are misinformed or know very little about it. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatorys Next Generation of Hudson River Educators Internship (Next Gen) provides high school students a summer season opportunity to discover the truth about the Hudson River.
This includes not only reaching out to community members to listen to their perspectives, however likewise coming back to share our findings and observations with that neighborhood. Most just recently, numerous of the trainees took part at the Hudson Valley Watershed Alliance yearly conference as part of a panel of youth picked for their roles in producing local change.
Below, we share some of the items produced by our student interns as they established their science communication abilities and spread their newly found understanding about the Hudson, exposing a number of long-standing myths and misconceptions along the way. From utilizing social media to creating special games, the trainees produced a range of academic outputs to educate the culturally, ethnically, and racially diverse neighborhoods along the Hudson River..
The Role of Social Media in Todays Communications.
by Jiaming Li, trainee at Tenafly High School.
Instagram post on Mummichogs.
Because of social medias ability to target several demographics, Lamonts Next Gen participants decided to make Instagram posts, TikToks, and YouTube videos to share our findings about the Hudson River with the public. We recognize the importance of educating others about the information we have been discovering about the Hudson. Utilizing social media as a platform is an excellent chance to share scientific details that is not only understandable, however also digestible.
We conducted interviews with friends, next-door neighbors, and members of the Hudson community to reveal any misunderstandings about the river. Our findings indicated that older generations tend to have a higher appreciation for the Hudson, while more youthful interviewees tend to have more misunderstandings that have actually been passed along through the grapevine. This suggested that social media is the ideal outlet to target more youthful demographics and inform them about this magnificent river.
A lot of us recorded our enjoyable seining experiences and shared the species of fish and crabs we caught in the Hudson by means of social media. Some of us made day-in-the-life vlogs (video blogs), while others produced MythBusters parodies to share the info we learned. We all delighted in filming each other and editing our videos and found out a lot about interaction as we tried to make brief targeted posts. Sharing the knowledge we acquired with our communities was incredibly fulfilling and crucial. Since we finished all of our social media tasks in groups or pairs, developing social media material was an amazing method for us to bond with each other. I had a remarkable experience working on projects with my partner Monica, and we both developed a fascination with the mummichog, a small marsh loving type of killifish native to the Hudson, which is likewise referred to as a mud minnow since it buries itself into the mud throughout low tide when there is little water.
Discover out more about seining, mummichogs and other elements of the Hudson River at @ldeo_fieldstation on Instagram and Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory on YouTube.
Myth Busting the Lower Hudson Estuary.
by Monica Rivera, student at Tappan Zee High School.
When the Next Gen educators talked to members of the Rockland neighborhood to discover their point of views and knowledge of the Lower Hudson Estuary, we learned that the rivers credibility misaligns with scientific truths. A majority of interviewees think that the river is unclean due to what they see as the color of the water. Honestly, the color of the water is because of high turbidity. Turbidity is the quantity of cloudiness or opacity of the water. In the Lower Estuary, it is triggered by abundant nutrients, phytoplankton (photosynthesizing tiny organisms) and algae, overflow after a rainstorm, and the motion of loose sediments due to tides, currents, wind, and unstable mixing from the density differences in between the fresh and saltwater.
Janice and Shania our 2 Hudson River Mythbusters! Please watch this video “Mythbusters: Is the Hudson Dirty?” made by fellow interns this summer season.
PCB, which stands for polychlorinated biphenyl, is a human made chemical utilized as a lubricant and a coolant for equipment by lots of industries along the Hudson River. General Electric, a business located in the Upper Hudson was a major contributor, disposing PCBs for about 30 years into the Hudson and infecting the water for years to come. The Hudson is much cleaner and much safer than it was 20 years back, the fish are still significantly impacted by the relentless levels of PCBs that continue to circulate and settle at the bottom of the river.
The Value of Field Sampling.
by Janice Yohannan, trainee at Nyack High School.
Over the summer season, I found that the most amazing part of Lamonts Next Gen program was remaining in the field 2 days a week. This enabled hours of exciting field exploration and information collection. We were able to conduct soil and water chemistry tests, take sediment cores, and conduct habitat assessments to assist better understand the environmental conditions in Piermont and Haverstraw in addition to their implications for the environment. We likewise discovered to evaluate soil for lead and procedure turbidity, tides, and currents. We created step by step procedures to assist others who desire to do this kind of sampling.
The Next Gen group of Jiaming Li, Shania Ninan, Monica Rivera, and Janice Yohannan designed a detailed photo-based procedure for determining currents that will be utilized with the Day in the Life individuals.
We evaluated for levels of dissolved oxygen in the water, a measurement of the amount of oxygen offered in the water for use by aquatic organisms. Given that dissolved oxygen is required for the survival of aquatic life, monitoring it is necessary in identifying the health of the rivers environment.
However, my favorite field activity was, hands-down, seining (shown in this Instagram post by Talha Uddin and Arianna Smith). Putting on waders and getting waist deep in water, attempting your finest not to fall in the river, and feeling the currents press the water all around you, differs from anything Ive experienced. I can not think of a much better method to get in touch with the river and with my regional environment as a whole. Seining is likewise an incredibly enjoyable method to recognize that the Hudson has lots of life! From blue crabs to American eels to mummichogs (the little, marsh-loving killifish shown above in Jiamings area), weve captured and released beautiful animals. You can also view this brief video made by Jiaming Li and Monica Rivera on the wildlife in the Hudson. Being a part of these amazing field experiences has significantly influenced my passion for ecological stewardship, and I am more thrilled than ever to safeguard my regional environment!
Communicating Science Through Games.
by Arianna Smith, student at Suffern High School.
The video games developed by the interns from Lamont-Dohertys Next Generation of Hudson River Educators are the perfect mix of enjoyable and information. We made use of data from the Tuva Interactive Data Site and the Day in the Life of the Hudson and Harbor Database to develop games that teach fundamental Hudson science.
Feeding Frenzy Game: If you catch an American Eel you will initially learn a bit about them, for example, they are the Hudsons only catadromous fish, starting and ending their lives in the ocean, however spending the majority of their lives in brackish or fresh water. American eel grownups spawn just when, passing away after this effort! For the game, the crucial information is that American eel are benthic, or bottom dwelling and feeding, and therefore bioaccumulate PCBs. They can not be eaten. Toss it back and lose 10 pts!
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatorys Next Generation of Hudson River Educators Internship (Next Gen) supplies high school trainees a summer season chance to reveal the truth about the Hudson River.
General Electric, a business located in the Upper Hudson was a major factor, discarding PCBs for about 30 years into the Hudson and polluting the water for years to come. The games produced by the interns from Lamont-Dohertys Next Generation of Hudson River Educators are the best mix of enjoyable and info. We made use of data from the Tuva Interactive Data Site and the Day in the Life of the Hudson and Harbor Database to create games that teach foundational Hudson science. Our game is called “Fishing Frenzy,” where you are fishing the Hudson River utilizing toy fishing rods to catch as numerous fish as possible in a provided quantity of time.
The educational outputs that were developed by the students are detailed and developed for all ages.They are showcased on Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Field Stations Instagram (@ldeo_fieldstation), Hudson River Field Stations site, and were put on display screen at the Rockland Conservation and Service Corps science fair event. Participating in decision makers and neighborhood members were stunned to learn that the creators of our instructional output products were high school interns. The members stepped away more educated and with a higher appreciation for the Hudson River. Our interns have left this program with life changing field experiences and important scientific interaction abilities.
