LSP Environmental Studies Community Event Reports

On Friday, November 21st, 2008, I went to the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. I visited a few different exhibits, including an exhibit called Our Hudson Home. This exhibit is sponsored by a couple of organizations, including NASA, Port Authority, the Victoria Foundation, the New York Shipping Association, and the Charles Hayden Foundation. Our Hudson Home is an educational exhibit for the public on the wildlife and biomes of the Hudson River Estuary, and how they have developed over time. The exhibit also addresses how this environment must be maintained for the Hudson River to continue to remain a suitable environment for everyone.
The New York-New Jersey Harbor, where the Hudson River Estuary begins, includes the Upper New York Bay, Lower New York Bay, Newark Bay, and the mouth of the Hudson River. The harbor is surrounded by Jersey City, Bayonne, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. It is shared by wildlife and humans alike. The Hudson River supports several different species of fish and birds, as well as sailing vessels and port activities. It has created different types of wetlands in the area, including marshes, swamps, tidal flats and shoals. Most importantly, though, the Hudson River is a perfect example of how one body of water creates several different types of habitats and niches for many diverse species to live in, and why it is crucial to preserve these places.
One aspect of the exhibit that I found very interesting was the oyster restoration that is happening in the Hudson River Estuary. This restoration is being conducted by the River Project. There used to be oyster reeds in the Hudson River, but since the early 1900s they’ve declined, and now the city is working again to see if oyster reefs could be restored. Oysters are very beneficial to the bodies of water they live in. They naturally purify the water, removing sediments, improving the clarity and making it easier for deeper plants to receive sunlight through the water, which benefits the fish as the plants are producing dissolved oxygen. Oyster reefs also create habitats as well as food for other species. The oysters have already begun to clear the waters of the Hudson River, and it is believed that if the oyster reefs return to the numbers they used to be at, the water quality of the Hudson River could rise very fast. However, it is still questionable whether such a large number of oysters will be able to adjust to the Hudson River habitat after almost one hundred years and recreate the reefs that previously existed. The River Project can only encourage the growth of the wild oyster population so much; at a certain point, there is nothing more we can do to encourage their growth. I thought this portion of the exhibit was very important. This is a natural way to improve water quality that doesn’t pollute our environment even more. It could also benefit the other wildlife in several different ways. I think it is important that we search for natural solutions to resolve environmental issues. Sometimes it is better that we don’t create something that can solve the problem, but search for something that might already be a part of nature.
The part of the exhibit that addressed the wetlands was also very educational for me. Wetlands have a pretty significant effect on the environment that I was not previously aware of. Many people believe that wetlands are one of the less useful biomes, and so they are often built over or filled in. I live in a town that is full of marshes and swamplands, and before I visited this exhibit I don’t think I realized how important they are to the environment. Wetlands support a diverse wildlife, remove pollutants from water, protect cities and farms, and shelter and feed migrating species. Wetlands house many unique plants that cannot grow in other environments. They often provide shelter for the young of fish species from the birds that hunt in wetlands. Unfortunately, because it took us so long to understand the benefits of wetlands, many of them have been drained so they can be used for urban purposes, while others have been flooded to create rivers or lakes. Now, there are organizations in place to preserve those wetlands that are still left. It’s important to remember that everything has a purpose. We didn’t understand the purpose of wetlands until we had begun to wipe them out, and we should try to learn from this mistake.
I found this exhibit very educational. It is relevant to the people of New York and New Jersey, which certainly makes it more interesting. The Hudson River is an important part of our lives, even if we don’t see that on a day to day basis. It is also one of the few natural habitats in a very urban location. The oyster restoration project is fascinating because we get to see how nature takes care of itself, when in today’s world we usually just create something new to get the effects we desire. I didn’t know about all of the oyster’s beneficial qualities before I went to the Liberty Science Center. It is amazing that oysters could restore the water quality of the Hudson River in just a few days if there were enough of them. This exhibit was also interesting to me because we have been doing a lab about this very topic. Lab 2.2 addresses the water quality of the Hudson River, and this exhibit gave me a whole new view on how to improve water quality. It gave me a better understanding of what we have been studying in class as well as a more hands on look at what is happening just a few miles from here. I liked visiting the Liberty Science Center in general; museums often offer a fresh take on material we’ve already learned. There are lots of different exhibits to visit in one place, and there’s something for everyone.

Oysters

The Hudson River Estuary