LSP Environmental Studies Community Event Reports

By: Amanda Sakuma

Last Saturday morning, I did what every other college student living in New York City does – I went to a “Winter Survival Lesson” tutorial offered by park rangers at Prospect Park in Brooklyn. Excited to learn how to “survive the frigid cold weather” and “identify animal tracks,” my friend Craig Cannon and I prepared for a rigorous course on how to master the great out doors while living in one of the most populous cities in the U.S. With Craig and a strong cup of coffee in tow, I made my way off the comfortable island of Manhattan and on to the unmarked territory of Brooklyn.

Apparently climate concerns are subconsciously making their way to the core of everyday New Yorkers. On the train ride to Brooklyn, squished in between an alcohol ad and a preview for the next action packed prime-time television drama, was a posting on climate change. It displayed four people pondering deeply about the effects of climate change as well as their implications. It sends a positive message to stare at while sitting in a crowded subway car, taking special care to avoid eye contact with the people sitting next to you. Stand clear of closing doors please.

Once at Prospect Park, Craig and I proceeded to walk the entire perimeter in search of the meeting place before arriving to our destination. Once there, park officials stared at us blankly when asked about the winter survival lessons – either they were shocked that anyone would be interested in the lessons, or they genuinely had no idea what was going on. Eventually, we were united with Park Ranger Melissa and her seven dwarfs. I found out later that were actually a small version of humans called children, kids for short. Sightings of such a rare breed of human are somewhat uncommon in Manhattan. I considered myself lucky to be in their presence.

For the tour, Craig toted a swanky camera that appeared to have weighed more than a small child (not unlike the ones accompanying us on the tour). Striking up conversation with Melissa as she guided the tour, he was able to learn a great deal about the park ranger. Marissa was a recent graduate student who was using her environmental biology and urban design degrees to enrich the community at the local parks. It was refreshing to hear that a degree in the sciences can take people further than the laboratory and research field. The exciting career field of park rangers had never occurred to me.

I, for one, was too busy marveling at the specimen of children before me to do too much chatting with Melissa. Apparently there exist small children in all boroughs of New York. Fascinating. All bundled appropriately in oversized hats and scarves, the young children made their way through the tour with astounding attention spans and an eagerness to learn. “My favorite bird is a blue bird,” cried out one of my colleagues. He was then able to point one out in the trees after Melissa had guided his attention. I couldn’t help but glance at the field notes that he was tracking on the trip and admire his attention to detail. Any plant or animal that he could name was neatly listed in columns on his notebook in the most impeccable handwriting I had ever seen. He was starting to make me wonder if the group were in fact children and not really short, yet intelligent adults.
I had never been to Prospect Park before, nor had I been on such a tour before. I’m glad that Craig’s 500-pound zoom lens digital camera was there to document my every step or else I would have forgotten everything about it entirely. I’m not sure if the children were too distracting, or if the information shared by Marissa was genuinely uninteresting, but I did not get much out of the adventure. My book of notes that I toted around only contains quotes from the kids that I thought were entertaining (my favorite being the dialogue on city birds vs. silly birds outlined in Craig’s blog entry. Check it out, it’s funny). I also have a life like drawing of a squirrel from when we were instructed to sketch the wildlife around us.

What I did take away from the event was what the children offered me. I am genuinely impressed with how attentive the kids were. They already had a firm grasp on the concepts of hibernation and migration, and they were more than willing to actively participate in the event. While admiring a flock of Canadian Geese, a personal wildlife favorite of Craig Cannon, the young girl wearing the Spiderman jacket interjected into Marissa’s speech saying, “Geese! They’re heading south because it’s cold in Canada.” Marissa, taken aback by Spiderwoman’s comment, was quick to congratulate her on her intellect. Inside, I wanted to give her a big high five. However, the hawk-like glares from their chaperones deterred me from doing so.

By the end, Craig seemed sincerely upset that we never in fact learned how to “identify animal tracks” in the “frigid cold temperatures.” Apparently the course was not meant to outline human’s capacity towards winter survival, but rather animals’ survival skills. I admit, I was disappointed as well that I may never know how to survive the frigid cold temperatures, the experience was worthwhile. What I did learn was a great deal on the importance of environmental education for young people. The event displayed the children’s knowledge and interest in nature. There are plenty of other things they could have been doing on a Saturday morning, like watching cartoons on TV, but instead, they were outside and learning about the environment. It gave me a heightened appreciation of the city parks in New York and the resources that they offer. Kids are able to grow up in a large city and still have a sense and appreciation towards nature. I hope events like this happen more often to offer children more opportunities to become involved and invested in the environment of their community. If so, I will once again shamelessly attend.