LSP Environmental Studies Community Event Reports

By: Melissa Aragon

While I was at home over break, I ventured down from Albuquerque to Carlsbad, New Mexico to see Carlsbad Caverns National Park. This was something I had done a few times before, once with my parents when we also visited White Sands National Park and the Atomic Museum in Alamogordo. This time I went to southern New Mexico with one purpose, and one purpose only, to see caves and bats.

The Drive from Albuquerque to Carlsbad is about a three and a half to four hour drive, depending on traffic (it was about five hours on the way back because of traffic in Albuquerque). The drive from Carlsbad to the park is another hour and a half. The actual time I spent in the cave was about four hours, from 9:00am-1:00pm.

The Park itself is situated on a very tall hill, or a very small mountain depending on how one looks at it. Upon entering the actual park, it’s about a half an hour drive from the base to the top, where the welcome center and all attractions are located. Right before the park entrance, I saw laid out alongside the road a few buildings, basically an overpriced gas station and a plaza with a gift shop. I drove through the gates welcoming me to Carlsbad Caverns National Park. I thought to myself how excited I was that we were finally there, but little did I know about the long drive up to the top. We winded up this mountain, yes, I would call it a mountain, until we reached our destination.

I went with the intention of seeing the bat flight the evening before I went into the cave, but it was rained out, and I did not get to make it to the amphitheater. Those raindrops were huge- and not by New Mexico standards, either. The drive up the mountain into the greeting center and the path towards the amphitheater to see the bat flight had the densest fog I had ever driven in. Come to think of it, it was the only fog I had driven in. With visibility at what seemed of only five feet ahead, I left the greeting center, which never officially canceled the viewing- I mean, they could never tell the bats “NO,” but as I talked to people in my tour group the next day, the rain only got worse and it made for a less than enjoyable bat flight- with the park ranger less than enthused about speaking to a small group of huddled umbrellas.

I started out early the next morning, and with a long drive ahead of me, and a less than optimistic view of what the Carlsbad Caverns were, overrated and not worth the drive. Day two was definitely a much more productive day. I arrived at the Caverns around 9:00am and was in the depths of the cavern by half after. I had the option of taking the ‘original route,’ in which one enters the way the first group of explorers did, through a steep and narrow path about a mile and a half long. I chose instead to take the path more traveled- the approximately two minute elevator ride. We descended over 700 feet, and were still far above sea level, even at the lowest part of the cave.

I first took a self-guided tour around the Big Room, where there were placards spaced out, describing possible theories as to cave formation, information of preservation, chemical makeup and descriptions of stalagmites and stalactites. The one and a half mile path of the Big Room took about an hour, and after wandering through the cave in as near authentic silence that I could get in a National Park, it was time for the guided tour I bought earlier that morning to start.

I left the Big room and met my tour guide, along with about 30 other people of my tour. While the tour guide was waiting for everyone to show up, he asked us all where we were from, and in our tour alone we had people who had traveled from as far as Taiwan and Germany. I would never had thought of New Mexico, let alone the small town of Carlsbad, which takes about fifteen minutes to drive through, and is surrounded by desert, would be a place worth traveling 7000 miles or more for, but this was one of those times when I was proven wrong.

Before taking us through the guided section of the cave, our park ranger gave us two explanations as to how this cavern was formed millions of years ago. One explanation was that sulfuric acid, which came from below slowly rose to where we were, dissolving large pieces of rock, and leaving the large cavern we see today. Our tour guide described how he had tried an experiment in which he dropped either sulfuric acid, or hydrochloric acid (I can’t recall now) on a rock, and that within a week, signs of erosion and breakdown of the rock had occurred. He even had the rock with us, and showed us a dent in the rock, and he explained that that’s where he had been putting his chemical. Though the validity of his individual “experiment” may be doubted, the theory behind it seemed to be a credible one. Another theory was that the cavern was formed by dripping water. Slightly acidic water that trickles down onto rocks such as limestone has the power to erode it over time, and many geologists believe this, along with the prevalence of sulfuric acid is what formed the cavern we can see today.

We proceeded through the tour, and at one point we were shown a large room in which, during a time when cave preservation was not as an important issue is it is now, senate meetings were held, and even the movie Journey to the Center of the Earth was filmed, and a wedding and reception that took place, completely flattening and sanding out the part of the cave the size of about two the size of Coles gym floor. The park ranger explained that the process to restore the effects will take thousands of years to recover, if it ever recovers at all.

The park ranger talked about all the ways the National Park Service tried to help preserve the cave, and in some instances ended up degrading some of it instead. He explained how the parking lot and welcome center were situated right over the cave, and how though this road allows visitors into park, the asphalt has completely stopped the ability for water to drip down into the cave from that area. Usually, he explained, ground water will trickle down into the cave, but because a large piece of asphalt does not let the water be absorbed, water cannot flow down and continue to create formations.

The tour ended with one last speech by the park ranger, one that I distinctly remember from my last trip to Carlsbad. He discussed problems that the park was having with the preservation of the cavern. There are new parts of the Cavern that are still being discovered and explored for the first time, and they are finding that the cave may extend past the park’s boarder. Recently, certain companies, as the ranger explained, have been building closer and closer to the parks boarders. One of these companies in particular have become very interested in drilling very close to the boarder, near where this cave lies, and Cavern preservationists are concerned that drilling could either disturb the rock around the cave, or actually puncture part of a cave that has not been mapped out yet, completely disturbing and even destroying the cave’s ecosystem. He ended the tour saying something along the lines of, “during this election, make sure you vote wisely, or else you may elect someone who will let this cave be destroyed.”

I took more from this trip than any other, as I actually paid attention to what the park ranger had to say. Taking this last trip made me realize that I come from a place where even a hole in the ground is something pretty special.

     On the sixth day of the twelfth month of the two-thousandth and eight year of the Common Era (19 days until Christmas ’08!) I went to Brooklyn for an event titled “Winter Survival Lessons.” It was hosted at Prospect Park and the listing advertised: “Bring your love of nature as the Rangers reveal the astonishing winter adaptations that resident animals use to survive the frigid temperatures. You'll also learn how to identify animal tracks in snow and mud.” Naturally, on an adventure of this magnitude I had to bring my trusty colleague, Amanda Sakuma. We met at the “space ship” in Union Square to begin our journey:

     Amanda and I had some second thoughts about attending this event after we succesfully tracked two furry creatures within five minutes of meeting:

     Nevertheless we continued into the wilderness and within a few minutes of trekking had arrived in Brooklyn. Using advanced navigational techniques, Amanda was able to triangulate Wollman Skating Rink and guide us there. After we questioned the attendants of the rink, we began to think that this event may not be happening but alas, a helpful park ranger came to our service and informed us that the event was indeed happening and that the ranger in charge was outside.      Adrenaline pumping, Sakuma and I were introduced to our guide for the day, Marissa. Then Marissa introduced us to what we had been hoping for the whole train ride, a bunch of little kids! Horay!

(Covert Picture Taken Without Any Chaperones Knowing)
     So yeah, one could say this event’s “tone” may have been: education for the general public; and by general public I mean children.
     After all the kinder found pencils so they could pretend to write in their notebooks, we were off. Marissa explained our route for the day, which was: a walk up Breeze hill, down around the lake and then back. She prefaced the event with a few questions about how animals survived in the winter. The three methods were:
     1. Movement and Migration
     2. Hibernation
     3. “Toughing it out”
     With the heavenly tunes of James Blunt at our back, we walked past the outdoor skating rink and proceeded up Breeze Hill. Marissa spoke about what different animals did in the winter then we looked around to see what flora and fauna surrounded us. She asked us to draw a picture of something we saw around us; Amanda and I did this while the kids fought over a bag of Doritos. While looking for inspiration we saw:
     Some type of four-legged creature I believe the natives call a Squirrel:

     And I think this a Phoenix:

     After that we had a young MacArthur Fellowship candidate ask this question, “Why do bears hibernate even thought they have all that fur?” Pleasantly surprised by this question, Marissa explained how there are different degrees of hibernation and that some scientists question how bears really do hibernate. I followed up with a few questions, the first about what appeared to be trash on the lake:

     As it turns out, this is not trash but actually items placed there by park officials to keep plants from growing too far into the pond and essentially turning it into a field. Then I asked if there were any invasive species in the park and there was actually one right next to us. It was called Mugwort and was brought by the Dutch to bitter their beer. Marissa drinks wine:

     Then we went to the bird feeders and saw a few more birds but the entertaining part about this was the discussion. While looking at the birds Marissa thought one of the kids was asking if there were any city birds there and she started answering only to be corrected and told that he wanted to know if there were any silly birds at the feeders… she dropped the subject. After this, some of the little girls decided that they would race to an undisclosed location; one tripped and fell – not a survival skill.      Back to the topic of winter survival, Marissa spoke about how Killer Whales survived in the winter. She said that because of their fatness and roundness they could stay warm. I still don’t understand the round part… Then she explained that the body loses heat 25% faster in water.      After this we stood around and looked at the geese for a while. Amanda likes geese for reasons beyond me:

     We walked around for a bit more, stared at ice with the little kids, then made our way back to base camp.
     This type of event was definitely new to me. I learned some facts about New York State’s wildlife and more specifically, those that can live in a semi-urban environment. As far as interests, I think I became more appreciative of where I grew up because my field trips were substantially cooler in Massachusetts. This event was definitely valuable to the community. The kids had fun and learned a lot while Amanda and I had a good time watching them. This event absolutely had a positive impact on the environment; teaching kids the value of nature at an early age is, I think, one of the most important things someone can do, in light of modern environmentalism or not.
     Now, for the gripes. I did not really learn any methods of survival aside from getting really fat. And, tracks were not mentioned once. Therefore Amanda and I had to do our own reconnaissance to advance our edification.
     Here is Amanda foraging. Facebook!

     Then we went on our own mission trying to track some more creatures. We found some duck prints and some signs of humans (yep, that’s double entendre son.)

     After finding these signs we successfully tracked a few Homo Sapiens quite successfully.

     When we returned from our journey into the wilderness that is Brooklyn I ruminated on my experience and came to the conclusion that I did enjoy it. Amanda and I learned a bit about nature, laughed at little kids, and learned to track humans. Most importantly, we had fun, and that is the prime function of all parks. So yes, it was worthwhile but sadly, I would die in the wild.

-Craig Cannon

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.

Taryn Gregory

Environmental Studies 12:30-1:45

On November 30, at 1 pm, I went to Prospect Park in Brooklyn to go on a walk to learn about forest pathology from the Urban Park Rangers. We all met up outside the Audubon Center. The group mostly consisted of middle aged or older couples and parents with their kids. The tone of the event was more in the theme of nature appreciation with a little bit of education. It was more about interacting with nature than learning about it. It was aimed towards people that appreciate the aesthetic appeal of nature.

The event itself consisted of us taking a walking tour of the park and discussing the diseases that can harm nature and mar our appreciation of it. The ranger told us of diseases that are common primarily in the United States, such as the American Chestnut Blight or Anthracnose Diseases, which is particularly problematic in New York City. We continued to walk through the park, examining the barren Cherry Trees and admiring nature in the middle of an urban environment. As part of this, we took a closer look at some of the problems of these trees, examining ones with black knots and one with a bacterial canker that might have to be cut down. Because of the cold, there was fairly little animal activity.

Our group was relatively quiet, listening attentively to the ranger when he talked, but really just enjoying the park on a cold winter day. Occasionally, one of the older participants would ask a question about the active prevention being done or how to treat the illness, but mostly people were quiet. Generally, we were all enjoying the walking part of the tour much more than the informational aspect.

For me, this was a new experience. I like to go on nature walks, but I’d never even heard of forest pathology. The true learning experience for me was being able to identify sick trees by sight. I thought the experience was fairly informative. It was more of an informational walk than anything else; while it did teach me some things about tree and plant health, it didn’t really peak my interest or spark further inquiry. Overall, I found the experience okay. There was a lot more that could have been discussed and there was very little discussion about the impact on the environment due to time. For a person who likes to understand what they see in nature, this would have been more worthwhile.

Robb LoCurto
Leah Schwartz
Enviro Studies
12/10/08

Due to an intense motivation to do well on other certain Environmental Studies projects such as the second Lab Report, I was left with little time to complete a community event when I realized a walk through the city could provide me with ecological findings. My main focus was to take the opportunities that I had walking to and from class or where ever I was going to really take notice of what animal life the city has to offer. Sometimes I would devote my time looking up, trying to find different species of birds other than the indigenous pigeon. I’ve seen hawks, blue jays, cardinals, sparrows, and many other different types of birds, all in different trips. What did it teach me? Not a whole lot, considering they are birds and I’m not going to major in anything involving birds, or environmental studies for that matter! Anyway, here’s a picture of one of the bird species I saw flying up above the skyscrapers:


Also on my walks, I’ve noticed the different colors of squirrels that seem to enjoy getting in our way as we rush to our next destination. Being from Long Island, squirrels scurrying about is nothing new to me, however, back home they are much more afraid of people as opposed to here. When I tried to approach both black squirrels and grey squirrels, I’ve picked up on that fact that the black squirrels are much more enticed by human activity, whereas the grey squirrels portray themselves in a Long Island type fashion.



Above is a picture of a black squirrel, probably after a nice encounter with a human. It is very interesting to step back and take account of what other species may be thinking of us as humans. Are they thinking anything? Do they know that in most cases they are merely forms of entertainment for people with superior forms of knowledge? Do they view us as entertainment or as pure hunters? I believe the mindset of a specific species is dependent on which type of species it is. A small squirrel’s mind will be racing to the point of insanity of it feels threatened by a much larger species (a human for example), but may have a sense of clarity and vision when dealing with insects. It all depends on the mindset of a species whether or not it will be intimidated. One way or another, that process is what determines which squirrels or birds will find their way to me as I approach, and which ones will be threatened and intimidated and run away.
If this community event did one thing, it enhanced my interest in studying the mind and the different possibilities of how to control it. If we all learn how to control our minds and rid ourselves of unnecessary worry, maybe some day other species, like the timid squirrel, will emulate this action and our environment will be better for it. All that from a couple of hawks and squirrels, go figure.