Saturday’s Summer of Science: Casting a Wide Net in Lamont
There is a small crowd at the end of Pyrmont Pier every Saturday from early July through Labor Day weekend Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory The science communicators set up their gear, which included a seine net and a set of wading fish of various sizes. It’s an invitation to the larger community of science curious and passers-by to get dressed and step into the wild wonders of the Hudson River.
During the final Science Saturday of summer 2022, participants, under the direction of the 2022 Next Generation Hudson Education interns, set up seine nets across the Hudson River on the north side of Pyrmont Pier in hopes of catching all kinds of species of fish and crabs.Photo: Marisa Lynn Annunziato
“We believe science is best taught outdoors in natural settings,” says maggie terlingProject Director in the field of education Columbia Climate SchoolLamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. Through teaching outdoors, Turing means taking participants—from toddlers to adults—directly into the Hudson River. The foundation of the program is immersion and one of the main activities during the course is “seine fishing”.
A seine is a long net attached to two long poles. One end is fixed to the shore, and the other end is pulled into the water and looped back to the shore to catch the fish surrounded by the net. Participants can cast their nets in the river and then inspect the creatures they’ve caught.
“We actually teach them how to identify different fish and crab species. We also have all kinds of other educational materials,” says Marisa Lynn announcesLamont’s Educational Program Assistant.
As well as purse seine and fish identification, the sessions run from 11am to 3pm and focus on pole fishing clinics, water testing and plankton pumping (a practice of drawing plankton out of the river using basic pumps), and microbiology academic identification.
science saturdayA “test run” began in 2019 to engage the surrounding Rockland County community (Lamont is located in Palisades, NY) and introduce the public to the Lamont Hudson River Field Station at the end of Pyrmont Pier. It was once a replenishment station for Lamont research ships and houses instruments to monitor local river chemistry and water quality.The structure is in superstorm sandy 2012. The renovated space officially reopened to the public in October 2019 and is now a base of operations for a work-study facility and community education program.
“Before hosting these events, we didn’t have any regular contact with the public on the pier, we wanted to let them know about Lamont and the field station. The field station itself is a great resource, but people need to know we’re there.” Science Saturday An interesting and visible mechanism is provided for this,” Turing explained.
They also hope to use the program to engage young people in science through fun field experiences and improve people’s connection to the Hudson River, Tring said. The more people know about the properties of a river and its creatures, the more effort they are willing to devote to protecting it.
Marisa Lynn Annunziato demonstrates the plankton pump used to pump plankton from rivers.
“An unexpected benefit is that we’re building our understanding of what we might find in our part of the Hudson, how different fish use the Hudson at different stages of growth, and the differences between years. How differences in precipitation affected what we found in the Hudson River. Part of the Hudson River,” Turin said.
Organizers say the program has been a success by all accounts, attracting a loyal audience of returning participants and new enthusiasts.
“[The Pier] It’s a beautiful place to walk and people come across us and they think what we’re doing is really cool and they want to jump in the river and experience it. So, some people come because they’ve heard about it. Some people just happen to be there and interested in the event. You do not have to register. You can come and go as you please,” Annunziato said. “We tend to have over 100 visits during our time frame. “
“People always have questions about the Hudson River,” Tring said, “whether they go down the seine with us themselves or just stop and talk to us, they’re always happy to see us there, almost everyone Both noticed that they learned something from the time they spent with us. That was a win!”
