Sunday, April 17, 2011

Saving Urban Biodiversity -upcoming event



This is sort of an anniversary. My very first post to this blog was April 13, 2010; I knew it was some time last April but didn’t know the actual date I decided to try this out. Looking back, I realize that I started out hoping this would be something of a weekly project. That seems to have come up a bit short; I wrote much less in the winter months when I naturally spent much less time out in the preserve. If I had to change anything I think that would make the biggest difference. If I spend more time out in the preserve there will be that much more to write about; there is never a time that I go out to the Alley and not come back with something of interest. Let’s see if over the next year I can find the time to get out into the field more often.



Even if the field work has been less than I would like, I have still been working with students and colleagues to move the preserve forward. Over the last couple of months I have been putting together a special event that will be held on the evening of April 27. It is entitled Saving Urban Biodiversity and is looking like it will be a great program. I’ve had a really great committee helping me put this together and we worked it out so it is both a special event and a photo contest.



Why this event at this time? The forum is a free event aimed directly at young people in this community. We will have a high school and college age audience, hopefully 100-150+. My hope is that we can motivate a circle of young people to take on these issues and to address the challenge of local biodiversity. I’ve done a great deal of work on this project and have a couple of talented panels with just the right combination of speakers and presenters. I’ll post the final program when it is printed next week.



The other aspect of the evening is the photo context called A Salute to Biodiversity in New York City. My great friend Rich Blum did almost all of this organizing and put together a splendid contest which seems to have taken off. The event is organized in three age categories in the three topics of wildlife, flora and landscapes so we will have 9 first and second place winners plus a best-in-show. John Charos and the Central Veterinary Associates stepped in as sponsors and are offering the cash prizes to the winners. We are still 10 days away so I can write more about both of these events as we get closer to the launch date.



The only other thing I have to report is that the natural areas restoration of the pump station project has begun. To my eye it is on a surprising scale. I took some preliminary photos yesterday of the work in progress and it surpasses my expectations. I think when it is done it will be a great improvement to the preserve. There is much more to be said about that development but again that would be a separate report. Here are two photos of what I saw yesterday.



I have to say I am happy to be back to this again. I know that I write this for myself and that no one actually reads this but me. (Actually that is not entirely true I did get at least one business scam offer as a result of this blog) Writing this just as a personal reflection might not always be the case but for this last year and for the foreseeable future I am content to write this as a personal log of my connection to the preserve.