PUTTING THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE

Writing about the Alley Pond Park Wetland Nature Preserve is endless. When you consider the number of different plants and animals and the number of ecological system and the complexity of the biogeochemical processes , it would take forever to document the true nature of this preserve. The preserve also captures many of the philosophical relationships between human kind and the natural world.

Nature neglected.

Nature forgotten.

Nature ever-changing.

Nature resilient.

Nature in the City.

Nature beloved..

All of these and many more can be found just a few steps inside this great preserve.

Now, while there will never be a shortage of topics to write about, I also have to consider the position of this preserve within its larger context. Geography is important. Where things are and how they are connected need to be understood if you are to really understand the nature of a ‘place’.

One of the most productive ways to understand the geography of this preserve is in terms of its 'watershed’. The idea of "watershed" is a fundamental geographic idea and is essential to the development of landscape. The watershed of the wetland preserve is a much larger unit than the preserve itself. (See map at the end of this post) It is defined by water flows and hydrology. Water is the liquid connective tissue analogous to the blood and the circulatory system of the human body except that the water in this area is largely open and renewable and not flowing in a closed loop physiological system.

Our particular watershed sits on the eastern most edge of New York City and includes parts of Nassau County as well. With the wetland preserve at its beating heart, the Alley Creek watershed contains a variety of upland terrestrial ecosystems ( Long Island terminal moraine) and down stream estuarine and marine systems (Little Neck Bay) .

It is also a highly humanized place. Place names like Oakland Lake, Udalls Cove and Ravine, Crocheron Park, Lake Success, Little Neck Bay and Fort Totten are the veil that hide a wonderfully rich natural and human history.

I still love to write about the Wetland Preserve but to do justice to that goal, I have to put it in its proper context. The Alley Watershed is that context. So my future plans may include some of the places, creatures and events that exist throughout this surrounding area.

Hot Time Summer in the City

The preserve is sizzling – literally and figuratively. We are in the first official heat wave of the season and it is peaking this week. Expectations are to be close to the record temperature for today and tomorrow and no temperature or rain relief until at least the week-end.

Nature is powerful even when it comes to heat and cold. People always marvel at the power of nature when it is dramatically demonstrated in the roar of the hurricane or the thrust of an earthquake. But nature is powerful in other ways too. Consider the power of biological productivity. This week I had the chance to do a couple of days of early summer field work in the preserve. On Friday I worked with good friends and APEC staff in the distant parts of the preserve on some meadow management and last night I took a couple of hours in the heaviest growth areas on trail segments 5 and 6. All of these areas were essentially clear and open just a few weeks ago. Now they are on the rising curve of the growing season. The amount of growth is absolutely amazing; it is a testament to the biological vitality of the preserve. The growing season isn’t going to peak until mid-summer and already the trails are overgrown and almost impassable. Most of the Phragmites are 4 to 6 or even 8 feet tall and all the other plants are trying to keep pace.

Phragmites is a great example of what we mean by biological productivity. Phragmites is actually a kind of grass but like no grass you would ever expect to grow on your lawn. (See Pharagmites: common reed for some great biological information and insights http://www.invasiveplants.net/phragmites/). It begins to grow in early to mid April and by July when it finishes its above ground growth it is 12 to 18 feet tall! The rhizomes continue to grow underneath the ground until the plant become dormant, which is why Phragmites does so well each and every year. Twelve feet high in twelve weeks – you do the math – this plant can easily grow a foot or more a week in the peak of its growing season! That’s impressive!

These little April green shoots are the young Phragmites which in July that will be 12+ feet tall in the same number of weeks. 12 weeks=12 feet that is some fast growing plant!!!

Where does all of this new plant materials come from? Is it magic? In a sense it is almost magical. It comes from the truly powerful biological process of photosynthesis and cellular reproduction. Each green cell is designed to “fix” Carbon from the atmosphere (CO2). That Carbon is fixed to the other elements Oxygen and Hydrogen in organic molecules (and later with the addition of Nitrogen and Phosphorus) forms all the new cellular materials that support the new plant growth. This sub-microscopic process creates immense amounts of new plant materials every growing season. Every green plant does this and the sum total of their effort is tremendous. The entire northern hemisphere is breathing in right now and turning that inhalation into untold millions of tons of new plant material. On a global scale this is one of the most powerful natural processes and moves more material in and out of the biosphere that all human activity combined.

How does this process relate to this great preserve? It is a real struggle to keep the trails in the preserve open and passable at this time of the year but it is a struggle that we should be thankful for. Growth and regrowth, season after season, year after year, is never ending. Biological production is nature’s way of breathing in and out and growing stronger every year. It is nature’s way and we should understand and cherish nature’s way.

Saving Urban Biodiversity Forum and Arbor Day

Wednesday evening April 27 and Saturday morning April 30^th were two wonderful events.

The Saving Urban Biodiversity young people’s forum and photography contest on Wednesday evening and had an audience of about 100 or more high school and college–aged audience and a great line-up of speakers. Councilman James Gennaro came to make the keynote address and although he had us on edge when he didn’t arrive at the start time he did make it and talked about what the city is doing right now with biodiversity issues. The following speakers from academia (St. Johns) and from city agencies (NYC DEP and NYC Parks) and non-profit advocacy groups showed the wide range of interest in this issue or should I say issues. I’ll try to see if I can copy and paste the agenda at the end of this post so that anyone reading this can get a more exact idea of who presented that night.

Yesterday (April 30) was the annual Arbor Day event at APEC and students from St. Johns turned out first, to help the children plant their trees and second, to do some of their own field work. Both the morning and afternoon were filled with pride and accomplishments. We had a highly overgrown tree planting site to start and did an amazing job of clearing and planting. I know we left it much better than we found it.

In the afternoon, as a smaller working group, we took on a major patch of Japanese knotweed and garlic mustard - two invasive plants that we hadn’t addressed before. These sites need to be revisited to remove anything that is still left but I think the most important thing is to monitor the possible re-growth and see how quickly things try to come back and see if there are any control measures that work better than others. We followed the standard operating procedures with these plants pulling the knotweed with as much of the root bulb as possible and bagging the removing the garlic mustard before it goes to seed. I took some great shots and some before and after photos and can include them here.

BEFORE and AFTER

Forum Schedule

6 PM. Doors Open. Early Registration and Refreshments.

Continuous showing of Photography contest entries.

7 PM Call to Order. Welcome. Introduction of Keynote speaker.

7:05-7:15. Keynote Address Councilman James Gennaro 24^th Council District

Chair of the Environmental Committee of NYC Council.

7:15-7:20 Photo Awards in the 8-13 year old age group.

Transition to 1^st Panel

7:20-8:00 Panel #1 Saving Urban Biodiversity-Defining the Issues

Moderator: Janice Melnick Northeast Queens Parks Administrator

Frank Cantelmo Ecologist and Associate Professor of Biologist.St Johns University

Michael Feller Director, NYC Natural Resources Group

New York City Parks and Recreation

David Burg Urban Ecologist. President “Wild Metro -

Protecting Natural Where We Live”

Marielle Anzalone Author, botanist and urban conservation biologist

Founder of Drosera and NYC Wildflower Week.

Paula Lazrus Anthropologist/Archaeologist

Assistant Professor St. Johns University

8:00-8:15 Photo Awards in the 14-17 year old age group.

Transition to 2^nd Panel

8:15-9:00 Panel #2 Saving Urban Biodiversity -What is being done? What remains to be done?

Moderator Rita Sherman, President Alley Pond Environmental Center

Jane Jackson Associate Director North Shore Land Alliance

Aline Euler Education Director Alley Pond Environmental Center

Dana Gumb Chief, NYC Dept. of Environmental Protection Staten Island Bluebelt Unit

Karen Blumer Author, Long Island (New York) Native Plants for Landscaping: A Source Book

Minona Heaviland Ecologist New York City Natural Resources Group

New York City Parks and Recreation

9:00-9:15 Photo Awards in the 18-21 year old age group.

Award for Best Overall Photo

Transition to Final Discussion

9:15-9:30 What can you do to help urban biodiversity?

Discussion and Final Remarks facilitated by William Nieter

Director Environmental Studies Program St. Johns University

Saving Biodiversity Forum organizer.

9:30 – 10:00 Adjourn and Exit Building

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.

SNOW ON CROCUSES

March 23 will always be a special day for me. It is one of those borderline days with the touch of spring in the air but the chill of winter hanging on. This week the ground thawed completely and the Crocuses on the south facing bed took full advantage of a rare 70 degree day to make their first appearance. They opened their first bloom about 10 days ago but by today they were the stars of the winter garden bed.

Tonight, the weather shifted back a step and we had what is affectionately called a winter mix – half rain, half snow, half sleet with lightning and thunder in the background to add a little drama –a bit of wild weather and I think the last gasp of winter. When it was over the garden had a light slush covering the Crocuses and their neighboring tulip sprouts. Snow on Crocuses – that is an image, a sure sign of the end of winter and the start of new life.

I remember another March 23 morning in1979. That one was a brilliantly bright and sunny spring day. I was coming home from the North Shore hospital about 8 or 9 in the morning after spending the early morning hours in the delivery room. My son Robert was born that day at around 6:30 AM. When I got home, with a lifetime of thoughts swirling in my head, there were the Crocuses in the front lawn, their purple cups waiting to celebrate along with me. Every time I see a spring Crocus I can’t help but think back to that day and what became of that babe. He is grown up now, a smart and healthy college grad, working hard everyday, newly-wed to a special young lady who complements him in every way. Hopefully they are planning their lives together and a family of their own and, of course, a place to grow Crocuses every year.

THE GIFT OF WINTER

Winter woes, the winter blues, cabin fever, there are so many common complaints about the winter season. I hate to shovel – that’s my number one complaint. No doubt winter is a tough times especially for our coming and going and our everyday human activities. But in the natural world every season has its purpose and unexpected gifts.

Out in the preserve there is a quiet and peacefulness that is transcendent. Walk out alone and in some places the crunch of snow and ice under your boots is the only sound. It is absolutely silent which is rare in these days and times. Stop for a minute, close your eyes and just breathe in and the winter silence is a gift of the season that warms the soul. All of nature looks like it is sound asleep, in its infinite blanket of snow and ice.

But there is much more to consider. What else does winter give besides a brief time of peace and rest?

In a wetland some of the physical and geological processes are as active as ever and, in fact, are readying the wetland for the year to come. Take the phenomena of HYDROPERIOD. This is one of the definitive wetland functions and actually is part of the definition of a wetland. All wetlands have a hydroperiod -when and where waters flow in and out of the system in special ways. In a tidal wetland the hydroperiod is usually daily (semi-diurnal or diurnal) with a slightly higher monthly cycle synchronized to the spring and new moon. In all seasons of the year the salt marshes of the Alley still have their twice daily flooding and draining as the tides rise and fall in Little Neck Bay and Alley Creek. These are endless cycles not really affected by change of season.

More seasonal are the water levels in the freshwater wetlands and particularly the WETLAND PONDS. Last fall one of the senior classes did a resource management study in the Alley and one of the particular findings was that water levels at that time had fallen dramatically (by up to two feet) giving the appearance that some of the ponds were headed toward drying entirely. Not to worry. I had the chance to walk the nearby preserve in early January and it is not at all surprising that water levels (i.e. the hydroperiod) had returned to ‘normal’ levels. With a foot or two of snow and ice still covering the preserve, the inevitable spring melt will add to the shallow groundwater or directly into the wetlands bringing the water levels up even further.

Think about it. Ground water flows do not stop even in the winter. With frozen surface conditions and evaporation being greatly reduced (by near freezing temperatures) and with transpiration by plants being almost zero the water levels will almost certain rise until the wetlands and ponds are brim full. This is the normal cycle of things with water levels declining in the late summer and across the fall and returning in the winter and during the wet spring season. Without winter our ponds and wetlands would certainly diminish. On a scale perhaps a million times larger, our distant reservoirs and catchment areas would run dry without their annual recharge for the coming year. We couldn't get through the next summer without the gift of rain, ice and snow.

This is one of the true gifts of winter – a chance to recharge all of our vital water resources- and a chance for us humans to rest up and get ready for the year to come. Be thankful for winter. Happy New Year everyone.

The Holiday Are Upon Us

Arctic Blasts. Frozen Ground. Nor’easters. And every cold and frigid night Orion the Hunter for company in the night sky. Something tells me winter is upon us.

Field work in the preserve has pretty much come to an end this season. I’m tallying up the field work hours for the Service Learning department and getting a few early reflection papers. I’m satisfied with the results of this field work season. Looking back there were some highlights and so much enthusiasm. Certainly there is much to build on next spring.

The most exciting thing on the spring horizon is some early planning for a conference in April; we are thinking about a week-night conference followed by a week-end field trip to focus people on biodiversity and the issue of invasive species (among other issues); the APEC board heartily endorsed the plan and is looking to host an evening forum in April (tentative title- SAVING URBAN BIODIVERSITY).

It is just in the idea stage right now but I should be able to pull it together; I actually have a committee of great people to work with. Surround yourself with committed, strong, creative people and share the goal – that is a formula for success.

Once we have our ideas on paper I’ll be sure to post the developing plan to this space.

Right now is my time to get away for a couple of days so everyone should enjoy the holidays and the start of the winter season. Much love, peace, happiness and joy to all in the days ahead. Take care and love one another and I’ll be back early next year.

GOD SMILES