Explore Nature Along, and In, the Hudson River at Fun Citizen Science Outing on Saturday, Sept. 9
Jay Burgess
Director of Communications, Scenic Hudson, Inc.
jburgess@scenichudson.org 845 473 4440, Ext. 222
Eli Schloss
Tideline Program Director, Clearwater
eli@clearwater.org, 845 265 8080, Ext. 7106
ULSTER PARK (Ulster County)—The public is invited to join a hike through a forested area along the Hudson River to learn about and document the status of specific plants that can offer scientists clues about how the species are being impacted by a changing climate in the Hudson Valley. Participants also will have an opportunity to wade into the Hudson to help catch fish using large nets. After being identified and classified so information about the catch can assist scientists, the fish will be released. This citizen science outing, Wake and Wade, will be hosted by the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater and Scenic Hudson at Esopus Meadows Preserve, 257 River Road, Ulster Park, Ulster County, from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9. The event is part of the annual Hudson River Valley Ramble, presented by the Hudson River Valley Greenway. The preserve is owned and maintained by Scenic Hudson.
Environmental educators from Scenic Hudson and Clearwater will lead the Walk and Wade activities. The event will begin with a ribbon cutting for Scenic Hudson’s new phenology trail, funded by a $4,900 grant from New York State’s Hudson River Valley Greenway program. Phenology is a branch of science that deals with the relationships between climate and seasonal activities by plants and animals. Scientists at environmental groups and with New York State are closely monitoring the effects a changing climate in the Hudson Valley is having on the region’s ecosystems. The public also will learn how the natural course of a stream at the preserve recently has been restored from damage sustained during the last couple of tropical storms. Accomplished with a $97,500 grant from state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River Estuary Program with funds provided through the state Natural Resource Damages Fund and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s State Wildlife Grant Program, the work improves the preserve’s popular Hudson River Greenway Water Trail Site.
Following the trail walk, interested participants can put on chest waders to enter the Hudson with large nets to catch fish. Different fish species will be identified and examined, and there will be a discussion on fish biology and adaptation.
About Hudson River Sloop Clearwater
Launched in 1969 by legendary folk singer and activist Pete Seeger, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater has been at the forefront of the environmental movement as champions of the Hudson River. To date, more than half a million people have experienced their first real look at an estuary’s ecosystem aboard the sloop Clearwater. Clearwater has become the grassroots model for producing positive changes to protect our planet. For more information, visit www.clearwater.org.
About Scenic Hudson
Scenic Hudson preserves land and farms and creates parks that connect people with the inspirational power of the Hudson River, while fighting threats to the river and natural resources that are the foundation of the valley’s prosperity. A crusader for the valley since 1963, we are credited with saving fabled Storm King Mountain from a destructive industrial project and launching the modern grass-roots environmental movement. Today with more than 25,000 ardent supporters, we are the largest environmental group focused on the Hudson River Valley. Our team of experts combines land acquisition, support for agriculture, citizen-based advocacy and sophisticated planning tools to create environmentally healthy communities, champion smart economic growth, open up riverfronts to the public and preserve the valley’s inspiring beauty and natural resources. To date Scenic Hudson has created or enhanced more than 65 parks, preserves and historic sites up and down the Hudson River and conserved more than 40,000 acres.
