Join us for Oyster Monitoring Friday!

August 17, 2016

Our EcoVolunteers will be meeting this week on FRIDAY AUGUST 19 at 6am. If you have summer fridays off, come join us!!!

As always, if bad weather is threatening, Allison will send out an email the evening prior to canceling.

We will meet at the park entrance located at the corner of O'Brien Ave and Leland Ave, Soundview, Bronx NY 10473 (For GPS purposes, you can use the address of 311 Leland Ave, Bronx, NY 10473). For those of you taking public transportation, the Bx 27 or Bx 39 buses will put you within walking distance (the subway is a further walk).

If you are able to join us, please RSVP at https://nynjbaykeeper.org/oystervolunteer/ so that Allison knows to expect you (and wait for you!). We will provide all field gear, including waders; you should bring water, a hat/sunscreen/sunglasses (if necessary), and dress in clothes you don't mind getting dirty. Please remember this site is for adult volunteers only (do not bring children or pets with you). Each monitoring trip lasts approximately 3 hours, though if you cannot stay the whole time its OK.

Over this summer, we will be beginning a new phase in our long term monitoring plan. Over the past decade, various projects and monitoring has taken place at Soundview, helping to shape our knowledge of oyster restoration in an urban estuary like the Hudson Raritan. We are proud to have contributed to that knowledge and have had a lot of help from EcoVolunteers along the way. This summer we will begin a new monitoring phase, focusing on establishment of the reef and the other animals that use the oyster reef. Oyster reefs not only help to filter the water and protect from storm surges, but provide a home for many different organisms. By establishing an oyster reef, we are increasing diversity in the urban estuary which is very important. This summer we will be able to monitor not only the oysters but the various crabs, fish, worms, and other critters than live there. A large part of the EcoVolunteers program is allowing you, the citizen scientist, to collect relevant data that will help us (and others in the restoration world) make educated decisions on how to best help our estuary and the organisms inhabiting it. YOU are an integral part of the scientific process, and will learn all about it while participating in actual research projects and monitoring sessions

We will be finishing up our summer strong on WEDS AUGUST 31 (545am) and THURS SEPT 1 (6am). We will be doing two evening monitoring in Sept and October!

Looking forward to meeting our new volunteers and connecting with our old!

Dr. Allison Fitzgerald