Urban rivers

Urban Rivers and Communities of Color

A deeper look into civic engagement and cultural significance around riparian restoration Amanda Lee ∙ Fall 2015 ∙ Urban Ecology ∙ Antioch University

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction. .............................................................................................................................. 1 Briefings: 1. Anacostia River, Washington D.C. .................................................................................. 2 2. Duwamish River, Seattle, WA ......................................................................................... 4 3. Penobscot River, Bangor, ME .......................................................................................... 6 4. Los Angeles River, Los Angeles, CA............................................................................... 8 5. Bronx River, Bronx, NY ................................................................................................. 10 Activities for Educators............................................................................................................ 12 1. Explore Your Neighborhood ......................................................................................... 12 2. Participate in a Restoration Event ................................................................................. 13 3. Explore Your Local River ............................................................................................... 14

Cover Photo: Youth Conservation Corps members in Bronx, NY, 1978-1980.

Source: Bronx River Sankofa at https://bronxriversankofa.wordpress.com

INTRODUCTION “H ISTORY DOES NOT REFER MERELY OR EVEN PRINCIPALLY TO THE PAST .

O N THE CONTRARY, THE GREAT FORCE OF HISTORY COMES FROM THE FACT THAT WE CARRY IT WITHIN US , THAT WE ARE UNCONSCIOUSLY CONTROLLED BY IT , AND THAT HISTORY IS

Rivers provide some of people’s most basic needs to survive, including fresh water and food. It is no surprise then that cities both ancient and modern were established along waterways. Rivers have also served as transit ways for people, wildlife, and goods.

Through activities like fishing and clamming, people fulfill another need, that is, of social bonding and practicing cultural tradition.

RATIONALE The briefings contained in this series explore the different ways urban communities of color in the United States use, steward, advocate for, and study urban waterways. Instead of focusing on the efforts of traditional conservation organizations, each briefing seeks to tell a tale often left untold. With intent of centering the people who are most impacted by activities on a river – whether it is pollution or restoration – all briefings showcase grassroots efforts by communities of color that live in often impoverished, industrialized neighborhoods to achieve environmental justice, for the sake of people and rivers.

LITERALLY PRESENT IN EVERYTHING WE DO .”

J AMES B ALDWIN

CONCLUSION “E CONOMIC DEGRADATION BEGETS ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION .”

M AJORA C ARTER, FOUNDER OF S USTAINABLE SOUTH BRONX , T HE N ATION

Patterns across all five briefings emerged in that:  Many people of color depend on urban waterways as sources of food  The effects of industrialization and urbanization have negatively impacted the health of both wildlife and people living in riverside neighborhoods  Outdated sewage and stormwater infrastructure in cities continue to pollute waterways with toxins, despite restoration efforts  To engage multicultural communities, employ culturally responsive strategies  Retention of affordable housing needs to be considered in green initiatives

DISCUSSION UPPER RIGHT: JAMES RASMUSSEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE DUWAMISH RIVER CLEANUP COALITION/TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP & DUWAMISH TRIBAL MEMBER, BELLAMY PAILTHORP KPLU NEWS MID RIGHT: CHILD FISHING ON THE ANACOSTIA RIVER, D.C. BECKY HARLAN, ANACOSTIA TRUST. LOWER RIGHT: NEW YORK HARBOR SCHOOL STUDENTS DOING OYSTER RESTORATION, NOAA.

When available, Native history, perspective, and activism have been included in each briefing. Despite best efforts, perspectives from all communities of color could not be provided; documentation of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) activism around river restoration is very sparse if nonexistent.

There is thus opportunity to better document knowledge and conservation methods used by both Native and AAPI communities.

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Food Sustenance and Stewardship of the Anacostia River, Washington D.C. Briefing 1

Amanda Lee, Urban Ecology, Islandwood & Antioch University

“T HE RIVER WAS SEEN AS A VEIN OF MOTHER E ARTH ; IT WAS SALTY , LIKE BLOOD , AND IT TASTED LIKE BLOOD .

I T WAS PART OF THE LIVING SYSTEM .”

G ABRIELLE T AYAC, P ISCATAWAY HISTORIAN AT THE N ATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN I NDIAN , T HE W ASHINGTON POST .

INTRODUCTION For 10,000 years, the Nacotchtank people or their ancestors lived along the Anacostia River, an eastern branch of the Potomac River, in what is now present day Washington, D.C. In 1608, Captain John Smith recorded observing warehouses that the Nacotchtank had constructed along the river to store corn and other goods to transport on the Anacostia. As European Americans settled the area, the river served as a commercial transit route until the 1800s, when the Washington Navy Yard and other military operations stationed themselves on the river due to its depth of forty feet, which made it an ideal waterway for building warships.

TOP: LITHOGRAPH OF THE ANACOSTIA RIVER AND THE WASHINGTON NAVY YARD, 1862. RETRIEVED FROM IBIBLIO.ORG 9 DEC 2015.

RIGHT: MAP OF THE ANACOSTIA RIVER WATERSHED FROM THE ANACOSTIA WATERSHED SOCIETY “ADDRESSING THE RISK” REPORT, RETRIEVED 9 DEC 2015.

IMPORTANCE AND HUMAN IMPACT The Anacostia River suffers from many different sources of pollution both current and past. With the Anacostia watershed being 70% developed, stormwater and waste from combined sewage overflow systems contribute to high amounts of fecal matter in the water. In 2007, the river was so inundated with trash that it was declared “impaired by trash” under the Clean Water Act. The Anacostia River also now stands at only five feet deep at best. Centuries of clear cutting trees and industrial-scale farming by EuropeanAmerican settlers have caused heavy erosion and deposition of silt into the river.

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Food Sustenance and the Anacostia

There are six known legacy toxic sites on the river, toxins from which, according to US Fish and Wildlife, have caused cancerous lesions and sores in one-third of brown bullhead catfish. Despite the high amounts of toxins and hazardous waste present in the river, an estimated 17,000 people who live nearby - mostly African American, Latino and Asian – continue to go fishing, especially for catfish, on the Anacostia and regard it as an important social activity. People who don’t eat what they catch instead share their fish with members of their community, especially those who are hungry.

“T HEN, AS NOW, THE P OTOMAC WAS MORE OF A RICH MAN ’S RIVER , AND THE A NACOSTIA WAS A POOR MAN’S RIVER .”

J OHN R. WENNERSTEN IN A NACOSTIA: T HE DEATH & L IFE OF AN AMERICAN R IVER .

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN STEWARDSHIP T HE A NACOSTIA C OMMUNITY M USEUM Originally founded in 1967, the Anacostia Community museum was an effort from the Smithsonian Institute to engage the local African American community. That effort continues today through their public education and outreach programs. Specifically, the museum has recruited youth of color in developing their environmental awareness and civic engagement through its year-long Urban Waterways Citizen Scientist Program. As citizen scientists, students engage with STEM content through hands-on and experiential learning activities, such as investigating riparian ecology and conducting studies in watershed conservation.

T HE A CCOKEEK F OUNDATION The Accokeek Foundation is a land stewardship organization that maintains Piscataway Park, located on the Potomac River, and does educational programming around agriculture, environmental stewardship, and culture. The Accokeek Foundation has partnered with the Piscataway people, the closest living relatives of the Nacotchank, and the National Parks Service to accurately detail the history and culture of the Piscataway, both past and present. In addition to creating exhibits on Piscataway history, the foundation has integrated into its educational curriculum, the values of the Piscataway: cooperation, land stewardship, and reciprocity. The Accokeek Foundation has helped further contemporary Piscataway efforts to preserve and share their culture by launching an oral history project that features stories told by elders and other important tribal members.

UPPER RIGHT: STUDENT SCIENTISTS EXPLORE CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERWAYS , MY SMITHSONIAN. LOWER RIGHT: CLASS AT ACCOKEEK FOUNDATION, AURICULO THERAPY SEMINARS.

Connection to land and water is still vital to the Picataways and African Americans as they face challenges, among them, federal recognition for the former and gentrification of neighborhoods along the Anacostia for the latter. Immigrants with cultural connections to fishing also value spending time on the Anacostia. Collectively, people of color continue to play an important role in the conservation and stewardship of urban waterways.

Multicultural Community Cleanup of the Duwamish River, Seattle, WA Briefing 2

Amanda Lee, Urban Ecology, Islandwood & Antioch University

A FTER [THE D UWAMISH R IVER ] IS CLEANED UP , THIS WILL BE A BETTER PLACE TO COME TO … A REAL CONCERN WITH THE

- MAYBE WE HAVE MORE PARKS , MAYBE WE’ VE PLANTED MORE TREES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD …

COMMUNITY IS

DOES THAT MEAN WE ARE GOING TO BE PRICED OUT OF THIS ?

J AMES R ASMUSSEN , E XECUTIVE D IRECTOR OF THE DRCC/TAG AND D UWAMISH TRIBAL M EMBER , KEXP

INTRODUCTION The Duwamish River begins as the Green River in the Cascade Mountains and flows 93 miles west to Elliott Bay in Seattle, WA. The Duwamish River has been the home to the Duwamish (Dkhw’Duw’Absh), Muckleshoot, and Suquamish tribes for years as well as the animals that provided subsistence to them. Wildlife that inhabit or live near the river include eagles, ospreys, seals, otters, beavers, and of course, salmonids. Chinook, coho, chum, and steelhead are commonly found in the river while pink, sockeye, cutthroat trout and bull trout are more rare (Seattle Public Utilities).

Of the thousands of acres that used to be tidal flats and riparian habitat, over 98% of it has been filled and paved over into industrial zoning over the course of the last century.

Even though much of the industry that was sited along the river no longer exists, the pollution that accumulated over time remains in the sediment. Toxins such as PCBs, arsenic, dioxin and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon have been found in the riverbed.

TOP: PHOTO TAKEN IN 1922 OF THE DUWAMISH RIVER FEATURING SOME OF ITS ORIGINAL BENDS. RETRIEVED FROM THE SEATTLE TIMES. RIGHT: PHOTO TAKEN IN 2011 OF THE ONE NATURAL BEND LEFT IN THE DUWAMISH RIVER WITH KELLOGG ISLAND, CENTER. TOM REESE FOR THE SEATTLE TIMES.

IMPORTANCE AND HUMAN IMPACT The lower waterway once covered 13.5 miles of meandering turns, but since the Duwamish Waterway Commission decided to channelize and dredge the river in 1913, a process that continued into the 1980s, the river now flows down a straight path of only 4.5 miles.

Since then, industry has blossomed along the river banks and the deepening of the river turned it into a viable shipping channel. However, industrial waste, stormwater, and raw sewage have all negatively impacted the water quality of the Duwamish thereby affecting Page 4

Multicultural Community and the Duwamish

some of Seattle’s most marginalized and vulnerable communities: low-income, homeless, immigrant, and tribal fishing families that live in South Park and Georgetown.

In 2001, the EPA declared the Lower Duwamish Waterway, the 5.5 mile stretch which flows through Seattle, a Superfund site. The City of Seattle, the Port of Seattle, King County, and Boeing, identified as the four main culprits for polluting the Duwamish, have been tasked with cleaning up the river. Since then, King County has removed 66,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment, about half of the historic contamination. In 2014, EPA announced a cleanup plan to address what remains which will be implemented from 2021 to 2030.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN STEWARDSHIP The Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/Technical Advisory Group (DRCC/TAG), established in 2001, serves as the liaison between the EPA and the South Park and Georgetown neighborhoods with regard to cleanup of the Superfund site. The DRCC/TAG, in addition to staff, has a 10-member advisory council which includes the Duwamish Tribe.

Through employing culturally inclusive strategies to engage with the multilingual communities of South Park and Georgetown, the DRCC/TAG was able to garner an unprecedented amount of feedback and attendance at public meetings for the EPA. Their results were:   RIGHT: THE DUWAMISH WATERWAY IN THE MID-1800S VERSUS TODAY. RETRIEVED FROM THE BURKE MUSEUM BLOG.

 

Over 2,300 comments submitted to the EPA in 10 languages Nearly 1,300 attendees of public hearings or meetings where on-site translation in Spanish, Vietnamese, and English during Spanish-only hearings was provided Over 50 community events with materials written in 7 different languages A River for All campaign which galvanized over 43,000 people nationwide

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Dam Removal and Fisheries Restoration on the Penobscot River, Bangor, ME Briefing 3

Amanda Lee, Urban Ecology, Islandwood & Antioch University

“TO THE PENOBSCOT [PEOPLE], THIS RIVER IS OUR VERY SOUL . IT ’S A PLACE WHERE WE TRULY HOLD HANDS WITH OUR HISTORY AND OUR ANCESTORS .”

C HIEF K IRK FRANCIS DURING THE VEAZIE DAM REMOVAL , REPORTED BY THE B ANGOR D AILY NEWS, J ULY 22, 2013.

INTRODUCTION

TOP: IMAGE OF THE PENOBSCOT RIVER AND BANGOR, MAINE IN 1875.

RETRIEVED FROM RIVERLORIAN.COM. UPPER RIGHT: JOSEPH DANA PADDLES A HANDMADE BIRCH CANOE ON THE PENOBSCOT WHILE DEMOLITION CREWS BREACH THE VEAZIE DAM. GABOR DEGRE FOR THE BANGOR DAILY NEWS.

LOWER RIGHT: DAMS ON THE PENOBSCOT RIVER. RETRIEVED FROM NOAA. CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE.

The Penobscot River is largest river in Maine and the second largest river in New England, its watershed providing drainage for nearly a third of Maine or 8,570 square miles. Despite its size, the basin is 95% forested with a sparse human population.

Cities such as Bangor, the third largest city in Maine, Brewer and Old Town are located adjacent to the Penobscot River while Rockland and Belfast are located on the shores of the Penobscot Bay. The river and bay are named after the Penobscot (Penawapskewi) Indian Nation, a member of the Wabanaki Confederacy.

IMPORTANCE AND HUMAN IMPACT Similar to the rest of the New England, fisheries in the Penobscot were once plentiful. An estimated 14 to 20 million alewives, 3 to 5 million Page 6

Dam Removal on the Penobscot

American shad, and 75,000–100,000 Atlantic salmon used to thrive in the Penobscot.

Dams, culverts, pollution, and overfishing contributed to the near-elimination of many searun fish species in the Penobscot. NOAA, in partnership with state and local entities, are making efforts to restore habitat and improve water quality for diadromous species including alewife and blueback herring (species of concern), Atlantic salmon and shortnose sturgeon (endangered), and Atlantic sturgeon (threatened). Maine is home to the nation’s last remaining wild Atlantic salmon, 60-70% of which spawn in the Penobscot.

Fish have also played a vital role to the sustenance of the Penobscot people who have inhabited the watershed for over 10,000 years. According to the Penobscot River Restoration Trust, a non-profit collaboration between conservation groups and the Penobscot Nation, “archaeological evidence shows native inhabitants on the Penobscot fished for American shad as early as 8,000 years ago and for sturgeon as early as 3,000 years ago.” Dams, first built in the 1830s, subsequently blocked passageway for both fish and people for the next 180 years.

"W HEN THE FISH CAME IN THE SPRING THEY FOUND AN IMPASSABLE BARRIER ACROSS THEIR WAY …

A

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN STEWARDSHIP In 2004, the Penobscot Nation, federal and state government, six conservation groups, and PPL Corporation (owner of the dams) met to lay out terms for restoring the river.

Their unprecedented agreement, annotated below, allowed:

GREAT MANY SHAD AND ALEWIVES LINGERED ABOUT THE DAM AND DIED THERE, UNTIL THE AIR WAS LOADED WITH THE STENCH ."

M AINE’S F IRST F ISHERIES C OMMISSIONER , 1869, T HE P ENOBSCOT TRUST.

   

The Penobscot River Restoration Trust to purchase three and subsequently remove the two lowermost dams on the river: Veazie and Great Works; The Penobscot Trust to decommission and pursue construction of a state-of-the-art fish bypass around the third dam, Howland; PPL Corporation the opportunity to increase generation at six existing dams, which would result in maintaining essentially all of the current energy generation; PPL Corporation to improve fish passage at four additional dams.

Since the agreement was signed, the Penobscot Trust, which is the non-profit charged with implementing and fulfilling the core aspects of the agreement have accomplished the following:   

Removed the Great Works Dam, 2012 Removed the Veazie Dam, 2013 Begun construction of the Howie Dam Bypass, ongoing

With the removal of the two lowermost dams and the construction of a bypass, the Penobscot Trust and their partners restored access to 1,000 miles of habitat for Atlantic salmon, shortnose sturgeon (reported sighting in November 2015), American shad, alewife, and seven other species of sea-run fish. The Penobscot Nation, which once practiced sustenance fishing, has only harvested two salmon since 1980 because the population was so fragile. The return of the fisheries marks a reunification of long-lost relatives with their historic homelands and the potential for sustenance fishing once again.

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Latino Environmental Justice Activism Around the Los Angeles River, Los Angeles, CA Briefing 4

Amanda Lee, Urban Ecology, Islandwood & Antioch University

“T HE ONLY TIME WE GET QUOTED IS WHEN IT COMES TO IMMIGRATION , AND THAT ’S VERY BOTHERSOME TO ME BECAUSE WHAT HAPPENS IS YOU GET STEREOTYPED AS ONLY CARING ABOUT A SINGLE ISSUE , AND THAT ’S FURTHEST FROM THE TRUTH .”•

IRMA M UÑOZ, FOUNDER OF M UJERES DE LA TIERRA, T HE C ITY PROJECT

TOP: AERIAL VIEW OF LOS ANGELES AND THE RIVER, 1887. FROM THE L.A. PUBLIC LIBRARY VIA NATHAN MASTERS. UPPER RIGHT: SCREEN CAPTURE FROM THE MOVIE, “GREASE” (1978), KCET. LOWER RIGHT: KAYAKERS PADDLE ON THE LOS ANGELES RIVER. JAMES BARTLETT FOR BBC TRAVEL.

INTRODUCTION The Los Angeles River is iconic, if the above image looks familiar. Normally, one might not associate a river with car races. However, since the Army Corps of Engineers paved the Los Angeles River in 1938 to turn it into a 51-mile flood control channel, it has been a site for movie sets, graffiti artists, and refuse. The public was forbidden from accessing the river for 75 years until a 2.5mile stretch of the river was deemed safe for unrestricted recreation in 2013. Thanks to three decades of advocacy and restoration from local environmental groups, that summer, kayakers, boaters, and fishers were able to take to the river.

IMPORTANCE AND HUMAN IMPACT Besides recreation, similar to other highly urbanized areas, there is a high disparity in health for communities that live near the Los Angeles River. L.A. is considered parkdeficient with less than 3 acres of park space per 1,000 residents (see map below). For Page 8

Latino Activism and the Los Angeles River

organizations like The City Project, restoration of the Los Angeles River is not just about flora and fauna, but it is a health equity and environmental justice issue.

“IT SORT OF CRYSTALLIZED IN OUR MINDS THAT THIS WHOLE NOTION OF THE

L OS A NGELES R IVER, AND ITS GREENING … COULD [ CREATE ] A NEW SEAMLESS NARRATIVE IN WHICH

[ WORKING CLASS COMMUNITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ] INTERESTS ARE MUTUALLY INTERRELATED AND BENEFICIAL .”

A NTONIO GONZALEZ , PRESIDENT OF THE W ILLIAM C. V ELASQUEZ INSTITUTE , T HE C ITY PROJECT

UPPER RIGHT: VIEW OF THE GREAT WALL OF LOS ANGELES, A COMMUNITYCREATED MURAL DEPICTING SOCIAL STRUGGLES, EVENTS, AND HISTORICAL FIGURES THROUGHOUT TIME. CLICK TO ENLARGE. JOSH MCNAIR, CALIFORNIATHROUGHMYLENS.COM

LOWER RIGHT: MAP OF PARK ACCESS FOR CHILDREN OF COLOR LIVING IN POVERTY WITH NO ACCESS TO A CAR, 2010. CLICK TO ENLARGE. THE CITY PROJECT, KCET.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN STEWARDSHIP Talks of revitalizing the Los Angeles River began in the mid-2000s.

Concerned that Latinos would be left out of the conversation, a coalition of community-based organizations, Alianza de los Pueblos del Rio, formed in 2006 to mobilize Latinos around access to greenspace and river revitalization.

Members included The City Project, the Anahuak Youth Soccer Association, Remapping L.A., Mujeres de la Tierra, and the William C. Velasquez Institute. Momentum built when in the late 1990s, a 32-acre abandoned railroad plot on the edge of Chinatown was up for development. The City Project sued the city and developer, claiming the lot was a civil rights and environmental issue, and won. The site was turned into what is now the Los Angeles State Historic Park.

After that victory came two others – Baldwin Hills and the 200-acre Taylor Yard which now provides much needed soccer fields. The Anahuak Youth Soccer Association was founded to keep youth out of gangs and prepare them to be active citizens; the problem was that they had nowhere to play. At one meeting about the Los Angeles River plan, AYSA youth presented on the history and importance of their river.

The Alianza used key strategies that worked well in the Latino community. They held meetings on river restoration in Spanish and appealed to family matriarchs in order to engage entire families. Organizers with Mujeres de la Tierra went door-to-door, to churches, and to community hubs to talk to people and inform them of the river revitalization plan. Public comments from these meetings in combination with research done by The City Project helped revise the original plan to restore a greenway the full length of the river instead of only part of it.

After a decade of research, the City of Los Angeles released the final river revitalization plan dubbed Alternative 2020. In 2013, Mayor Eric Garcetti succeeded in convincing the Army Corps of Engineers to increase their budget to $1 billion to implement the plan. The goal is to restore all 52 miles of the Los Angeles river by 2020.

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African American Environmentalism on the Bronx River, Bronx, New York Briefing 5

Amanda Lee, Urban Ecology, Islandwood & Antioch University

INTRODUCTION At only 23 miles long, the Bronx River is New York City’s only freshwater river. Its headwaters were once in Kensico Reservoir, Westchester County, until the Kensico Dam was built in 1885. Fed by a small stream, the Bronx River flows south adjacent to a parkway. Once it hits the city, the river runs through popular attractions like the Bronx Zoo and Bronx Botanical Gardens as well as under expressways and by scrap metal and recycling plants, warehouses and sewage overflow drains. Eventually, the river reaches Hunts Point, meeting the confluence of the East River and the Long Island Sound.

TOP: VIEW OF BRONX RIVER, BRONX PARK, NY, ROOTSWEB. ABOVE: MAP OF THE BRONX RIVER AND LANDMARKS, NYC PARKS. RIGHT: DRAWING FROM THE BRONX RIVER RESTORATION PROJECT, BRONX RIVER SANKOFA.

IMPORTANCE AND HUMAN IMPACT When Lenape tribes inhabited the area, centuries ago, they called the Bronx River “Aquehung,” or the River of High Bluffs. The river and borough would be renamed after Jonas Bronck, a Swedish captain who, in 1639, was the first European to settle on what would be called “Bronck’s Land.” More Dutch and English settlers followed suit, trapping beavers for fur until they were hunted to local extinction by the early 1800s. Beavers would not return to the Bronx River until 200 years later.

With industrialization, the northern part of the Bronx River remained bucolic while the southern end served as a dumping ground for paper, cotton and wool mills as well as raw sewage and old cars. The South Bronx followed a similar path. Over decades of

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African American Environmentalism and the Bronx

“[T HE BRONX R IVER WAS] A BUCOLIC, SYLVAN , BEAUTIFUL PLACE [ UP NORTH BUT ] IN THE S OUTH BRONX IT WAS A YELLOW SEWER …A SYMPTOM OF A MERICA ’S ATTITUDES TOWARD THE UNDERCLASS , A POWERFUL , PHYSICAL METAPHOR .”

A NTHONY B OUZA, F ORMER BRONX POLICE C HIEF , THE N EW YORK T IMES

“E CONOMIC DEGRADATION BEGETS ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION .”

M AJORA C ARTER, FOUNDER AND D IRECTOR OF S USTAINABLE SOUTH BRONX, T HE N ATION

RIGHT: MORGAN POWELL LEADING A TOUR OF THE BRONX RIVER, THE HUNTS POINT EXPRESS. L OWER R IGHT : S TUDENTS RELEASING OYSTERS , O YSTER R ESTORATION R ESEARCH P ROJECT , G RIST .

governmental underfunding, redlining, industrial siting, and division by expressways, such as that built by controversial urban planner, Robert Moses, the South Bronx burned in the 1970s due to unmaintained, overcrowded, and aging housing stock.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IN STEWARDSHIP In 1974, Ruth Anderberg with Bronx Police Chief, Anthony Bouza, formed the Bronx River Restoration Project to address the Bronx River’s poor condition. By the 1980s, the group had published the first greenway plan calling for a green corridor along the entirety of the river. In 1990, José Serrano became the 15th district’s congressman and took on revitalizing the Bronx River, spending $15 million on restoration projects.

Morgan Powell Restoring the Bronx River has also been a community driven effort. One professional gardener, Morgan Powell, was keen on capturing that history. Raised in the Bronx, Powell was a self-taught historian who over the last decade of his life, independently researched and wrote about Bronx African American history through an ecological lens. Powell offered free neighborhood and river tours to the public, which became so popular, attendees numbered over 100. Powell also attended community meetings to speak out against market-level housing development which he feared would gentrify the neighborhood. In 2014, Powell passed away unexpectedly; all his work has been donated to the Bronx African American History Project collection at Fordham University.

New York Harbor School The New York Harbor School, a public high school on Governors Island, focuses on marine science and STEM, offering technical training and education to its students. The school spearheads the Billion Oysters Project (BOP) where their goal is to introduce 1 billion oysters into city waters over the next 20 years. Students raise and release billions of baby oysters for restoration projects, including in the Bronx River. The school also partners with restaurants to collect oyster shells to rebuild New York’s once expansive oyster reefs and provide habitat for oyster larvae. BOP offers oyster restoration kits, training, and curriculum to other schools so that more students across New York get an opportunity to participate in hands-on research and foster a stronger connection to their local waterways.

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ACTIVITIES FOR TEACHERS As demonstrated in the briefings, there are innumerable ways to engage students and the public in river restoration work that directly connects to their cultural knowledge and values. While larger-scale projects may require more government or institutional support and funding, city residents can still influence policy making and start their own restoration and outreach projects.

1. Explore Your Neighborhood through Mapping Prepare your students to go on a walk of the neighborhood surrounding your school. If needed, find a local historian or enthusiast who can speak to the socio-economic-ecological changes of the neighborhood. Plan a route based on your timeframe with stopping points and mapping activities associated with each stop.

This walk may be appropriate after a lesson on hydrology, watersheds, industrialization, urban development and planning, civil rights and action, government and policymaking.

Learning Targets  Draw upon pre-existing knowledge or reinforce recently taught material  Develop observation skills of the built and natural environment  Make connections between historical events and current landscape  Comprehend human impact on landscape and hydrology  Understand current hydrology and local drainage systems Potential Guiding Questions  What is the cultural and environmental history of the neighborhood? o Who were the original inhabitants of the area? o What types of plants grew in the neighborhood?

What kinds of wildlife lived or continue to live here? o Who lives here now? How did they get here?  Are there significant historical landmarks, especially ones related to your students’ backgrounds? If so, where are they or where did they used to be?  Where does water go?  Explore the different surface materials present in the neighborhood. How do they affect drainage?

Skills    

Observation Mapping Ability to link history and humanities with science Critical thinking

Materials  Appropriate outdoor clothing and shoes  Field journals and pens/pencils  Lunch and snacks  Cameras for documentation

Debrief / Homework Questions  Does your neighborhood have greenspaces? If so, do you use them? Why or why not?  What is your family’s relationship to nature? Your ancestors’ relationship to nature?  Do you know where the water you use at home goes? If not, how can you find out?

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2. Participate in a Restoration Event Contact a local habitat restoration organization to identify an appropriate event in which your students can participate. Depending on the time of year, the work may involve invasive species removal or planting. The organization should be able to provide all the tools and gloves needed.

This event would be appropriate after a lesson on forest succession and invasive species, citizenry and direct action, communication and leadership, urban/suburban development and planning.

Learning Targets  Be able to connect restoration work with bigger picture of riparian, forest, and human health  Explain the difference between invasive vs. native species.  Recognize the purpose of invasive species removal  Understand potential consequences of not removing invasive species or planting native species  Identify the value of both cultural diversity and biodiversity and how those concepts are related

Skills   

Non-native and native plant species identification Ability to properly install or remove plants Teamwork and communication

Materials  Appropriate outdoor clothing and close-toed shoes  Lunch and snacks

Potential Guiding Questions  What is a native vs. non-native species? What makes a species invasive?  What are the most common invasive / native species in your city?  Who introduced invasive species? o When, under what circumstances, and for what purpose?  What effect do invasive species have on forest succession?  If invasive species / built structures were not present, what would this area look like?  What is the significance of native species to people? What were they used for?  What ecosystem services do native species offer vs. non-native species?  Why is biodiversity important? What about cultural diversity? Are they related? If so, how?

Debrief / Homework Questions  What did you find challenging about doing removal / planting today?  What did you succeed at doing today?  Did you work well as a team? Why or why not?  How does what we did today benefit forest and river health?  What impact does our work have on improving drainage?

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3. Explore Your Local River or Waterway Contact a local group that offers river tours or organizes citizen science programs. This group might be a museum, a government agency, a river restoration group, a tribe or tribal fishery.

This event would be a good follow-up to doing a restoration event or a lesson on riparian ecology, history of indigenous peoples and commerce, industrialization, food and/or environmental justice.

Learning Targets  Understand the ecological and cultural significance of the river  Identify the ways people used the river past and present  Deepen awareness and understanding of indigenous knowledge and practices  Connect observations from neighborhood walk and restoration work to riparian and human health  Start to connect river health with larger climate and environmental justice issues

Skills     

Observation Active listening Critical thinking Storytelling Understanding scale

Materials  Appropriate outdoor clothing and close-toed shoes  Lunch and snacks

Guiding Questions  What did people use this river for? What do people currently use this river for?  What wildlife used to populate the river?  What wildlife have you seen in the river (from the past or today)?  Do you think it is safe to eat fish, clams, etc. from this river? Why or why not?  Why do people continue to eat fish, clams, etc. from this river?  What are people doing to restore the river? o Who is doing river restoration work? Is the work for humans, wildlife, or both? o Are local communities and tribes involved with restoration work? Why is it important to engage people who live near the river? At what level should they engage? o What are some barriers to engagement from local communities and tribes? o Who benefits from river restoration? o Who gets to decide at what point restoration will be successful?

Debrief / Homework Questions  Who is responsible for cleaning up the river? o If individuals, what sort of projects can people take on? o If government, what should city, state and federal agencies do? o If industry, how do we know who is responsible? What should they do?  How can people prevent new pollution from contaminating the river?  How can organizations and government better engage local communities in river restoration?  What can our school do to help clean our river?

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