Harbor current vol 3 no 2v3 by Billion Oyster Project

Vol. 3, No. II

June 26, 2014

The

Harbor

Current

Sanguinem cæruleum portus effundimus Late Island Final

Founded 2011

Photograph: Ann Fraioli

Lettie G. Howard Sails Again!

Photograph: Sam Janis:

Billion Oyster Project Kicked Off in Style!

LAUNCHED! Two major projects are under way in the Harbor-- and Harbor School students are at the heart of both!

Lettie G. Howard Sails Again! by Melanie Smith Pier 25, Hudson River-- Lettie G. Howard is a name currently frequently heard throughout Harbor School hallways. However, this name doesn't belong to a person. It belongs to a boat-- a 125 foot long Gloucester schooner belonging to the South Street Seaport Museum. On May 12th, the New York maritime community gathered at Pier 25 on the Hudson for the relaunch of the vessel as the flagship of the Port. Among the people who spoke were Murray Fisher, President of the New York Harbor

Foundation, Pat Foye, executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Jonathan Boulware, Interim President of the South Street Seaport Museum, Councilwoman Margaret Chin, and others. Lettie is being used as an educational vessel, for sail training, and it is an important aspect of the maritime learning community. Many students and teachers have been working on the Lettie G. Howard restoration project, which began in 1989. Harbor School students used to sail on Lettie, but in February 2012, the vessel was drydocked to repair rot in her keelson. She was also damaged by Superstorm Sandy. South Street Seaport Museum began raising money for the repairs. In total, the Seaport succeeded in raising $250,000. Now as the restoration project is completed, Harbor School has adopted Lettie for future opportunities involving water based curriculum. The sail training program will be kicked off by major

Governors Island/Manhattan-- On Wednesday, April 30, more than 300 people gathered at the New York Yacht Club for Harbor School’s annual gala, the Harbor Ball, and for the first-ever Billion Oyster Project Founders’ Celebration. The guests who attended the Founder’s Celebration event experienced 10,000 oysters of 16 different varieties, and had the opportunity to meet with sustainable shellfish farmers.

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Billion Oyster Project: Full Steam Ahead! by Laurel Selch

Inside: Diving Dynasty page 2

Schooner Days page 3

Brooklyn to the World page 4

Rosaly in the Coast Guard page 5

Living, Growing Breakwaters page 6

SCUBA Siblings: a diving dynasty takes shape at Harbor School by Olivia Ferenczy My name is Olivia and my brother’s name is Nathan. Nathan graduated from the New York Harbor School last year, but I am still attending this school. I am only a sophomore. My brother Nathan was in Professional Diving as his CTE, and he loved it. I asked my brother what he wanted to do with all of his SCUBA diving experience, and he said, “I want to get my instructor’s certification, but now I am thinking about doing commercial diving.” My brother was the one who got me into SCUBA diving, and I am really glad he did! I am going to the Bahamas at the end of January, and my brother was invited to come on the trip as well, as a chaperone and instructor. Nathan has been there before, so to get me prepared for the wonders of the

future, he told me about his own first trip to the Bahamas. Diving is definitely something that I want to keep doing. I want to be an instructor because I love teaching people new things. My brother and I have even thought about starting a SCUBA business together. In two years, my little sister is also going to come to the school, and I’ve been trying to convince her to join SCUBA as well. We will have a family of divers if she joins and continues the tradition of sibling divers. But before this happens, and before I go to the Bahamas, I’ve got a lot to learn. As part of our training, we SCUBA divers have to practice our skills in the pool before diving in the open water. On Saturday, TCTC, we went to the pool in the Bushwick high school for our first simulated night dive, and it was amazing. Once we got our dive kits set up, the lights slowly started to turn off. The tension rose every time a light turned off-- then it was dark. Everyone turned on their underwater flashlights, got our kits on, and plunged into the water. When we got down to there our mission was to find two coins. My buddy Edwin and I found our two nickels right away, so we had lots of time to just explore the pool in the dark. By the end of the dive we were no longer nervous about night dives-- we’re excited for them.

2 Update: In January, Olivia, along with nine other members of the Pro Diving CTE, traveled to the Island of Eleuthera, in the Bahamas, for a week of intensive diving through the Island School. “The trip really pushes the kids to their limits,” says pro diving program head Liv Dillon. Students use as little electricity as possible, and it's a screen-free week: that means no internet, phones, music or other electronics. Instead, they wake up at six a.m., go for a run or a swim, eat a bowl of granola, and then hop on a boat for two dives. After lunch, they're immediately out for two more dives, then dinner, followed by a lengthy debrief or a night dive. Nathan accompanied his sister and the others as a volunteer divemaster; he is now studying to be a professional commercial diver at Diving Academy International.

Lettie--Continued from Page 1 gifts from the Port Authority, and from the Schwab Charitable Fund made possible by the generosity of Wendy and Eric Schmidt. A Harbor School graduate, Hassan Barksdale, says that "most of my best Harbor School memories were aboard the schooner Lettie G. Howard, especially on overnight sails." He remembers listening to the soothing, relaxing sounds of water beating against the hull while lying on his bunk. Jessie Floyd, a current tenth grader in the Vessel Operations CTE, told us that it’s great to work on Lettie and around the Seaport. "You can only get so many experiences in the classroom," she said. "Being on Lettie is what really helps." To the Harbor School community, Lettie G. Howard isn't just a ship. She’s a part of their education, inspiring students to learn and reach their goals and aspirations. Lettie is a staple in a New York Harbor School education, creating new memories and learning opportunities for many students throughout different grades. In the words of William Wolf, a tenth grader, "Working on Lettie is amazing. You're repairing this old boat, doing something real, and you learn something new every day.

Raising the foresail on Lettie G. Howard

Editor-in-Chief: Melanie Smith Contributing Writers and Collaborators: Olivia Ferenczy, Cullen Palicka, Hassan Barksdale, Casey Fogarty, Rosaly Nuñez, Donovan Cooper, Maya Perkins, Rachel Anderson, Litcy Barretto, and Laurel Selch. Special thanks to Matthew Haiken, Murray Fisher, Sam Janis, Cate Hagarty, and Kate Orff.

Adviser: Susannah Black Principal: Edward Biedermann New York Harbor School Battery Maritime Building 10 South Street, Slip 7 New York City, NY 10004

We always welcome opinions, feedback, letters to the editor, and news tips. Reach us at newspaper@newyorkharborschool.org The Harbor Current is an open forum for the expression of student views. The opinions expressed herein should not be taken to represent those of the administration or faculty, or of the student body as a whole.

3 Schooner Days: at Work on Lettie G. Howard by Cullen Palicka

Lettie G Howard is a 125 foot wooden Fredonia Schooner built in 1893. A schooner is a fore-and-aft rigged sailboat, with a foremast that’s shorter than its mainmast, as opposed to a sloop, which only has one mast. I started working on Lettie last winter during the Seaport Museum’s winter work period. The first time I set foot on Lettie, she had no masts up, and her winter cover was on. I was tasked with sanding and repainting/varnishing all of Lettie’s, deckbox covers and hatch covers. The first time I went down below on Lettie I could smell the traditional schooner smell. It’s a smell you can’t describe, you just know it. All traditional wooden boats have it. It felt exciting being on board Lettie, working hard, because I knew I really wanted to sail her! I was able to do this because New York Harbor School has a very strong relationship with the South Street Seaport Museum. Back before I went to the school, Harbor School did a lot of sailing and cruises on Lettie. Last spring, Lettie was sent up to Portland to get hauled out and serviced. Unfortunately, rot was found in her keel. The keel is the boat’s backbone. As you can imagine, a rotten keel was not good news for Lettie. Sections of her keel had to get replaced. It was a massive project that cost the museum around $300,000. It took several months before she was ready to go back into the water. This was a lot longer than anyone had anticipated. Now that Lettie is back in the water, back in New York City, Harbor school students and staff have dedicated countless hours during the week and every Saturday to get her ready to sail again in the spring. Lettie is owned by South Street Seaport Museum, but we, as Harbor School students, consider Lettie a part of our fleet. Every Saturday, Harbor School students and staff work all day on Lettie getting her ready to sail in the spring. Every other day, during the week, a small group of students including myself go over to Lettie for a boat check. This is when you check all the dock lines, and insure the boat is not sinking or in any danger. We, as the Harbor School, look after and take care of Lettie and so we do consider her part of our fleet. I’m an engine guy, so right now I mainly trap myself in the engine room replacing old parts, chipping and sanding paint, and organizing tools getting her ready for full time use. I am usually tasked with engineering items on the boat such as installing new light fixtures, replacing engine parts and making sure the two engines and generator are in good working order. But I don’t work only in the

engine room. When we first started work on Lettie, I did a lot of work aloft (on top of the mast), downrigging some of her running rigging gear (halyards, and lifts), rigging up a Christmas tree aloft or running safety lines for people to work aloft safely.

Since (so far) I have never sailed on Lettie due to her extended yard visit in Portland, I don’t have many stories underway. I did however crew Lettie bringing her back from her yard visit. Although we were under motor for those 3 days, it was still a lot of fun navigating, and operating Lettie. It was even better knowing that we were bringing her back to the place she belongs: New York City! One night on that trip, it was around 2 a.m. and I was just getting on watch. It was around 10-12 degrees, not including the windchill. It was an absolutely freezing night! There was a tugboat behind us who shone their extremely bright search light on us, blinding us all. They shone their light in such a way that it seemed like the crew on the tug boat couldn’t believe that there were people crazy enough to

navigate an open deck boat in the middle of the night in below freezing weather. We all joked and laughed about how crazy they though we were. But it wasn’t silly or crazy, because we were bringing the boat we loved back home. The whole trip, no matter how cold it was, the whole crew was in good spirits. And It’s always great sitting around the table with the crew in the galley sharing stories about tall ship life. As I wrote earlier, I haven’t sailed Lettie yet, but I’ve sailed on other schooners. No matter what the weather is, the ship has to be operated and crewed. You can’t just stop because there’s rain or its cold. So I’ve dowsed, flaked, furled, raised, and tended sails in all kinds of weather. What you do to keep yourself-safe is to remain focused and keep your eyes and ears open. The mate on watch will always be watching over the crew and calling out commands. You always have to watch out for yourself and your shipmates and communicate/help each other when something looks unsafe. In bad weather you want to work efficiently, quickly and at the same time safely. You do this by not goofing around or getting distracted. When working aloft or on the head rig, we are always harnessed in. When working on deck there is a saying; “Keep one hand for yourself, and one hand for your ship.” This basically means to always hold on to something with one hand and have the other hand free to work. This is how we stay safe. Working on a traditional schooner is different from working on a modern racing boat. A modern racing boat is made out of either fiberglass or carbon fiber whereas a schooner is made out of wood. Modern boats have electronics and winch drums so that a small crew can operate it. A traditional boat is much heavier and requires more crew to sail it. Also, because Lettie’s a wooden boat, she is always taking on water. You might think that it is bad for a boat to take on water, as it will sink, but it’s perfectly normal for a traditional wooden boat to have water seep in through her planks. I’m not talking about gallons a minute, this is a small seep, which can only be noticed every few hours. Some boats leak more than others depending on when they were last serviced. It’s not a problem, but you have to deal with it. Traditional schooner people are different from modern sailors because we do everything the way they did it back when the boat was first built. Even the recipe for the tar we use on the shrouds is the same. Besides the electronics and engines, we try to remain as traditional as possible. Any one that knows me well knows that I love tall ship sailing and want to continue doing it!

4 BOP Launch-- Continued from Page 1

From Brooklyn to Oman, and Beyond by Hassan Barksdale ’07 Hassan Barksdale graduated from Harbor School in 2007, and has used his NYHS degree as a launchpad into a career as a merchant marine. He’s an active alumnus, participating in Harbor School events whenever he gets the chance-- which, given his work schedule, isn’t often! In the interview below, he describes his path after Harbor, and the way that his time at the school has shaped his life. Describe your job. Where have you gone, what are you in charge of, what ships have you sailed on, what’s an average day at sea like-- and what’s the hardest part of your work? The first ship I sailed on as a Third Mate was the Maersk Detroit in the summer of 2013. That ship was engaged in the trade route to Algeciras, Spain; Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates; Pakistan; India; and Oman, along with ports on the East Coast of the United States. I just got back from sailing on the APL Belgium where I spent nearly five months aboard. The trade route for that ship is Sardinia, Italy; Damietta, Egypt; Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates; Singapore; Thailand; Sri Lanka; Nova Scotia and ports on the US East Coast. I finished my assignment and returned home from the ship almost two weeks ago. The ships that I sail on are container ships. They carry general cargo, which can be anything from clothing, shoes, and furniture to food and medical supplies. As the Third Mate I stand the 0800-1200 and 2000-2400 watch at sea and in port. The Third Mate is also the officer in charge of inspecting safety equipment including but not limited to life boats, life rafts, life jackets, fire extinguishers-- basically all the lifesaving and firefighting equipment you will find aboard a ship. The work can vary from day to day but on ocean crossings the days can be similar. For me the hardest part about being out at sea is the time spent away from home. Between the two ships, I have almost seven months of sailing time on my license. What’s the union that you’re a part of? How does that aspect of your job work? I am an applicant with the International Organization of Masters, Mates, and Pilots. I need to sail for a certain amount of time and fulfill other criteria in order to become a full “book” member. [The union] consists of licensed deck officers from captains to mates but it also has some opportunities for unlicensed capacity which I am not too familiar with. The specific branch that I am registered in is located in New Jersey but it is the NY/NJ branch. Where do you live when you’re not at sea, and what was your career path after college? I was born and raised in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, and still reside there. I started sailing as a Third Mate in June of 2013. Prior to sailing as a mate, upon graduation from college I began to work with Kirby Offshore Marine as an Able Bodied Seaman and then tankerman aboard their tug boats and barges. . Do you have any sea stories that you’d like to share? Unfortunately I don’t have any intense sea stories yet. We had a couple of approaches by pirate boats and acted accordingly. The minimum standard procedure is to muster all shipboard personnel not involved with navigating the ship at the time in one area and proceed to the strong room. The bridge

Hassan Barksdale on the Bridge of the Maersk Detroit, Summer 2013

team will increase speed and maneuver the vessel to prevent any pirates from attaching a ladder. The higher the lowest point of the ship from the water’s edge the better (a.k.a. freeboard)-- this gives a great advantage.

After the BOP celebration had come to an end, even more guests gathered in the Model Room at the Yacht Club to honor Shari Austin of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Brian Angiolet of Verizon. There was a silent auction which was later followed by a live auction hosted by Sotheby’s Hugh Hildesley. Harbor School students work diligently towards the goal of restoring a billion live oysters to New York Harbor. The project not only restores what was once in our Harbor, but also teaches students important working skills for the maritime industry. Earlier in the day, representatives of the Harbor Foundation and the School, as well as visitors from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) and others had met on Governors Island for a presentation by the students and a press event to officially launch the project, which has already restored 7 million oysters to the Harbor. The Harbor Ball has become the party of the year for the New York maritime world, and it was a huge opportunity for all the guests who gathered to learn more about maritime education. The celebration was a big success for everyone. People who attended had a great time, learned a lot, and donated a very nice amount of money, more than $270,000, which will help return oysters back to the Harbor and teach students along the way.

What was your college experience like? I attended SUNY Maritime College and graduated in January of 2012 with a Bachelors of Science in Marine Transportation. Some of the best times I had were in port with my friends while on Summer Sea Term. Summer Sea Term is the period during the summer when students go on the schools training ship to apply what was learned during the school year as well as learn new things. I made it a point to have fun during the school year as well. What are your best Harbor School memories? Most of my best Harbor School memories were aboard the schooner Lettie G. Howard, especially on the overnight sails. One thing I will never forget was listening to the sound of the water beating against the hull as I lie in my bunk while on break. It’s a soothing and relaxing sound. Unfortunately I got seasick several minutes later.

I had great memories throughout my whole time at Harbor School. I am still in touch with a number of my former classmates from Harbor School. What advice you can offer to current students?

The advice I would give to anyone wanting to pursue a career in the maritime industry is to try out what may work for you. If you know you want to do something specific, think of the end to motivate you to find the means to succeed. Pursuing a career at sea requires time away from family and friends-- but you can explore new opportunities, cultures and adventures.

CALLING ALL STUDENTS! Be a Correspondent for the Harbor Current! What are you doing this summer? A job, an internship, a camp program: We want to hear your stories! Write us an email or an article about your adventures, and send it to: newspaper@newyorkharborschool.edu. The best pieces will be chosen for inclusion in the next issue!

It is the policy of the Department of Education of the City of New York to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to actual or perceived race, color, religion, creed, ethnicity, national origin, alienage, citizenship status, age, marital status, partnership status, disability, sexual orientation, gender (sex), military status, unemployment status, prior record of arrest or conviction (except as permitted by law) predisposing genetic characteristics, or status as a victim of domestic violence, sexual offenses and stalking, and to maintain an environment free of harassment on any of the above-noted grounds, including sexual harassment or retaliation. It is the policy of the New York City Department of Education to provide equal educational opportunities without regard to actual or perceived race, color, religion, creed, ethnicity, national origin, alienage, citizenship status, disability, sexual orientation, gender (sex) or weight and to maintain an environment free of harassment on the basis of any of these grounds, including sexual harassment or retaliation.

Going Beyond: the Coast Guard Experience by Rosaly Nuñez ’13

Golf and Foxtrot Companies. Rosaly: front row, third from left. I decided to join the Coast Guard for the challenge. I really wanted to challenge myself and go beyond my limits physically and mentally, and be a part of a great service, maritime based, which is something I’ve grown to love because of my time in Harbor School, and which I wanted to make a career out of. I saw myself more in the Coast Guard doing Maritime Enforcement missions, port security and search and rescue instead of being deployed for months underway on a big ship, or being stationed in a combat zone, which mainly the other branches of the armed forces do. Coast Guard is the only branch that falls under the Department of Homeland Security, while the rest are under the Department of National Defense. It wasn’t a really hard decision to make until the day I shipped out to boot camp. Saying Goodbye to my family, that was when it really hit me, since I was not going to be communicating with them as much for the next two months. My hope in the Coast Guard is to make a great and memorable career. I want to pursue a

specialty in the medical field (becoming a Health Service Technician) and save lives. I am most excited about exploring the Coast Guard’s jobs and missions and all it has to offer. Joining was a long process. I went to the Coast Guard recruiting office in Brooklyn, and my recruiter helped me get everything done. I had a lot of paper work to fill out. A LOT. The whole process took six months, mainly because they have to do security clearance, the whole nine yards. And the Coast Guard is picky: they choose only 4% of their applicants, to ensure the recruits are physically fit and mentally ready and prepared to go through boot camp. At MEPS [Military Entrance Processing] I had to take the ASVAB [Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery], which took almost the whole day, and two weeks later I went again to get my physical/medical tests done. I was working out a lot and preparing myself for the physical test requirements that they test the recruits on during the first week in boot camp.

Training on the beach in New Jersey

5 I signed up for four years. I might continue and stay in longer if I really enjoy it which I believe I will. By that time, four years from now, I hope to be in A School for the rate I am going for-- Health Service Technician-- and be taking college classes on the side, because I still want to pursue my BA: most likely a medical degree, or possibly my other interest: law enforcement. The next step is to get all my qualifications done, such as Watch Stander and Boat Crewmen. I’ll get these done in my next station: USCG Small Boat Station, Yankeetown, Florida. The best thing that has happened so far was graduating from Training Center at Cape May, New Jersey, in January. It was a day I thought I would never get to, the best feeling ever. The most difficult thing was going through bootcamp. I really thought I was ready for it-until I got there, and everything changed. I really wanted to give up a few times but I didn't, and I’m so glad I pulled through: it was a really tough two months. Waking up almost everyday at four in the morning, going to bed at 2200: I really had to get out my comfort zone, show no weakness, and be as loud as I could. The company commanders job is to make you feel like you can’t make it, to break you down and stress you out to see how you’d handle it -- it can either make you stronger or not. It was really up to you, and you defiantly didn't want to show that you were weak, because they treated that as if you were slacking, and not ready to go out to the fleet. They might revert you and make you stay extra weeks! What scared me was seeing 40% of the original people in my company go because of all sorts of crazy reasons: getting reverted, being weak, not being able to pull through an intensive training session and going to the medical building on the regiment, being discharged for integrity issues: there were a lot of reasons. But seeing all this happen around me pushed me even harder because i didn't want to stay longer and I really wanted to make it. Once graduation finally came I really realized all the misery my company commanders put us through all had a purpose and it was to be ready to go out into the Fleet. If someone was drowning or in a stressful situation out there on the water they are relying on us to save them. Harbor School has had a big impact: sailing freshmen year, taking the ferry every day back and forth to school, all that stuff: it made me realize how much I’ve enjoyed being on and near the water. Harbor School prepared me because it introduced me to the maritime life. Note: Rosaly is a veteran Harbor Current reporter, who contributed to the very first issue of the paper, in 2011. Many thanks to her for taking time out of her new life to remember her roots and be our Coast Guard correspondent!

Receiving award for most improved fitness.

Harbor School/SCAPE Project Wins Rebuild by Design! by Melanie Smith and Donovan Cooper

Announcing the Win: (L to R) Rockefeller Foundation VP Zia Khan, HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan, Mayor Bill De Blasio, Sen. Charles Schumer, Gov. Andrew Cuomo Staten Island, New York-- On June 2, Mayor Bill de only 10 were selected. These teams proposed different Blasio joined Governor Andrew Cuomo, Senator ideas about how to rebuild damaged areas in ways that Charles Schumer and Secretary of Housing and would help the city be more resilient if another storm Urban Development Shaun Donovan to announce comes. the results of the Rebuild by Design contest-- and The team that Harbor School is associated the project that Harbor School is involved with was with, known as the SCAPE team, has come up with one of the winners! The project was allocated $60 the project of creating a breakwater off of the south million, some of which will go to help fund the part coast of Staten Island. The project, says Sam Janis of of the project that Harbor School will be doing. the New York Harbor Foundation, is called “living, Rebuild by Design is a government growing breakwaters-the living part being oysters.” funded competition. The idea of this competition This breakwater would reduce the height of waves on came from Donovan. He wanted to develop ideas the Staten Island shoreline by one to four feet. This to rebuild areas affected by Superstorm Sandy. would be a great benefit if another storm hit as hard as About one hundred teams of architects and Sandy did in the future. designers came up with proposals and applied, but

Field Report:

Dead Horse Bay by Casey Fogerty Brooklyn-- In mid-February, the Ninth Grade started the second cycle of the Field program. They went to Gerritsen Creek and Dead Horse Bay, in Brooklyn. The day started with the usual pre-Field check up period, during which the class learned vocabulary and went over the supplies. Than they got on the ten o'clock Governors Island boat, Manhattan bound, which then lead to the bus that took each class to its destination. “When we arrived at Dead Horse Bay I was excited to explore the urban secrets of New York,” said Joshua Morales of Section 3. Students were unable to do a water quality test due to the cold and windy weather, so they had a surplus amount of time to explore the area and gather actual artifacts from the old glass and glue factories that had been in the area. We were able to tell that it was originally a landfill. There were many different types of glass containers all over the beach, left over from the 1950's era. Many students were able to take home some glass pieces as souvenirs..

6 Harbor School’s oyster restoration team, made up of aquaculture students and engaged volunteers, and led by Chief Oyster Officer (and Aquaculture program head) Pete Malinowski, is a natural partner for any such venture. At the beginning of Harbor’s oyster restoration project, growing oysters in New York Harbor seemed like an unlikely proposition, but Malinowski and his team have set up nurseries at key locations around the Harbor, and as Malinowski describes it, under the care of Harbor School students, the oysters “grew like popcorn.” The SCAPE team is lead by Kate Orff, the head of SCAPE Studio 11, a landscape architecture firm. Orff has been inspired for many years by Harbor School’s motifs, along with the ideas and concepts that serve as a foundation for the Billion Oyster Project, as Harbor’s oyster restoration effort is now known. She had approached Malinowski four years ago because she was interested in the landscape architecture possibilities of oysters, and was planning an oyster-themed art installation for the Museum of Modern Art. “Whatever Kate... wanted to do was always going to be oyster-based,” says Janis. “She came out here four years ago, met with Pete, said ‘You guys are growing oysters! That’s cool!” In order to have a project chosen by the competition judges, the team needed community support on Staten Island, especially on the South Shore. “That’s where we came in,” says Janis. “We’re meeting with teachers, to tell them about the Billion Oyster Project-- we’re bringing in water quality test kits, oyster gardens, all of this. We’re showing them, here’s a reason to go down to the water-- giving them motivation, in case they didn’t have it already. Which they should, because who wouldn’t want to go down to the water?” Harbor school students will also, of course, do a lot of the hands-on work of building the reef and restoring the oysters. In addition to the breakwater, the other aspect of the SCAPE team’s proposal is a plan to build infrastructure, that will get Staten Islanders more access to their own waterfront. Says Janis, these will be “water hubs-- [they’ll be] classrooms, boathouses, whatever [is needed] on the beach.”

Ocean Guardians

Image: SCAPE Team Rendering of breakwater

by Maya Perkins New York Harbor-- On April 30, 2014, New York Harbor School and the New York Harbor Foundation work diligently on the ongoing project called the Billion Oyster Project. This project includes high school students, grades 10-12, restoring our beloved harbor by introducing bivalves into the water. These bivalves, oysters, make our waters clean and improve the water quality. Students have restored seven million oysters already. Even middle school students were inspired to do this as well. Many have joined through New York Harbor Foundation’s middle school oyster gardening program. In recognition of this work, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, also known as NOAA, has designated the New York Harbor School as an Ocean Guardian School for the second year in a row. This status recognizes schools that demonstrate outstanding performance in the maritime field and commitment to marine restoration. The honor bestowed on Harbor School is a priceless gift that will never be forgotten.

Staten Island sits at the mouth of the New York Bight, and is vulnerable to wave action and erosion. Rather than create a wall between people and water, our project embraces the water, increases awareness of risk, and steps down that risk with a necklace of breakwaters to buffer against wave damage, flooding and erosion. The breakwaters are designed as “reef street” micro-pockets of habitat complexity to host finfish, shellfish, and lobsters. For more details about the project, visit www.scapestudio.com/projects/livingbreakwaters

Photo: SCAPE Team Harbor students presenting plan to SI teachers.

Harbor SEALs: on a Mission to Monitor by Rachel Anderson New York Harbor--Harbor SEALs is an after school citizen science program lead by Mauricio Gonzalez, head of the Marine Biology Research Program (MBRP) here at Harbor School. Its goal is to monitor indicators on Sea (SE) Air (A) and Land (L). It monitors basic water quality data such as pH, salinity and water temperature, as well as conducting more advanced tests such as testing for dissolved oxygen using the Winkler method, which consists of mixing chemicals in a certain order to get a chemical reaction in order to get a reading. The Harbor SEALs work with the EPA to stay on top of the Estuary’s water quality and make sure everything is in tip-top shape! So the next time you see a Harbor SEAL, walking around in their unique jerseys, know that they’re on the road to helping maintain a healthy Estuary! You can learn more about the SEALs and the Marine Biology Research Program by checking out the web page: www.harborseals.org.

Engineering my Future by Litcy Barreto ’11 I graduated from Harbor School in 2011, and right now I'm a Junior at the Grove School of Engineering, studying mechanical engineering. Honestly, every day is an adventure. Sitting in class, learning how the world around us works by using simple classical mechanics, all the way to modern physics (Einstein’s theories of special and general relativity). Engineering classes are extremely interesting, and have helped me view the world in a completely different way. I feel like every semester is a new adventure for me to learn something new and profound about the world we live in. Every day, I often find myself trying to identify how certain laws of physics and thermodynamics are being applied in my life and in the lives of those around me.

As an engineering student, I have been exposed to many computer-based programs such as SolidWorks, Python, C++, and Matlab. My all time favorite must be SolidWorks. This is a drafting-aid program that lets engineers view in 3D any 2D sketch model. On my personal time, I have been working with my colleague on creating an RC plane from scratch. We are now working on our 3D SolidWorks presentation. We often rely on SolidWorks to get a sense on how the final model would look and function before being manufactured. I have always been passionate about mathematics and physics. However, I wasn't always good at math-- I once struggled. But, with dedication, persistence and passion I was able to overcome it. Now, ever since I entered college, I have been working at John Jay College every summer as a math teaching assistant, helping to prepare upcoming freshmen for the CUNY placement exam. I believe this is one of the many ways I can help out my community, by helping struggling students overcome some of the challenges I once experienced. Engineering is a very challenging career, however, there aren't words that can describe how beautiful it is, and I believe that women shouldn't afraid to take on the challenge. In the future, I see myself going to graduate school and studying biomedical engineering, which is a combination of medicine and engineering. But mechanical engineering is one of the broadest engineering disciplines out there: studying mechanical engineering gives me the ability to study anything. In my senior year, I will have the ability to choose any branch of interest such as automotive, aerospace, maritime, or biomedical engineering. So, maritime engineering is definitely one of my options. I miss my days at Harbor, being on boats every day.

Harbor School Community Events Sunday June 29

Monday 30

3 p: Bronx Gothic/ LMCC (performance) 12-5 p Open Studios/ LMCC

Tuesday July 1

Wednesday 2

Bowling G/SI Ferry Greenmarkets

Rocking the Boat summer semester begins

Bowling G/SI Ferry Greenmarkets

1&3 p: NY Harbor to the World/Very Young Composers Colonelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Row, GI

Camp RESTORE begins (through August 1): BOP for Middle Schoolers!

Bowling G/SI Ferry Greenmarkets

11a-5p NYC Poetry Festival, GI

Bowling G/SI Ferry Greenmarkets 6:30-9:30 Clearwater Board Meeting

Bowling G/SI Ferry Greenmarkets

11a-4p, Civil War Weekend, GI

Saturday

Bowling Green Greenmarket 2p. Artillery demo, Fort Jay, GI

Greenmarket @SI Ferry Terminal Rowing @VCB

BG Greenmarket 2p. Artillery demo, Fort Jay, GI

SIF Greenmarket Rowing @VCB

City of Water Day 10-5 BOP Volunteer Day

SIF Greenmarket 6-9 Clearwater sail 79th St. Boat Basin Rowing @VCB

11a-5p:River to River Field Day, GI 6-9 Clearwater sail 79th St. Boat Basin

BG Greenmarket 2p. Artillery demo, Fort Jay, GI

SIF Greenmarket Rowing @VCB

11a-5p NYC Poetry Festival, GI 10:30 a Hidden Harbor Tour

August 1

BG Greenmarket 2p. Artillery demo, Fort Jay, GI

SIF Greenmarket Rowing @VCB

10-5 BOP Volunteer Day Camp RESTORE Community Outreach

BG Greenmarket 2p. Artillery demo, Fort Jay, GI

SIF Greenmarket Rowing @VCB

10a-4p: Civil War Weekend, GI 1&3: Rite of Summer (performance), GI

BG Greenmarket 2p. Artillery demo, Fort Jay, GI

SIF Greenmarket Rowing @VCB

10:30 a Hidden Harbor Tour

BG Greenmarket 2p. Artillery demo, Fort Jay, GI

SIF Greenmarket Rowing @VCB

12-5p: Bocce, Colonels Row, GI

10a:NYC Volkswagen Traffic Jam, Colonels Row, GI

SAIL Student Advisor Retreat

Bowling G/SI Ferry Greenmarkets SAIL Student Advisor Retreat

SAIL Student Advisor Retreat

BG Greenmarket 2p. Artillery demo, Fort Jay, GI

SIF Greenmarket 6-9 Clearwater sail 79th St. Boat Basin

12p: NYC Unicycle Fest, GI 10:30 a Hidden Harbor Tour

September 1

BG/SIF Greenmarkets

Freshman orientation

First day of school BG Greenmarket 2p. Artillery demo, Fort Jay, GI

SIF Greenmarket

1&3: Rite of Summer (performance)

12p: NYC Unicycle Fest, GI 10-1 Clearwater sail 79th St. Boat Basin

Friday

BG Greenmarket 2p. Artillery demo,GI 6-9 Clearwater sail, 79th St. Boat Basin

Bowling G/SI Ferry Greenmarkets

Thursday

Bowling G/SI Ferry Greenmarkets

VCB: Village Community Boathouse / GI: event on Governors Island. For a complete listing of events on GI: govisland.com / For Hidden Harbor Tour info: workingharbor.com BOP: Billion Oyster Project. For more info about BOP: www.billionoysterproject.org