Help our budding MBRP scientists make a yearly field trip to Cuba in 2024, where they will be working on a serious field expedition with scientists of the Center for Marine Investigations of the University of Havana and experiencing a true cultural immersion in the Caribbean.
MBRP Class of 2023
You can fund the trip via direct donation, and / or buy a BIO T-shirt $25 to help— and/ or choose to make a general donation to fund other needed items listed: Purchase or Donate Here
( If not fully funded, teachers may elect to direct funds toward items that are most needed. )
All donations directly benefit the Marine Biology program.
Mauricio Gonzalez and all the students thank you very much!
Ayude a nuestros científicos en ciernes a realizar un viaje de campo anual a Cuba en 2024, donde trabajarán en una expedición de campo seria con científicos del Centro de Investigaciones Marinas de la Universidad de La Habana, y experimentarán una verdadera inmersión cultural en el Caribe.
MBRP en el mar Caribe!
Usted puede financiar el viaje a través de donación directa, y / o comprar una camiseta BIO $ 25 para ayudar – y / o optar por hacer una donación general para financiar otros artículos necesarios enumerados: Compre o done aqui
MBRP inmersos en la cultura habanera.
( Si no está totalmente financiado, los profesores pueden optar por dirigir los fondos hacia los elementos que son más necesarios. )
Todas las donaciones benefician directamente al programa de Biología Marina.
¡Mauricio González y todos los estudiantes muchas gracias!
Greetings MBRP PAC, colleagues, family, and friends,
Happy summer solstice! Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, this school year was a blast! Last year I had a wonderful group of scholars. But this year, my graduating seniors took things to the next level! This group is especially important because they bore the brunt of COVID lockdown as they started the program virtually and, ironically, had their last day of class a week ago virtually due to the forest fire school closing! Thank you to our MBRP parents Koko, Edward Smith, Angelic Martinez, PTA President Amy Koza & PTA crew, admins Jeff & Jackye, teacher Aliyah, custodian Goran, Benny, and Eric, lab techs Bhatti, Nick, Sergio, and Scott, our generous donors Con Edison’s Joshua Crespo, Jeffrey Gural, Jim Tripp, Econcrete Tech’s Ido Sella, Compliance Solution’s Jeff Kline, among many others, BOP Senior VP Matthew Haiken, our post-secondary and industry partners Henry Bokuniewicz, Jim Lodge, Rosana Pedra Nobre, Karen Holmberg, Marisa DeDominicis, Matthew Winchell, the DOE CTE staff Karen Koch & Kendell Samlal, our wonderful senior mentors Arlo Kane, Anna Sheehan, Julia Purrazzella, Sebastian Koko, and Jaylen Boyce, our senior trip leaders Megan, Soua, Trinity, Maribell, Diego, Sergio, our up-and-coming leader Sara Guevara-Martinez, and, last but not least, our parent-turned-Harbor School superstar, Nan Richardson. Vaya con Bios! And thanks to my wife and family for all your enduring support and patience. Thank you all again for making this one of my best years in the business.
MBRP10 sampling phys-chem from Buttermilk Channel, NY Harbor (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)
General: The most important update is that most of my seniors will be getting the CTE stamp of excellence. I’m so proud of all their accomplishments. Another important update is that one of our alumni, Nicholas Ring, was hired to assist in lab tech and research work for the MBRP. Working side-by-side with him has also been a pleasure. It makes such a big difference to work with someone that knows the culture of the program and the rigors of research. There were so many times where we were able to read each other’s cues and know what to do next without having to say anything. Now that’s teamwork! We were also supported by 2 interns, Sergio Mallo and Scott Sugg Jr. I’ve never had this much support in my 21 years of teaching. I can now say that the MBRP lab is under control after COVID sent us for a spin.
Next, our program completed an arduous 5-year recertification process. I spent months compiling data, writing reports, answering prompts, and getting audited in order to recertify the program for the next 5 years. This year was also the year where the host organization for the New York Climate Exchange Center was announced. SUNY Stony Brook, my alma mater, will be spearheading the center on Governors Island. I’ve already begun the planning process to establish the courses that will count as dual enrollment in order for students to obtain up to 16 college credits on climate research and internship work. This will up the total to 22 college credits that students will become eligible for through the MBRP. This is the most credits of any program in the country.
We were able to implement our curricular updates. MBRP10 worked on monitoring phys-chem in the harbor and learning the basics of lab/field ecology. MBRP11 monitored and compared plankton populations with microplastics in the harbor while maintaining the recirculating aquaculture systems in the lab. MBRP12 built and deployed a new biodiversity experiment off of Yankee Pier, NYC. All their data was checked for quality following an EPA approved Quality Assurance Project Plan and is publicly available here. And, finally, after 15 years in the making, I was able to take my seniors on an international science excursion to Cuba! Vaya con Bios!
MBRP10 sampling phys-chem from East River, NYC (Photo: Edward Smith, PTA Rep)
MBRP12 Accomplishments: 18 of 19 students worked over 3,500 hours in internships and service learning projects. That’s over USD 52,000 earned. All 19 scholars earned at least one industry recognized credential in Lab Safety, Chemical Safety, and/or Financial Management. 12 of 19 scholars earned 54 college credits in Natural Resources Management and/or Oceanography. 16 of 19 scholars earned the CTE Certification on their diplomas. All 19 scholars completed their online ePortfolios which can be seen here. Our seniors built and deployed Econcrete experiments at Yankee Pier to test for its effects on benthic biodiversity. We also traveled to Cuba with this great class of scholars. Pictures of our excursion are below this post. Lastly, the top three scorers in this year’s mini-symposium were Anna Sheehan (100), Jaylen Boyce (98), and Julia Purrazzella (95).
MBRP11 scholars Charles and Olivia growing basil and radishes in a student-built aquaponics system (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)
MBRP11 Accomplishments: 13 of our 14 scholars earned at least one industry recognized credential in Lab Safety and Chemical Safety. Their biggest accomplishment, however, was stabilizing their Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) after a die-off during the summer. Our scholars monitored and adjusted pH, salinity, nutrients, electrical conductivity, temperature, among other parameters. They repaired ultra violet filtration lamps, installed grow lights and automatic feeders. They maintained sumps, pumps, skimmers, pipes, hoses, valves, etc. They also led two field sampling runs to compare the relative concentrations of plankton and microplastics. 7 scholars led this initiative as part of a “Work Place Challenge” under the auspices of the Hudson River Foundation. This involved the formulation of a project plan, gathering of materials, a field sampling run, lab processing of samples, data analysis, and a final presentation to stakeholders. Lastly, the top three scorers in this year’s mini-symposium were: The WPC Team (95) composed of Brenda Genaro, Madison O’Brien, Nayan Smith, Christopher Tranchina, Elias Litman, Josiah Taylor, and Mark Garcia (95). The next projects were Olivia Eliseo (83) and Lucas Fernandez (83).
MBRP10 Accomplishments: The first word that comes to mind when I think of the 10th grade is “Leadership.” These young scholars were incredibly self motivated and smart. They have brought our science work to a whole new level. From learning the basics of science in the lab, to leading near flawless physical-chemical sampling of the Harbor, to data management & quality assurance, to learning their knots, this group of young scholars excelled at every step along the way. Lastly, the top three scorers in this year’s mini-symposium were Sara Guevara-Martinez (97), Omisha Hossain (95), Emilio Munoz-Levine (95), and Oliver Palmgren (95).
SEALs after school program: Our SEALs scholars continued their critical work recovering and quantifying marine debris from the rip rap surrounding Governors Island. This involved over 30 days of lab and field work, processing debris, managing data on complex data tables, updating stakeholders through social media, submitted project updates to our sponsor, ConEdison, digitizing data and making it publicly available; completing a final report, and submitting a new grant proposal for next year. The SEALs were invited to present their work to the king of the Netherlands and the United Nations for World Water Week. Our scholars continued working on their marine debris exhibit created in partnership with NYU. You can find the Cube outside of the school building by the lab along the road. I’m so proud of our scholars. Not only for giving back to their community and trying to restore our harbor so that our marine biodiversity can one day thrive along our coasts but for all the leadership they took to organize themselves and the program. They are now a truly self-organized and led program. This year they were showcased in the media.
Harbor SEALs! (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)Trinity Jennings-Pagan, Communications Analyst in Cuba! (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)Arlo Kane, Communications Analyst Mentor (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)Universidad de La Habana, Cuba! (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)Plaza de la Revolucion, Cuba! (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)Vinales, Cuba! (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)Playing games with locals in La Habana, Cuba! (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)Touring La Habana Vieja, Cuba! (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)Return flight from Cuba! (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)Sunset, NY Harbor (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)MBRP10 scholar, Emilio, recovering marine debris from rip rap around Governors Island (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)MBRP10 scholars, Rory and Madison, measuring dissolved oxygen in NY Harbor (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)MBRP12 scholars, Maribell and Jada, building their Econcrete experiment (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)Sunrise over Fort Jay, Governors Island (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)MBRP Research Associate and alumnus Nicholas Ring and MBRP10 Lab/Field Technician Scott Sugg Jr. (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)MBRP12 scholars building an Econcrete experiment (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)MBRP11 Work Place Challenge scholars virtually meeting with mentor, Jim Lodge, from the Hudson River Foundation (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)3D print out designed by Ethan Kidd of a water sampler for use by Harbor SEALs civic science phys-chem team and a drone (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)Alumni visit! (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)Particulate matter over Battery Maritime Building and Lower Manhattan due to Canadian Forest fires that shut down the NYC School system, June 7, 2023 (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)SEALs scholars presenting their work to the king of Netherlands (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)SEALs scholars. Another day at work (photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)MBRP10 measuring dissolved oxygen using the EPA approved Winkler Method aboard the Indy7, East River, NYC (Photo: Edward Smith, PTA MBRP Rep)5th generation Tilapia alevines hatch in the MBRP lab bringing hope after the massive die off last summer (Photo: Mauricio Gonzalez)
Greetings MBRP PAC, colleagues, family, and friends,
Happy start of the summer! What a year! In my 20+ years of teaching I have not felt as much joy and satisfaction teaching as I did this year. Sure, the year had its challenges but on the whole it was a good year with many successes and a wonderful group of scholars! This year they were my heroines and heroes!
———————————————-
General: This last school year was a transition year back to in-person learning and adjusting to the fall-out of COVID. Our scholars needed a little extra support dealing with academics and adjusting to a new social/global context. (So did we, the adults, if I’m being honest.) The latter had on the balance a positive outcome, whereas the former was more of a challenge. Although students were eager to return and learn, I noticed that some of our seniors struggled with the more intense parts of the research process. Extra time was needed for most assignments that involved producing reports and analyzing data. Despite these obstacles, most of our scholars were able to complete their final projects and the ones who didn’t still put up a good fight to get to the finish line!
———————————————-
Engaging Students in Learning: We were able to accomplish this by scaffolding the research process carefully. This involved breaking up the research process into various stages that students would perform. The initial phases of research included: learning sampling techniques and writing down procedures before doing field work; compiling field data and digitizing them; looking at the data and beginning to ask questions about patterns they observed; performing a literature review and reading background information; starting to put together a presentation of their literature review; and then processing the data to graph. The next phase involved assessing the scholars’ work thus far: students were evaluated using assessment in instruction from three research rubrics borrowed from SUNY Albany’s UHS Research Program and the New York Science and Engineering Fair; they also peer reviewed numerous times in order to assess themselves and improve their performance; they could then refine their presentations and add new elements to their research based on the feedback from these numerous, varied and rigorous assessments. The final stage involved project results: after another peer reviewed session, students proceeded to add analyses and conclusions to their work, and then defend their projects before their peers and the instructor. This scaffolding process allowed for them to take intellectual risks as evidenced by the numerous and unique questions that were asked based off of our data set. In spite of using the same data set, working interdependently, and investigating a single research topic, no two students had the same project! Never in my entire teaching career have I seen students better prepared or more confident to present as they were this year. The high level of respect and rapport we had with each other, and the degree of accountability we held each other to, created the atmosphere needed to stand in front of an audience and speak impactfully for 5 -15 minutes. The peer review process also helped generate trust for each other (i.e. we always started our feedback celebrating a positive quality and then moved on to constructive criticism). Lastly, my questioning and discussion techniques help students dig deeper into their research while also creating an environment of exploration and excellence. My best classes are those in which students are challenging each other based on the same questioning and discussion techniques which they learned during class. I would have to say that despite the challenges of returning to in-person learning after a year and a half, and continued COVID disruptions, this was one of my most highly effective years as a teacher!
———————————————-
Senior accomplishments: 100% of our seniors passed the written final exam; over 1000 hours of internship hours were worked for the Hudson River Foundation – a school CTE high for the year; 14 of our 20 seniors received the CTE endorsement on their diploma; and many of our seniors received college credit in natural resources management, oceanography, and research. This year’s valedictorian and salutatorian were from our program as has mostly been the case for the last several years. Below I share their presentations and publicly available data on plankton, microplastics, oyster restoration, and Randall’s Island fish monitoring:
Junior accomplishments: Our juniors had a really busy year. From managing two major plankton-microplastics excursions aboard the Indy 7 to maintaining 6 major recirculating aquaculture systems, to managing and digitizing data, getting certified in lab and chemical safety, interning for the Hudson River Foundation, and perfecting their job seeking skills with a mock interview and resume building sessions offered by our wonderful parents Koko and Nan Richardson, they didn’t skip a beat. Below I share their culminating projects:
Sophomore accomplishments: Our sophomores were able to complete much-needed Social Emotional Learning modules on EverFi, an online education company that we’ve partnered with for several years now. Next, they were able to sample plankton and microplastics using the Beta-bottle and Sedgewick-Rafter Cell technique. After that, they learned data management and processing techniques while beginning to formulate an interdependent project. In between this step and presenting their projects using the MBRP’s proven Project Management process, they were able to begin training and sampling for physical-chemical properties of the NY Harbor.
SEALs after school program: Our SEALs scholars were very high-achieving this year. They successfully completed their project to recover marine debris from the rip rap surrounding Governors Island. They also updated project stakeholders using social media; submitted project updates to our sponsor, ConEdison; uploaded their data to this website to make it publicly available; completed a final report of their findings; and submitted a new grant proposal for next year. Lastly, we created an exhibit with some of the debris we recovered which you can find outside of the school building by the lab. We’ll be working with NYU to further build out the exhibit in September. In case you’ve gotten this far in this blog post, you’d also be interested to know that the SEALs were almost 100% student led this year! I’m so proud of these scholar interns, I wish you could’ve been there to see their work. But happily they were showcased in a documentary and a newspaper article which you can view below.
Changes: As you may have noticed, we didn’t run a large marine science symposium this year. Instead, we had a smaller in class symposium where students presented their projects to each other and practiced those critical public speaking skills. The reasons for the change were 01) our students struggled with their academic and social emotional needs so taking off a layer of stress was crucial, and 02) we don’t have the necessary school supports in place to run it effectively without burnout on my part. We’re in the process of trying to get support from other science teachers or propose running a CTE-wide exposition to replace the symposium. Secondly, we didn’t offer college credit in science research this year. With too many students on the roster and a wide array of abilities & needs, something had to give. Unfortunately it was the independent research I so dearly love to do. However, as you may have gathered from the above descriptions, we’ve transitioned to interdependent projects. We’re now focusing on 3 topics by grade: physical-chemical analysis of the Harbor for 10th graders, plankton/microplastics monitoring for 11th graders; and biodiversity on settlement plates, traps, and benthic grab studies for our 12th graders. Once we collect our data, students in groups can ask questions about them and build out a project interdependently. This model has proven very successful this year!
———————————————-
Next steps: We’ll be applying for State re-certification in June 2023. We’ll be calling together a PAC meeting in January 2023 to discuss curriculum and internships. We’ll also be reaching out to some of you to renew articulation agreements. Please stay tuned for that important ask!
———————————————-
Growing and Developing Professionally: I have obtained an administrator’s license and plan in the future to move into a leadership role. Although exciting, I’m taking baby steps in order to balance out my health needs and this potential opportunity. The lead-up to this was a two-year post master’s degree in school and district leadership. My final project on workplace bullying was published in a peer-reviewed education journal and can be found below. It was only one of four papers published from the whole graduating class. Next, I was able to partner up with Rob Markuske to pull together a work group composed of students and staff to begin creating a vision for a future partnership between NYHS and the game-changing Center for Climate Solutions scheduled to open on Governors Island in the near future.
Thank you to our leader scholars for all their support with all aspects of the program! Aelish Mullaney, Marifer Sanchez-Gaspar, Maddie Novatt, Nick Pabotoy, Nick Dilella, Giovanni Nunez, Anna Sheehan, Jaylen Boyce, Julia Purrazzella, Sebastian Koko, Arlo Kane, Isaac Castillo, Nino Mazzola, Sara Guevara and the dozens of others in the MBRP. You’ve made this school year a wonderful one! Thank you to the parents, especially Koko and Nan Richardson, for their tireless support. Thank you to all the NYHS and MBRP parents for your donations, lab support, and words of encouragement throughout the year. Thank you to our internship partner, Jim Lodge from the Hudson River Foundation. Thank you to the office of Post-Secondary Readiness, Omari Gay, Florence Dennis, and the rest of the crew. Thank you to our many industry & post-secondary partners, and sponsor organizations who supported us this year: Marisa DeDominicis, Karen Holmberg, Rachael Miller, Joshua Crespo, Matthew Haiken, Zofia Baumann, Jackie Wu, Helene Hetrick, Mollie McGinnis, Melanie Smith, David Park, Billion Oyster Project, Con Edison, EverFi, Compliance Solutions, NOCTI, Earth Matter, Rozalia Project, Governors Island Trust, Hudson River Foundation, Randall’s Island Park Alliance, ESRI, SUNY Stony Brook, Bronx Community College, Borough of Manhattan Community College, Manhattan College, Roger Williams University, UCONN, LES Ecology Center, NYC Department of Education – New York Harbor School, and all our PAC members. And last but not least, thank you to my wife and family for all your support.
Figure 01. MBRP12 scholars wrapping up their marine debris recovery work for their Rip Rap Project. (Photo Credit: Mauricio Gonzalez)
The Harbor SEALs have been hard at work this season recovering marine debris from the rip rap surrounding Governor’s Island, NYC for the Hudson River Foundation. Student interns and volunteers from the New York Harbor School have been managing this project since September of 2021. The team is broken up into four work groups 01) Data Analysis, 02) Resource Recovery, 03) Communications, and 04) Water Quality. The team submitted a proposal to ConEdison and were awarded a grant to purchase the equipment necessary to safely scale the rip rap and recover NYC’s pervasive debris. Large garbage bags full of plastic bottles, boat line, dock Styrofoam, sports balls of all types, and mini alcohol bottles dot and span the rip rap. But by far the most interesting of findings have been a message in a bottle and a glamping tent.
After spending much of the Fall planning and writing the proposal, ordering materials, testing the safety equipment, and undergoing practicing trials, the SEALs began recovering debris in January. The Data Analysis group began defining categories of debris, creating data tables, and online forms. They then proceeded to classify the debris collected each sample day and weigh them by category. The Recovery team worked to perfect the methods for safely removing debris from underneath the rip rap and collected three geographically located quadrants to be able to determine the rate of debris replacement. Our communications team designed social media interfaces to disseminate our work products and reached out to our various stakeholders to coordinate field days. They also were in charge of writing the summary grant reports to ConEdison. Our Water Quality team began training in the measurement of Dissolved Oxygen in the sample site using the Modified Winkler Method. They also measured nutrients and other physical-chemical parameters. Finally, they began testing a drone with 3D deigned sampling devices to collect water samples from the Estuary.
View an article of them in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle here.
Million thanks to our partners and sponsors: Billion Oyster Project, Rozalia Project, Con Edison, Earth Matter, Governors Island Trust, Hudson River Foundation, LES Ecology Center, & NYC Department of Education – New York Harbor School.
Class 2022 at the 2022 Boat Show, Jacob Javits Center (Photo credit: Mauricio Gonzalez)
Greetings MBRP guardians, scholars, and friends,
I wanted to give you a brief update on what the MBRP is up to.
It is with great pleasure that I announce to you that 100% of our seniors have passed the summative CTE assessment for the MarineBiologyResearchProgram. The assessment is called Natural Resources systems and is provided by the testing company NOCTI. Most students also scored high enough to earn 3 college credits. Our seniors are currently processing their plankton/plastic data from our excursion in the Fall. They have also deployed biodiversity monitoring contraptions in the Buttermilk Channel called “Mo Pots.”
Last month our 11th grade scholars completed a session of mock interviews coordinated by our wonderful PTA CTE Reps, Koko and Nan. Thank you to all the parents that got involved! The 11th grade scholars are processing their plankton/plastics data while maintaining their recirculating aquaculture systems. Next, they will be ordering new organisms, getting certified in lab and chemical safety, and performing another plankton/plastics field sampling excursion.
Our 10th grade scholars have been steadily working on their projects as well as courses in career and financial management. They are writing lab reports and preparing a presentation for the end of the month. After this, we will begin sampling the Estuary once again for physical-chemical parameters using various instruments including YSI handheld meters. COVID has forced us to make many curriculum changes, but I can assure you that your children are getting a world-class science education with us and I look forward to a strong finish to our school year.
Lastly, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by many of my alumni coming to visit this year. We had Grace Carter, George Desjarlais, Dylan Hom Constable, Marcus Charles, Tyler Scott-Simpson, Cyd Bloomfield, Sunita Pearson, Jacqueline Obermayer, and Nicholas Ring stop by at the lab. We’ve had many alumni graduating from college as well as many others itching to visit after the long COVID hiatus. Much teacher care to all my alumni out there in the world – far and wide!
Best regards,
Mauricio
Class 2023 at the 2022 Boat Show, Jacob Javits Center (Photo credit: Mauricio Gonzalez)MBRP Alumnus Nick Ring visits!MBRP Alumnus Cezanne Bies graduates!MBRP Alumnus Marcus Charles visits!MBRP Alumnus George Desjarlais visits!MBRP Alumnus Dylan Hom Constable visits!
MarineBio scholars are busy getting ready for their field trips in New York Harbor
10th grade MBRP Class testing out the Beta-Bottle technique to sample phytoplankton
Sophomore Mark Garcia explains:
“We started off the year by learning all the mandatory safety precautions/protocols and getting to know our fellow peers. We then moved into microscopy. In preparation for our field work in NY Harbor we have been training with a device called the beta bottle that is used to collect actual water samples for analysis purposes.”
Want to help our MarineBio students?
Buy some supplies for them
at Cheddar Up
Lab Coats to keep them safe.
Water Measurement Tools
to keep the seas safe.
Donate what you can
…it’s all good!
You’re invited! On June 17, the New York Harbor School will be hosting its 10th Annual Marine Science Symposium through the digital cloud! Experience environmental science from our very own Marine Biology Research and Harbor SEALs scholars. Our honored keynote guests will be Dr. Kathleen Nolan, Chair of Biology at St. Francis College and Mr. Andrew Sommer, alumnus NYHS, class of 2015. Dr. Nolan and Mr. Sommer will share their personal and professional journey through the exciting world of scientific research. In addition, we will be honoring this year ’s NYC Terra ISEF Fair participant, Katherine Mumford, our post-secondary and industry partners, our MBRP symposium finalists, and our Manhattan Borough President, the Honorable Gale Brewer! Please take a moment to view our MBRP Class of 2021 websites.
The MBRP community would like to extend a warm thanks to our NYHS custodial staff, Mr. Benito Nunez, for assuming the oversight of the Marine Science lab for the complete year of the pandemic. Mr. Nunez has kept over 100 tilapia, various tropical freshwater and saltwater invertebrates, fish, reptiles, and amphibians alive and healthy! Benny – Thanks-a-million! The MBRP and the NYHS is tremendously fortunate to have you on the team!
Lastly, it’s with great grief that I inform you of the passing of marine restoration scientist and friend, Dr. Shimrit Perkol-Finkel, after an accident in her native Israel. We are most grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside Dr. Perkol-Finkel over the last 10 years. Her legacy will live on as her company, Econcrete Co., continues to innovate and build biodiversity-attracting solutions into our coastal infrastructure. This symposium is dedicated to Dr. Perkol-Finkel.
If you’d like to participate as a judge during the fair, you may use this link.
Brought to you by our MBRP class of 2021 (and 2022) scholars.
On June 17, the Marine Biology Research Program hosted an historic 1st Virtual Marine Science Symposium. The program was packed with wonderful people from NYC’s marine science community. Guests and scholars learned about ecological restoration, how fish use tools, how COVID has affected school life, the economy, politics, etc. and even judged projects! We had two inspirational keynote speakers, Heather Eisenlord and alumnus Grace Carter, talk to us about their career and school journeys. Click here to view the results of our Awards Ceremony, look at some pictures of our class of 2020, and download some resources. Next, we recognized the dedication of those PAC members that have gone above and beyond the call of duty to support our scholars year-after-year! They were Dr. Kathleen Nolan, Dr. Neal Phillip, Dr. Sunil Bhaskaran, and our all-star mom, Nan Richardson!
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the judges that dedicated their time to review videos and slideshows throughout the week following up to the event. Our scholars received invaluable feedback. These efforts contribute to the immeasurable effects communities have on their youngest of budding scientists. I cannot express my gratitude enough.
Passionate, creative, and kind – these are the three words that first come to mind when I think about the MBRP class of 2020. I will miss the passionate care for fish and marine life that always came up when something would go wrong with our systems and you were there to solve the problem. I will miss the challenging conversations we had on gun violence, “knowing thyself,” the broken school system, systemic racism, and, yes, research… I won’t miss pushing all of you to produce the best work you could produce! I will miss the teamwork you demonstrated often when it came time to support your fellow classmates. This is one of the things that kept me motivated to keep on pushing day in and day out, through the flus and the back aches. I recall seeing you teach each other and the younglings all the things you learned “on your own.” “Don’t ask Mauricio …” I’ll miss eating my PB&J sandwiches and my wife’s soups in front of you. I’ll miss the stories of cutting in the bathroom, mess hall, basketball court, and food truck. I’ll miss how some of you helped me track them down and saved me the phone call to guidance! I’ll miss the use of long nails to screw on tiny bolts on crab traps on the edge of the dock. I’ll miss the talks about politics, philosophy, and environmental justice. I’ll miss the hugs and hellos. I’ll miss your projects, your brownies and your holiday greetings. I’ll miss trying to not take pictures so as not to offend. I’ll miss seeing you use power tools and mixing cement. I’ll miss the movie and video suggestions. I’ll miss the sneaking up from behind to scare me. So, don’t ever forget that in my imperfect way, I always pushed you to be better than who you were yesterday and to be more mindful, thoughtful, and sensitive about this mysterious world around us and in us. You’ll remember our adventures in the MBRP, I “know.” You will always be my marine scientists! Best of Luck and Skill.
A huge thank s to our superstar symposium moderators: Marifer Sanchez-Gaspar, Sunita Pearson-Siegel, Randy Maharaj, Aelish Mullaney, Mimi Katz, and Heavenly Davis!
Finally, find here the Program for the 9th Annual, 1st Virtual Marine Science Symposium and here for our book “THE EFFECTS OF COVID19 IN A HYPERCONNECTED WORLD.”
In these difficult times, we wish you peace and health.
Every graduating class has a personality of its own molded by each individual and the particulars of the school cohort. This year’s graduating class was characterized by many unique and strong personalities. What they all had in common though was honesty. I have never met so many young MBRP scholars in tune with themselves and the spirit of the times. I’m most grateful to this particular group for having embodied a crucial component of the program which is independence. This characteristic allowed them to pull through and manage the many aspects that running a high school research program requires. From maintaining our various recirculating lab systems, managing the 8th Annual Marine Science Symposium, competing in the New York City Science and Engineering & Urban Barcode Research Program fairs, completing professional maps using ArcGIS, working thousands of internship hours, earning dozens of college credits, and, most importantly, enhancing environmental awareness of the Hudson-Raritan Estuary, this group of graduating scholars will be making big waves in our world for the better in the years to come. To get to know our graduating MBRP Class of 2019 better, click here to view their ePortfolios.
8th Annual New York Harbor School Marine Science Symposium (Photo credit: Mauricio González).
On May 15 the New York Harbor School hosted its 8th Annual Marine Science Symposium. We had over 50 projects on display and over 30 volunteers from various industry & post-secondary institutions. Among the volunteer judges of the student projects was a team from Con Edison, which has generously supported Marine Biology Research at Harbor School for several years. This year’s theme was the Oroboros- a symbol of chaos and order. The inquiry process, which lies at the heart of research, involves the brave act of taming the chaos inherent in the unknown to try to extract some kernel of truth only to realize that new questions have sprung up and the process continues. Research requires the delicate balancing act between finality and infinity, end and renewal.
8th Annual New York Harbor School Marine Science Symposium group shot (Photo credit: Anita Morawski).
This year’s winner of the MBRP Trident Award of Excellence was bestowed to Marcus Charles (Class ’18). The Trident Award is given to a MBRP graduate that has accomplished all three of the following feats: 01) has earned all the possible college credits offered by the MBRP, 02) has competed in the NYC Science and Engineering Fair or obtained GIS SPACE certification, and 03) has assumed a leadership position in the Harbor SEALs Citizen Science after school team. To view the Symposium Booklet with the complete list of volunteers, senior autobiographies, project titles, and Symposium results click here.
Prof. Henry Bokuniewicz from SUNY Stony Brook mentoring our 10th Grade MBRP scholars Gabriel Castro and Emily Lysakova (Photo credit: Mauricio González).
Our work is not possible without the ongoing support of industry and Post-secondary partners such as ConEdison, SUNY Stony Brook, Bronx Community College, BMCC, Urban Barcode Program, Roger Williams University, SUNY Albany, NYC Department of Education, New York Harbor Foundation, and Rozalia Project, to mention just a few. The opportunities they grant our scholars serve to enrich their education and help make them college and career ready.
Emily Lysakova and Gabriel Castro present at the 2019 Conference on the Geology of Long Island and Metropolitan New York (Photo credit: Lysakova family).
An example of the benefits of the synergy between our partners and the MBRP is our yearly completion of long term research projects, many of which compete at the New York City Science and Engineering Fair with NYC’s brightest STEAM students. We had four competitors in this year’s regional fair with our MBRP research scholar, Cyd Bloomfield, placing third in the category of Earth & Environmental Science. Thank you to Dr. Elizabeth Burmester for mentoring many of this years projects. Go New York Harbor School Science!
New York Harbor School at the 2019 NYC Science and Engineering fair.
In the field, our young Harbor SEALs scholars have been hard at work. Our Microbiology/Plankton and Phys-Chem teams have been monitoring the health of our Harbor waters. Our Biodiversity team has been preparing Econcrete tiles to deploy off of Governors Island for long-term monitoring. And our freshmen and sophomore scholars have been hard at work learning the ropes to take over leadership of their teams next school year.
Harbor SEALs team Plankton. Left to right: Kate Mumford, Taina Berrios, Sunita Pearson_Siegel, Luke Samton (Photo credit: Mauricio González). Harbor SEALs team Phys-Chem, Right to left: Adult mentor Sean Lynch, Malik Ford, Dakota Rogers, Brian Mejia, and, visiting scholar, Jasmine Mendoza (Photo credit: Mauricio González). Harbor SEALs team Microbiology/Plankton, Left to right: Kate Mumford, Prophet Davison, Aelish Mullaney , and Mimi Katz (Photo credit: Rosalia Elslamony).
Our alumni have been graduating from college and many continue to visit throughout the year. This past month I attended two graduation ceremonies. Our scholars report that college is not easy. Many struggle to adapt to the rigors of academic expectations and many are also the first to go to college in their families. I am pleased to also mention that colleges are starting to support our minority students by creating special associations that our students can go to for guidance. These associations also provide career assistance after graduation. Common themes I heard in our various conversations were 01) don’t be afraid to ask for help from your professors, 02) take advantage of office hours, 03) go the extra mile so your professors take you under their wing, 04) completing research in the MBRP opened doors for students, 05) don’t let impostor syndrome creep in, you’re not alone! Again, ask for help.
Violeta González, Jade Gonzáles, Andrew Sommer, and Tahirah Abdo, MBRP Class of 2015, graduate from SUNY Oswego.Violeta González, MBRP Class of 2015- my daughter:) (Photo credit: Anita Morawski).Nicole Martinez, MBRP Class of 2015, graduates from Columbia College (Photo credit: Anita Morawski).Katha Conklin and Jared Rosin, MBRP Class of 2017, visiting during our Symposium.
It has been an honor for me to have been awarded the NYC Big Apple Award for the 2018-19 school year. As a part of this recognition, I’ve had the privilege of participating in advisory meetings with Chancellor Carranza and his talented staff. I have also been a part of Academy for Teachers Master Classes that have enriched my intellectual growth. I’d like to end this update by dedicating it to my late mentor, Dr. Gregory Hodge, who passed in February 2019.
Academy for Teachers: Three-Day Master Class on the Hudson River Valley: Art, History, Ecology (Photo credit: Academy for Teachers).Big Apple Award: DOE Chancellor, Richard Carranza, Founder and Director Marine Biology Research Program & Harbor SEALs Citizen Science, Mauricio González, and UFT President, Michael Mulgrew (Photo credit: NYC DOE).My late mentor, Dr. Gregory Hodge , circa 2009 (Photo credit: Anita Morawski).My wife Anita Morawski’s “love cakes” for the Harbor SEALs (Photo credit: Elizabeth Burmester).
Front to back – Emily Lysakova (class 2021), Nicholas Ring (alumnus class 2018) ,Jonah Florholmen-Bouman (class 2020) calibrating a fathometer to measure the depth and change of a sand quarry off the coast of Staten Island in a joint project between New York Harbor School’s Harbor SEALs and SUNY Stony Brook with Professor Henry Bokuniewicz (Photo credit: Mauricio González).
SAVE THE DATE: May 15 we will host our 8th Annual Marine Science Symposium at the New York Harbor School. We have the privilege to present as our guest speaker Ms. Rachael Miller, Director of the Rozalia Project and one of the pioneers in ocean plastics research.
The Fall Semester of the 2017-2018 school year has been another successful season for the Marine Biology Research Program (MBRP) and the Harbor SEALs in particular. We began the year with a recruitment campaign for the new cohort, led by our junior and senior leaders, which managed to attract and retain over 25 team members. For those of you unfamiliar with after school science clubs, this is an impressive feat. Next, our grant proposal to ConEdison was successfully submitted and rewarded, with the help of Matthew Haiken from the New York Harbor Foundation. Funds from this grant have allowed us to run our ambitious STEM program preparing the next generation of marine scientists. They also benefit the various animals we house in our Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) including Valrie and Amaya, Red-Eared Slider turtles and hundreds of tilapia. Next, we initiated a special collaboration with one of our professional partner organizations, SUNY Stony Brook, to monitor an underwater sand quarry in the Harbor originally dug out decades ago to provide sand for major construction projects around NYC. Our students plan on compiling and comparing spatial-temporal data to discern changes in sedimentation that may have occurred over time.
In November we celebrated our 8th annual Harbor SEALs-giving with scholars, alumni, colleagues, and friends. Next year we plan on hosting an alumni after-party in lower Manhattan.
December was a busy month during which we convened our Professional Advisory Committee, I took a Master Class on the history of Eugenics run by Dr. Allen Spiegel, Head of Einstein’s School of Medicine, and visited ConEdison’s Learning Center in Queens with our senior research scholars thanks to an invitation by our PAC member, Michael Kessler. Our scholars got a tour of their world-class learning facility and learned about ConEdison’s unique employment programs and benefits as part of their Work-Based Learning program at the New York Harbor School.
In January our senior scholars took their culminating Career and Technical Education assessments. All seniors took and passed the NOCTI Natural Resources Systems exam. Most scholars also qualified for three college credits through the assessment in Natural Resources Management. We also implemented for the first time the Precision Natural Resource Science assessment. This assessment will replace the NOCTI as part of the Career and Technical Education’s program re-certification process.
Also in January, five of our senior Marine Biology research scholars received notice that they have been accepted to compete in the prestigious New York City Science and Engineering Fair in March! This ranks them among the best science scholars in New York City. Our senior scholars have been busy with their Career and Financial Management course updating their Work-Skills Employabilty Profiles, updating ePortfolios and regular binder portfolios, creating LinkedIn accounts, and initiating an on-line writing exercise called the Self-Authoring Suite thanks to funding from NYC’s Department of Education Office of Teacher Recruitment and Quality. I have also had the privilege of meeting with NYC Chancellor of Schools, Ricardo Carranza, to discuss topics in school equity, bias, and diversity, among others, as part of the opportunities offered by the Big Apple Award.
Lastly, the Harbor SEALs monitoring team has accomplished the following objectives this season:
01) Installed heaters to an experimental tank to grow Red-Eared Slider turtles. We were also able to install new air and water pumps.
02) Our Biodiversity team has been hard at work planning the design of a long-term experiment to test for the biodiversity of marine invertebrates using Econcrete tiles in the Hudson River. We are in the process of purchasing the materials and plan on beginning the mixing of Econcrete cement in the coming weeks.
03) Our Physical-Chemical team has also been hard at work calibrating and maintaining their instruments in order to start sampling the Hudson River in February. They have been adding pH probes and conductivity probes to the machines and calibrating them in order to ensure precise and accurate measurements.
04) Our Microbiology team has been training the younglings to sample for E. faecalis and the relative concentrations of plastic and plankton in the Harbor.
05) Our Data Management team has been producing data tables and data flow strategies for our Team’s data collection efforts.
06) Our whole team has gone out for mock sampling events twice in the Fall semester. We plan on starting our field sampling this month.
A heartfelt thank you to all our colleagues, family, friends, post-secondary, and industry partners for your continued support! Happy Lunar New Year!
Go New York Harbor School Science!
Valrie and Amaya, Red-Eared Slider turtles (Photo credit: Mauricio González).8th annual Harbor SEALs-giving!“Team Fathom” on a mission to measure the Harbor’s depth changes.“Team Fathom:” Nicholas Ring, Emily Lysakova, Gabriel Castro, Kyle Walter, and Jonah Florholmen-Bouman.Leo McGuinness, Team Microbiology Co-mentor showing off his Sedgewick-Rafter plankton counting cell.Marine Biology Research scholars, Class of 2019Marine Biology Research Program alumnus, Seth Rivera, class of 2018.December Professional Advisory Committee members meet and greet with our Marine Biology Research Scholars. Many of our scholars are being mentored by our PAC members in long-term research projects (Photo credit: Mauricio González).Dr. Allen Spiegel and Mauricio González.Our visit with Con Edison’s Andrew Simpson and Michael Kessler at their world-class Learning Center.Celebrating Winter Solstice with our senior marine research scholars. Rosalia prepared special treats for us.Our Harbor SEALs Junior leadership: Lisette Mejia and Jacqueline Obermayer, Project Manager and Operations Analyst respectively.Our unofficial NYHS pool/ice skating rink!
Civic Scientist Environmental Monitoring of the Hudson-Raritan Estuary
