Nature of New York

1
Nature of New York

• We see New York City in our daily lives as a big,
  busy city with eight million people in the middle
  of rush hour. NYC, however, is not just hustle
  and bustle, there is also beautiful nature in the
  parks of NYC. Such parks are Inwood park in
  uptown Manhattan, and Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge
  in southern Queens.

2
Inwood Park

• When we visited Inwood park, we encountered
  different species of plants and animals. There
  were three different ecosystems, marshland,
  forest, and meadowland. There were lots of birds
  such as the blue jay, cardinal, red-tailed hawk,
  and chickadee. The chickadee ate out of our
  hands, and it felt good. We also saw different
  plants and rocks that we didnt know existed in
  NY. We saw plants such as the Willow tree, which
  aspirin come from. We also learned that many
  other things such as coffee, tea contain natural
  insecticides from plants. We also saw interesting
  rocks such as igneous, schist, and gneiss and
  some are up to 1 billion years old. It was a
  really fun experience.

3
Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge

• In Jamaica Bay, we saw different kinds of birds
  and ducks. We learned that birds are smart
  because they travel in a V-shape with the leader
  in the front and the leader changes positions
  with the birds in the back, they also drop
  seashells to break them and then eat them. We saw
  different birds such as the snow geese who
  migrate from Canada and travel 3000 miles to
  Jamaica Bay. Birds such as the yellow-rumped
  warbler are smart too. They had to change their
  diets from insects to bayberries in order not to
  migrate. Jamaica Bay also has fresh and salt
  water marsh land which is the ideal ecosystem for
  these different plants and animals.

4
Wild, Wild City of New York

• New York City and the natural areas of NYC are
  two different communities. They are almost
  opposite each other. People who are always busy
  live in the city and peaceful animals and plants
  live in the parks of the city, but they both
  co-exist to make the city beautiful. This is a
  part of the city which people dont see everyday
  and its a wonderful opportunity if you get the
  chance to visit it. Thats why its important to
  save our forest which is a form of Natural
  Beauty.

5
Nature, Just around the corner.

• My name is Alen and I come from Baku. Before I
  entered this workshop, I didnt know how New York
  worked or how much it had to offer in a sense of
  nature. I also didnt know about where the
  food, water, and electricity comes from and how
  these basic needs affect our environment. It was
  surprising to me that I didnt know so many
  things that are important to us and the place we
  live in. When we were interacting and watching
  the animals, I felt a thrill. I have never
  really been with nature so close, and I never
  thought that it would happen in NY. I was also
  astonished by my ecological footprint. An
  ecological footprint is the amount of land a
  population needs, the waste it generates, and the
  consumption it takes in. My ecological footprint
  is 21 acres and if every person was like me, we
  would need 4.7 worlds. The average NY ecological
  footprint is 24 acres, which is a lot compared to
  people in poor countries. The ecological
  footprint interests me and I never knew there was
  anything like it. I learned a lot during this
  workshop, and it was a fun experience.

6
Natural Conclusion

• I am from Jamaica which is a tropical island in
  the Caribbean. The thing about New York and
  Jamaica is that they are different from each
  other. Whenever some one thinks about Jamaica
  they think about a place where you can go for
  vacation and relax however whenever someone
  thinks about New York they think about it as only
  a big, busy city. It was until I did this
  workshop I realized that there are places in New
  York that I can find birds and other animals that
  migrate from different countries just like people
  which makes New York City very diverse not only
  in human population but also in animals and trees
  which makes me appreciate nature in way that
  reminds me of back home. I also got the
  opportunity to see and feel nature from a first
  hand perspective which is the way I like it.
  (Spring Vacation-Fun), (Summer Vacation-Exciting),
  (Past Five Days-Priceless).