Central Park

The Daily Plant : Thursday, November 21, 2002

THE RANGERS SAY: LET'S HAVE CLASS OUTSIDE TODAY

You won’t find "nymphs, leeches and baby fish" at the top the Plaza hotel’s list of Things to See (or even on their room service menu, for that matter). Still, these tiny wiggly organisms are living the good life right across the street from the famed hotel—and in plenty of other neighborhoods. On November 8, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator Jane M. Kenny put on waterproof hip waders and entered the Pond in Central Park in search of life. Joined by Director of the Urban Park Rangers Sarah Hobel and other Urban Park Rangers, they taught sixth and seventh graders from the Harbor Science and Arts Charter School about the Pond’s ecology. They also announced an $80,000 grant from EPA that will go towards the Urban Park Ranger’s acclaimed educational program, The Natural Classroom.

Using special nets, Commissioner Benepe, Ms. Kenny, and the Rangers helped students collect tiny animal specimens from the beautiful banks of the Pond (which in the past year underwent a $4 million dollar restoration funded by the Central Park Conservancy). The Pond served as a model for ecological investigation as students learned about food chains, competition for resources, and the web of life. Their findings will enhance their science curriculum over the school year.

The Natural Classroom, launched last year by Parks, transforms New York’s parks into classrooms by using the plants and animals that flourish in them as object lessons in a variety of subjects including ecology, botany and ornithology. Children also learn about the city’s cultural history through lessons highlighting the development and expansion of parks. When the outdoor lessons end, Parks offers supplemental education material that allow teachers to bring the days’ experience back to their classrooms.

The $80,000 grant from the EPA, to be matched with $27,000 in City funds, will allow Parks to bring this terrific program to children who go to school or live near smaller community parks, in addition to the existing programs. Currently, The Natural Classroom is run by Parks out of nature centers and in the city’s flagship parks.

By having classes outdoors, kids learn about their animal neighbors who crawl, wiggle, fly and swim through the city’s parks that, from the animals’ perspective, are even more comfortable than the best city hotel.

(Thursday, November 30, 1989)

A mysterious sighting in Queens, one of the best boroughs for birdwatching, has left local nature enthusiasts puzzled.

A larger-than-usual species was seen perched in a sweetgum tree in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, in a march near Kissena Lake, and beneath a patch of jewelweed in Cunningham Park—all in the same day.

The visiting "creature" was none other than Todd Miller, a member of the Natural Resources Group (NRG) and author of NRG’s opus-in-progress, "A Birdfinding Guide to Queens."

"Superstition is to religion what astrology is to astronomy—

the mad daughter of a wise mother.

These daughters have too long dominated the earth."

(1694–1778

Know Before You Go

Harlem Meer Center (formerly Lasker Rink)

Harlem Meer Center