New York Harbor School - Climate Week 2024

Birds, birds, and Birds - They are one of the best neighbors on Governors Island -

In this beautiful scenic landscape, you can see the Manhattan city skyline with the New York harbor in front of it and Castle Williams to the left, surrounded by a nice panoramic view of New York Harbor. Castle Williams is war of 1812 era fort, a historical military and contemporary prison, haunted house in the Coast Guard years. Its got some history. Check on NPS resources for more info and take a look around on foot - https://www.nps.gov/gois/learn/historyculture/castle-williams.htm

Castle Williams is on the North side of the island directly facing Manhattan and New Jersey. Castle Williams is an amazing representation of Quality Education because of the massive amount of signs around it, and in it. Quality Education is the 4th goal in sustainable development and ensures that people of any age are accessible to education. Therefore, making Castle Willams a prime example of that, as it is free of charge, and anyone can visit. The signs in and around Castle Williams teach visitors about the history and architecture of the Castle. On the weekends the Castle is open to the public to see and learn more. This is an amazing learning experience that everyone should try out. The Governors Island Parks Service also lists a lot about Castle Williams and is a good thing to check out before, during, or after your visit. 

This is a nice piece of lawn/grass on governors island where tourists and students can chill (picnic, lay, sit) and take a break. This area is especially vulnerable because of Lantern Flies. 

Created by designer Barent Roth, this off the grid solar powered rotational molding plant recycles scrap plastic into new products.Details at circulareconomymfg.com/ 

One of the best ways to enjoy the island or the city is on a shared bicycle! There are two Citibike racks on the island, and other kinds of bikes to rent, too.  Or bring your own bike on the ferry! It's a great place for new riders - bicycling is a great way to save energy and reduce greenhouse gases every day. citibikenyc.com

Collective Retreats is an area where you can rent a place tent to stay on Governors Island. The campsite provides a scenic view of Manhattan, a unique place to be. On the other hand, the tents cost about 300-1,200 dollars per night, which I feel is a bit too much to stay for such a short amount of time.

This red bench overlooking Colonel's Row addresses many Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). More specifically, the 3rd SDG goal "Good Health and Well Being."

This place is incredibly green and eco friendly for example there are a lot of local trash cans so that there is less garbage on the island. This spot has a lot of space for everyone. It is a relaxing and beautiful area where it can be anything like, play, picnic, and meditating. The area is part of an SDG, #15 life on land, as you can see birds and insects. It is an important area as it is vulnerable because the area is surrounded by greens. The area in Colonels Row is the main area as everyone mostly visits and hosts events there.

Colonels Row is a large grassy field, near the center of the island with trees lining the perimeter of the island with dirt surrounding them, there are some very large patches of dirt with a sink as a water foutian at thew very southern point of grass. This place is very vulnerable to climate change right now because of how close it is to the water, meaning it is very easy to get flooded and probably has been in the past due to excessive rain and no drainage systems near bye. Also there are tons and tons of high schoolers that trample the field daily, wearing down the already dying grass, this specific area will probably be ruined disgusting and un-useable in the near future if nothing is done to change this.

There are plants, vegetables that are grown by students from the New York Harbor School high This teaches students how to grow food and they are good life lessons. Life lessons that are being taught is how to become more independent and how to learn how to farm, grow food by your own which is a key lessons to know in life. This relates to quality education because students get to learn more and more every day and learn more about fruits and plants. Come Check out the Farm!!!

Composting food collection happens here, waste from the school comes here and students help to sort aswell.

Date: TBD Time: TBD Join biologist Dr Amy Berkov for an engrossing evening of insect watching! RSVP here and meet the group as they head over toward the Bee Conservancy, where the pollinator plants abound. 

The Governor's Island Harbor School farm is a small-medium sized super clean farm in front of the school and thrives with wildlife. Even though there's trash and recycling bins all over the island there is still a lot of trash around the island, however this problem can be easily solved by the community picking up any trash they see and properly sorting it.  This is very important because properly sorting materials can result in healthy soil for food to grow, and less pollution.  Organic collection is collect at the school and turned into compost.  By using food scraps and waste it can benefit the harbor farm by making nice soil for food to grow.  Additionally to help with zero waste you can re-use and recycle objects so that it doesn't go to waste! We do this work with Earth Matter. See more info:  https://earthmatter.org/

This is located at the Intersection of Kimmel Rd. and Andes Rd. to the right of Pier 101.

At the top of the hill you can see a view of the city and all the buildings. The beautiful vista shows trees and animals behind the city landscape. Plants and trees are vital to our clean air, especially in a crowded city. This site is especially vulnerable to climate change because the plants and animals depend on the nature to survive. This is important because the people on the island need to clean up after themselves and take care of the island.  The development of green space follows the Sustainable Development goals of Climate Action. Respect the area. 

This is a water feature here on the island that is a benefit to all on the island including people, students, and animals. People can refill their water bottles here or wash their hands after a long day exploring the island. Animals can also use this water source as a drink.

This tall grassy hill with trees at the top is located southern end of island. At the top, there are about 3 red yard chairs facing the Manhattan buildings. It's a good site to see the skyline. This place is good for birds and people because of the connection to nature and the healthy exposure to sun. This place also supports the SDG number 15, life on land goals because of the habitat for birds and connection to nature.

Due to Earth's changing climate, the risk that crops and other plants won't be able to grow due to extreme weather lingers on this urban farm. Located on the middle east part of governors island, the GrowNYC teaching garden replaced a few basketball courts that were on the island, unused. The teaching garden provides a significant habitat for flowers and plants on the island, and is an area where people can learn about agriculture and the natural ecosystems on governors island. As I stated earlier, the threat lingers over the teaching garden that due to climate change causing extreme weather events, the ecosystems on governors island will be severely damaged and therefore the teaching garden is a vulnerable site.

Hammock Grove is a place open to the public where tourists and school children can go to relax in a cozy hammock with their friends and family.  Although, in this section of Hammock Grove, there are wooden fences put down to protect trees. Because this is a hotspot for tourists and school children, many people don't respect the work that has been done, and knock down the fences. Even just when walking by, it is easy to see all the fences that have been broken  preventing proper safety of the trees, and causing the rate of photosynthesis to decrease. By putting up these fences, the workers of Governors Island are trying to clean up and rebuild this site to reach a point where this is productive for the environment and a good spot for tourists. 

Trees and other foliage surrounding hammock grove provide a habitat for pollinators and birds while the hammocks themselves provide a calming outdoor spot for people to relax. Leave hammock grove as nice as you found it (or BETTER!) and pick up any litter that you spot. 

This is a peaceful and calming place with scenic views of the harbor, surrounded by lots of plants, trees, and grass; making you feel zen and at peace. This grove is a diverse place with many different types of plants, trees, insects, flowers and birds. There are also four hammocks so you are able to lay down peacefully, either in the sun or the shade of the trees. With all of the fresh oxygen being created by the plants reducing the harmful gasses that are in the environment.  When you are at the hammock grove, there are no trash cans or nearby or vestibules selling any food close. This was done, to reduce the amount of rats/insects that would come to eat the trash. But people still eat there regardless, and the trash is just left on the ground causing two things, one the rats and insects will find it and start returning to the area and 2 the trash can decompose into the ground which adds greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.

This is another Harbor School building. Here students learn and research how to help keep the land and marine environment safe, including Governors Island and the NY Harbor.

Governor's Island has many benefits, especially regarding nature and mental health.  Governor's Island is calm and beautiful because it's isolated from Manhattan, with abundant ecosystem services in action and conservation at work. Many things are happening on this island, such as attempts at reaching the Sustainable Development Goals. The New York Climate Exchange ( https://nyclimateexchange.org/ ) is working on bringing stakeholders together to develop practical solutions to emerging issues of our time. The New York Harbor School ( https://www.newyorkharborschool.org/ )and Earth Matter ( https://earthmatter.org/) are two top stakeholders engaged in substantial, hands-on, data-driven, social equity-driven approaches to tackling these issues. Earth Matter and one of the Career Technical Programs at New York Harbor School, Marine Affairs ( https://harborpolicy.org/ ), work tirelessly on managing and educating on the island's Zero Waste Mission.