PART I
The water of the Gowanus Canal just outside the gates of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy.
Entrance to volunteer at Gowanus Canal Conservancy
Poster of problems the Gowanus Canal faces
Andrew, Kevin, and I having fun weeding
Andrew, Kevin, and I toasting to a day of hard work at the Gowanus Canal Conservancy
On October 12, 2019, I went to volunteer at the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn with a few other St. John’s students. Upon entering the part of the canal to volunteer, it was nothing like what I initially expected. I went in expecting the water to look dirty and reek of garbage, but I was surprised to see that there was no smell and the water was actually looking clean from where we were standing. After a few hours of weeding and planting, I came out fully enjoying the experience as I got to clean up the environment as well as learn a lot from it. Overall, this experience has definitely increased my awareness on environmental issues and have motivated me to take further action in the future.
First arriving to the weeding area, I had almost no idea on what was a weed and what was not. In all honesty, I thought almost everything was a weed, but was able to learn from the conservancy leaders that there are only a few types of weeds. In addition, I learned that I had to take even the roots of the weed out or else it would grow back easily in the future. From there, I spent about one hour of my time weeding the area I was assigned to. The amount of weeds that were there was overwhelming, but I found it very satisfying that I could grab the weeds by the handful and yank them out. In a way, I found this to be fun, and it happens to be great for the environment too because weeding allows more room for other plants to flourish. After weeding, I took a step back to see my work and the area I weeded looked very empty after most of the weeds were gone. To me, it was a very satisfying sight to witness because before it was like a mini jungle, but after it was just mostly visible dirt with a few plants. I was very proud of what I was able to do, but it was not close to over yet because we were handed many plants and a shovel to start planting. Depending on the plant size, we had to dig a hole that was big enough and deep enough to fit the plant. This was actually very challenging because while digging the holes, there were roots and nettings that always got in the way, which made the job take a lot longer than it should have. However, after getting each plant into a hole and covering it up afterwards, the area that we weeded looked a lot more lively since it is not mostly dirt anymore. It also made me feel great because the work I did would eventually grow and become flourishing plants that would contribute to helping the environment.
Completing this service experience has really raised my awareness of these environmental issues. By helping to get rid of trash, as well as plant more plants, it helps contribute to making the conditions of not only the Gowanus Canal better, but the entire world as well. It has brought to my attention how littering something as simple as a plastic straw can be detrimental to the environment, so every action counts. In addition, this experience has allowed me to learn how long of a process cleaning the environment is because the Gowanus Canal has been in the process of cleaning for many years, but there is still a long way to go to get it completely clean. According to one of the volunteer leaders who was in charge of us, gonorrhea bacteria was found to exist in the water, so it is not safe at all for a human to enter the water yet. In addition to this, there could even be more dangers that people have not found yet. Due to this, it has made me become more aware of my actions since I don't ever want the environment to suffer from what I do.
In the future, I am hoping to be more aware of my actions to make sure that everything can be more environmentally friendly. In my opinion, every small action contributes to a better environment, so I plan to start by changing little things. For example, I can start using reusable bags when shopping and walk more instead of driving to decrease emissions going into the atmosphere. Additionally, this was the second environmental service I have volunteered in, and I would definitely continue to do more as both of my experiences have been a fun and educating experience. Also, I would try to educate others who might not be as informed about the environment, in hopes that they would help too. As someone who has a positive mindset, I believe that if people would become educated and aware of environmental issues like the Gowanus Canal, the future would be hopeful because if everyone was able to make small changes to their lives that benefit the environment, it would help heal the environment in the long term.
Overall, this experience was definitely one I cannot forget, and I will most likely partake in it again. This is because the small actions I do, such as participating in this volunteer experience, contributes to a better environment in the long run. With the Gowanus Canal still being cleaned frequently, there is much hope that one day it would be fixed of all the damage it has taken in the past.
PART II
Photograph taken on August 22, 1904, showing the murky water in the Gowanus Canal
Photograph taken on August 21, 1928, showing the incineration plant dumping waste into the canal
Photograph taken on September 4, 1928, further showing the disgusting canal due to the incineration plant
Factories on upper Hudson River that used to operate and dump waste into the river
Trees within 2.6 million acres in Adirondack Park that cannot be removed due to the Adirondack Forest Preserve
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The Catskill Forest Preserve that does not allow removal of trees within 237,000 acres in Catskill Park
Environmental conservation has been a huge factor in helping the environment. For example, they help with the clean up of waterways, as well as preventing people from destroying ecosystems in areas like forests. Without such actions to stop humans from becoming too greedy, the environment would be worse off today, making even some parts of the world inhabitable for not just humans, but other organisms as well. Therefore, conservancies such as the one for the Gowanus Canal has helped to restore a sense of balance in the environment from the destruction that humans have caused.
The Gowanus Canal has been around for many generations, dating all the way back to the 1600s. Before it even became a canal, the Dutch bought the land near the Gowanus Bay and made it land for a tobacco plantation. Along the banks, there were large and tasty oysters that the Dutch collected and exported back to Europe, making it the first thing that Brooklyn ever exported. By the mid-1800s, Brooklyn has become America’s fastest growing city. Due to this, an increase in the need of navigational and docking facilities occurred, causing the New York State Legislature to decide to build a two mile long canal. With the construction of this canal, factories and plants started to appear, as well as resident homes. After many years, the combination of industrial pollutants and runoff due to sewage from residential areas and rain water caused the water in the Gowanus Canal to become very dirty and disgusting. It brought with it a horrible odor, and due to all this, it was given the name of “Lavender Lake”. According to a New York Times article in 1889, residents were constantly complaining about the canal, “testified that the odors were frightful”. Over time, the activity near the Gowanus Canal started to decline drastically until the 1970s, which is when people decided to come back to the Gowanus area. In addition to this, appreciation of the environment started to get brought into this area during this time, so it caused the start of the Gowanus Canal cleanup, which is still going on today.
The cleanup started with the Department of Environment Protection saying that a flushing pump was to be activated in 1988, but it ended up not being finished until 1999. With the pump, the smell and water conditions got better, but it did not help with the sludge that is on the bottom of the canal. However, people persisted on trying to get the Gowanus Canal clean, so funds have been given to help with the removal of all this waste, which is still being worked on to this day. In addition to this, many associations have been created to aid in the healing process of the canal, such as the Gowanus Canal Conservancy, which was created in 2006. The Gowanus Canal Conservancy aims to not only help the Gowanus Canal, but the area surrounding it as well. They aim to care for the ecologically sustainable parks and public spaces in the Gowanus lowlands, while also educating people on environmental issues like this one.
The Gowanus Canal was not the only waterway that was contaminated, thus needing a cleanup. The Hudson River also suffered a similar problem due to the numerous factories that were located on the upper Hudson. Due to the river’s fast flow, it made it the perfect power source to run machines, and it was a perfect place to dump all the waste created. Just like the sludge on the bottom of the Gowanus Canal, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are deposited on the bottom of the Hudson River, and coming into contact with them can cause numerous amounts of health issues. Fortunately, the Environmental Protection Agency called for the removal of all these deposits in 2002 and the operation was done from 2009 to 2015. From that year, the Hudson River started to get better, such as how aquatic plants are starting to repopulate certain areas.
Environmental protection has not been rare in New York and it is not limited to just waterways like the Gowanus Canal. It started off with the shift in perspective of many people during the 1800s who saw the importance of preserving and taking care of nature instead of destroying it. This appreciation and awareness of environmental issues had caused the State Legislator to create the Forest Preserve of New York State in 1885, which took many acres of land within the Adirondack and Catskill forests and made them under the protection of the state. This would allow the forests to thrive without having humans play any part in destroying it, such as cutting down trees for lumber. By creating something like this is a way to keep the environment in check, so that it would not be destroyed to a point of no return. Based on how these areas are still thriving today, it shows that theses protection services are effective. Over time, the amount of environmental protection programs increased, which eventually led to the establishment of the Department of Environmental Conservation in 1970. This was established because there was a realization that the government actually played a large role in environmental protection, so it was decided that this department would be created to oversee all environmental related issues.
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Overall, New York environmental conservation programs have been around for many years. As more people continue to realize the importance of saving the environment, the more the environments would be able to benefit, even though there is still a lot of work to do. As a result, environmental issues that happened in the Gowanus Canal, Hudson River, Adirondack Forest, and the Catskill Forest are just a few examples of how there is hope that environments can be saved and fixed.
Work Cited
“8. Industrial Pollution in the Hudson River.” 8. Industrial Pollution in the Hudson River - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation, https://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/66647.html.
“About.” Gowanus Canal Conservancy, 19 Aug. 2019, https://gowanuscanalconservancy.org/about/.
“Complaining of Gowanus Canal.” New York Times, 1 Aug. 1889, p. 8.
EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 11 Apr. 2019, https://www3.epa.gov/hudson/cleanup.html.
“Gowanus Canal History.” Gowanus Dredgers, 22 Aug. 2019, https://gowanuscanal.org/gowanus-canal-history.
“History of DEC.” History of DEC - NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation, https://www.dec.ny.gov/about/9677.html.