Environmental Education

Programs offered by the Ecology Center are free to all. We focus our outreach to public schools, community centers and after school programs in the Lower East Side. We aim to provide local youth with opportunities to explore their natural environment and community through hands-on experience. The East River and the Park are our extended classroom and we invite children and youth to experience, take pride in and responsibility for their community and its natural resources. In the future, mobile programs such as the Fishmobile will extend our classroom even further to neighboring waterfront settings.

We also offer resources for teachers, in the form of teacher trainings, in-class visits and lesson plans. In addition, we are devloping more of the materials we have generated for online access, such as the East River Fish Log(1MB .pdf file). Check back here and on our calender for more teacher resources.

Programs
Workshops are developed and tailored towards the specific needs of groups, while emphasizing the creative, hands-on exploration of local resources and the development of leadership skills, stewardship qualities and the strengthening of science education.

Past workshop topicshave included:

* Water in NYC with a special emphasis on the East River

* Catch-and-release fishing, plankton collection and water quality monitoring

* Trees, Birds and Habitat Preservation using East River Park and as a living laboratory for exploration and learning

* Urban Gardening includes working with schools to enhance their existing playground gardens

* Waste Prevention programs to educate youth to make conscious decisions about packaging, reusing materials, recycling and composting.

* Stewardship training covers many subjects and all ages. Activities include open space preservation and maintenance through transplanting, weeding, and natural habitat creation; water conservation and appreciation; community outreach, activism and more!

* Environmental Art using recycled and found objects to create art and expressions of nature and the community.

* Special Programming including guest lecturers covering topics such as sustainable agriculture, urban planning, waterfront access, hawks, and much more!!

* In addition, we coordinate events such as sails on the Historic Clearwater Sloop, the Department of Environmental Conservation Crab Crunch, trips on one of NYC’s Fireboats, SCUBA Diving and Underwater Camera Programs.

Program Types
School Partnerships
The Ecology Center partners with local schools and individual teachers to develop curriculum for class visits to East River Park. Educators are also available to run in-class workshops.

After-school Programs
After-school groups, recreation enters and community organizations come to the Ecology Center to participate in after-school activities for students interested in or in need of natural science enrichment programs. A hands-on form of tutoring, our program focuses on issues covered in elementary- and high school-level natural sciences and encourages students to be creative while learning.

Internships
The Ecology Center offers a limited number of internships per year to high school and college students who express particular interest in environmental issues, science, and leadership. Small Stipends may be available.

Teacher Training
NYC teachers are invited to come to the Ecology Center for teacher training in local environmental issues with an emphasis on bringing hands-on activities to their classroom.

Partnerships:
Educational Partners

Highlighted Programs

CSD-15 Grassroots Academy
LESEC offered a two-day training immediately preceding the 2007 UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-15). The Academy provided an opportunity for grassroots women leaders from around the world to dialogue, increasing their participation in and impact at the 15th Commission on Sustainable Development. Learn more about the Academy, its development and its future at: www.LESECUN.org

CSO Curriculum
Combined Sewer Overflow, or CSO, is currently the biggest threat to New York City’s surface waters.  They result in the release of 27 billion gallons of raw sewage and untreated stormwater to local waterways annually. While great improvements have been made in overall harbor water quality in recent decades, the CSO issue persists and with it localized but severe water quality impairments. LESEC's CSO curriculum is the first and only of its kind in NYC that aims to educate the public on this issue. Learn more about our CSO education materials here.