Ossining High School and A Day in the Life of the Hudson River

Students watch as Ossining High School teacher Artie Carlucci prepares to move freshly sained fish from a bucket into a tank. (Leah Rae, Riverkeeper 2015)
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Students watch as Ossining High School teacher Artie Carlucci prepares to move freshly sained fish from a bucket into a tank. (Leah Rae, Riverkeeper 2015)

This past Tuesday, students and faculty from Ossining High School made their way down to Louis Engel Waterfront Park for the annual event, A Day in the Life of the Hudson River. Each fall, students and educators from New York City to Troy gather along the banks of the Hudson River to participate a day of hands-on learning. At Ossining High School, teachers Bridget Bowman and Artie Carlucci work together to coordinate the event each year, typically bringing 6 faculty, and 50-60 students down to the river.

Each station, from seining, fish identification, soil sampling, water testing, and recording basic weather data, allow students to studying and learning about the Hudson River while right by the river. One of the most interactive stations was seining for fish- where students put on rubber waders, waded out into the river, and used a special 10-foot by 4-foot net to capture a variety of fish species.

Seining in Ossining

Spending time down on the beach Artie and Bridget, their passion for teaching and for the river becomes instantly apparent. Outside coordinating the Day in the Life event, Artie and Bridget also bring students into scientific work on the river through an annual water quality testing partnership with Riverkeeper, where from May to October teachers and students conduct weekly sampling at the Louis Engel Waterfront Park. The hope is that that the data can lead to the beach being re-opened for swimming.

To find out more about the NYSDEC’s regional coordination A Day in the Life of the Hudson River, or about teaching about the Hudson River Estuary, check out the Hudson River Estuary Program.