Brooke+Stile

[] [] [] In my neighborhood, there is the Salt Marsh Nature Center, which is located in Marine Park in Brooklyn, New York. This environmental center is one of the ten Urban Park Ranger Nature Centers. At this environmental center, you can go on a walking tour as well as take workshops as a family to learn about this center and its purpose. Historically, salt marshes have been treated as "wastelands". We now have learned how extremely important they are. Salt marshes are one of the most biologically productive habitats on the planet, rivaling tropical rainforests. The daily tidal waves bring in nutrients and these nutrients tend to settle in the roots of the plants and the algae blooms in the water. When visiting this nature center, you can see a variety of birds including ducks, geese, sandpipers, herons, marsh hawks among many other kinds of birds. Not only do many birds come to the salt marshes but other important species do as well. Species such as shrimp and crabs come to the marshes before going into the water as adults. Between the 1950's and 1970's, 75 percent of the original salt marsh in Jamaica Bay have been destroyed. This destruction occurred because the marshes were being filled to create more land area to build homes and property. Before this center was created, the Marine Park marsh was a wasteland filled with trash and abandoned objects such as cars. It has been restored to a good condition and this ecosystem continues to exist safely. At the Salt Marsh Center, there are many ways for people of all ages to get involved in the community. The Rangers Conservation Corps, which is an environmental internship for high school students, work with the rangers to take part in wildlife management. This past fall, their goal was to get the community involved and encourage members to bring organic material to the center so that it could be made into compost. According to an article that I have read, over 300 pounds of leaves, scraps of food and grass were brought to the center. This Spring, they are doing a project which involves planting native wildflowers and using the indoor and outdoor beehives. This center is working hard to get members in the community to work together to help protect the environment. The Salt Marsh Alliance was created in 2002 to support the center. This alliance allows for members in the community as well as local businesses to help mantain this center.

Before even beginning this activity, I can use this wiki to show children pictures of what the salt marsh looks like as well as allowing them to read articles when split up into groups. Using wiki is very beneficial because it allows the children to use technology to learn a lot of things. Our world is becoming more and more technologically advanced and it is important for children to know how to use the computer and find research based on many different science topics.

The reason why I chose this environmental center to teach my students about restoration ecology is because I find that this place can really help children to understand the concept. Restoration ecology is defined as the study of renewing a degraded, damaged or destroyed ecosystem through active human intervention. At this center, I would have the children take the nature tour. They will be able to see the variety of birds that visit the marsh as well as look at the land. Before taking them on this tour, I will explain to the class what a salt marsh is and why it is so biologically important and productive. I will explain to them as mentioned above how in the 1970's the original salt marsh in Jamaica Bay was destroyed and what we can do as members in the community to keep it restored. There are many educational programs that the children can do at this center. For example, in 2001, The Natural Classroom was created by New York City's Parks Department. It transforms Marine Park and the salt marsh into outdoor classrooms. The rangers use the plants and animals at the marsh in order to teach students subjects such as ecology and botany. On this tour, the students will see bayberry, which is a native high marsh shrub. They will also come across phragmites which are problematic, non- native plants.They will also be taugh that phragmites are not part of the diet of local wildlife and is very flammable. Fires are very common at the salt marsh because many people who visit the park discard their cigarettes. They will learn about how we have an affect on nature and how we need to practice techniques which help the environment not harm it. They will be able to use first hand experiences to see what the marsh looks like and how it has changed throughout the years. Before taking them on a tour, I would also show the class pictures of how the marsh looked in the 1970's and after the tour they would be able to compare how this ecosystem has changed. I feel that having the children take a tour of this center will help them to learn about restoration ecology because they will be able to see for themselves how this ecosystem has changed for the better over the years. They will be able to examine plants, sea life and birds and see how they live in their habitats at the salt marsh. Also, the children can take part in local restoration if they wish. For example, as I mentioned earlier they can help bring organic material such a food scraps to this center for it to be turned into rich compost which helps to fertilize the soil. The whole purpose of this wiki space is to inform the children about restoration ecology by having them take a tour at this nature center and allowing them to explore the plant life and learn what they can do to help this center strive.

__Comments on Hoi Wong's Page:__ I like that Hoi Wong chose to get the students parents involved in this activity. Children in elementary school are too young for certain activities so I agree that it is important for parents to become involved. If parents encourage their children, I agree that more children will be motivated. By having this wiki, parents can watch videos and view pictures which will motivate them to participate. It is also really important that you included that students should be required to create their own wiki pages under their parents supervision. I agree that even children in elementary school need to learn to use wiki and write about their experiences because our society is becoming more and more technologically advanced.