1. Nature of New York  We see New York City in our daily lives as a big, busy city with eight million people in the middle of rush hour. NYC, however, is not just hustle and bustle, there is also beautiful nature in the parks of NYC. Such parks are Inwood park in uptown Manhattan, and Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge in southern Queens.

2. Inwood Park  When we visited Inwood park, we encountered different species of plants and animals. There were three different ecosystems, marshland, forest, and meadowland. There were lots of birds such as the blue jay, cardinal, red-tailed hawk, and chickadee. The chickadee ate out of our hands, and it felt good. We also saw different plants and rocks that we didn’t know existed in NY. We saw plants such as the Willow tree, which aspirin come from. We also learned that many other things such as coffee, tea contain natural insecticides from plants. We also saw interesting rocks such as igneous, schist, and gneiss and some are up to 1 billion years old. It was a really fun experience.

3. Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge  In Jamaica Bay, we saw different kinds of birds and ducks. We learned that birds are smart because they travel in a V-shape with the leader in the front and the leader changes positions with the birds in the back, they also drop seashells to break them and then eat them. We saw different birds such as the snow geese who migrate from Canada and travel 3000 miles to Jamaica Bay. Birds such as the yellow- rumped warbler are smart too. They had to change their diets from insects to bayberries in order not to migrate. Jamaica Bay also has fresh and salt water marsh land which is the ideal ecosystem for these different plants and animals.

4. Wild, Wild City of New York New York City and the natural areas of NYC are two different communities. They are almost opposite each other. People who are always busy live in the city and peaceful animals and plants live in the parks of the city, but they both co-exist to make the city beautiful. This is a part of the city which people don’t see everyday and it’s a wonderful opportunity if you get the chance to visit it. That’s why its important to save our forest which is a form of Natural Beauty. New York City and the natural areas of NYC are two different communities. They are almost opposite each other. People who are always busy live in the city and peaceful animals and plants live in the parks of the city, but they both co-exist to make the city beautiful. This is a part of the city which people don’t see everyday and it’s a wonderful opportunity if you get the chance to visit it. That’s why its important to save our forest which is a form of Natural Beauty.

5. Nature, Just around the corner.  My name is Alen and I come from Baku. Before I entered this workshop, I didn’t know how New York worked or how much it had to offer in a sense of nature. I also didn’t know about where the food, water, and electricity comes from and how these basic needs affect our environment. It was surprising to me that I didn’t know so many things that are important to us and the place we live in. When we were interacting and watching the animals, I felt a thrill. I have never really been with nature so close, and I never thought that it would happen in NY. I was also astonished by my ecological footprint. An ecological footprint is the amount of land a population needs, the waste it generates, and the consumption it takes in. My ecological footprint is 21 acres and if every person was like me, we would need 4.7 worlds. The average NY ecological footprint is 24 acres, which is a lot compared to people in poor countries. The ecological footprint interests me and I never knew there was anything like it. I learned a lot during this workshop, and it was a fun experience.

6. Natural Conclusion  I am from Jamaica which is a tropical island in the Caribbean. The thing about New York and Jamaica is that they are different from each other. Whenever some one thinks about Jamaica they think about a place where you can go for vacation and relax however whenever someone thinks about New York they think about it as only a big, busy city. It was until I did this workshop I realized that there are places in New York that I can find birds and other animals that migrate from different countries just like people which makes New York City very diverse not only in human population but also in animals and trees which makes me appreciate nature in way that reminds me of back home. I also got the opportunity to see and feel nature from a first hand perspective which is the way I like it. (Spring Vacation-Fun), (Summer Vacation-Exciting), (Past Five Days-Priceless).