Author: GRACE SHEPPARD SPENCE

Would you build a boat and head out onto the Bronx River if you knew it was for the greater good?

In society, we often get so caught up in our own lives and the world around us that we forget about the most important thing today, our youth. Well, I’ll tell you who didn’t forget Adam Green. In 1996, Adam Green launched a program called “Rocking the boat.” It started as a volunteer project in an East Harlem high school working with New Settlement Apartments. They provided both workshop space and students for the cornerstone Boat Building Program.

This non profit organization takes over 200 students per year in a series of STEM based programs that will last them throughout their high school and early college careers. Rocking the boat offers three programs when students first enter such as Boatbuilding, Environmental Science, or Sailing. But once the students become young adults, that doesn’t mean their journey at rocking the boat comes to an end. They are then offered part time positions working for rocking the boat, where they can go on to lead more youth. Students also receive social services by three licensed social workers. They help students prepare for the transition from high school to college or trade school. As well as overcome any obstacles they may face in college and plan out their long term goals. While also offering them emotional and social support.

Students may enter with little skills like barely knowing how to read a ruler but they leave with so much more like knowledge, friendship, and community. Students in the boat building program read plans, create and assemble all the components to build a full size traditional wooden sailboat from scratch. Then they launch it onto the Bronx river. The sailing program teaches participants the proficiency of sailing. Students go through intensive training where they learn how to swim, sail, and teach others. All while students are working toward their U.S. Sailing instructor certification. Lastly, the environmental program helps students by using environmental tools collect water quality data, monitor birds and fish, reintroduce native plant and animal species, and perform restoration work that is helping to bring the Bronx River back to life after years of neglect.

Now, how do we know that Rocking the boat is really making an impact? Let’s look at the stats, since Rocking the boat was implemented. “On average, 96% of Rocking the Boat students graduate from high school on time.” as stated by the Rocking the boat website. And “57% of Rocking the Boat alumni have received their bachelor’s degrees within six years of high school graduation.” But most importantly, “95% of participants grow in social emotional competency.” The students are growing as people and that’s more than anyone could’ve asked for. I can show you with numbers that this program is making a difference but who better to hear from then the students themselves. First, we hear from Taji Riley, former Boatbuilding student, Boatbuilding apprentice, and Program Assistant. “I first joined Rocking the Boat because being able to build boats is really different from a regular after school program where all you do is homework. I got to do something out of the ordinary. Now when I’m in the shop I feel like I can let out that inner woman who wants to build. That’s where my passion for carpentry shows–working the wood, figuring out how the grain goes together, that’s what I need.” Then, we hear from Rigoberto Garcia, former On-Water student and Environmental Job Skills apprentice. “Rocking the Boat is always teaching me something new. This experience has made me feel capable, and given me a sense of responsibility to my work and to myself.”

Lastly, after sitting down with Ricardo Almonte, Alumni coordinator and fellow Baruch graduate. I got to hear several rewarding aspects of working for Rocking the Boat. For example, guiding the participants through not only school but life as well and watching them go on to make life choices on their own. He stated, “There are so many rewarding aspects of this job that I can’t pick just one…but the feeling I get from helping people identify and achieve their goals is indescribable.” Rocking the boat is shaping young minds by helping them develop pride, purpose, and possibility. It creates a sense of community that inspires young people to determine their own future. 

Building a better Bronx. The Bronx is known for having a bad reputation. What if that can be challenged by digging beyond the surface. Turns out that there’s a huge community that is overlooked when we think of the Bronx. In the Bronx, particularly the Bronx River people are coming together to make a difference in their community. For example, they are beginning with our youth. They are educating our young minds by providing them with programs and opportunities to be involved in activities at the Bronx river. They are running a marathon in New York City for charity. They are implementing safety enhancements in East tremont. They understand that people would like to expand more access to parks and less to motor vehicles. They offer tons of volunteer experiences for everyone. They participate in coastal cleanups, tree planting, food stewardship events, and many more. They even have an event where 2000 people come out onto canoes into the Bronx river. They have people that can’t even swim risking their lives to be a part of something more and bigger than themselves. This is also great because this helps people connect with their community and each other. “When you volunteer, you’ll see the “different” side of the Bronx, the birds, fish, and interrelated connection of nature.” But with all of this..Can we still build a better Bronx? Can we eliminate all the crime? If we clean up everything. What’s stopping the people who don’t care from destroying it all over again.

Would you believe me if I told you that once upon a time some of the cleanest water was found right here in this very city? 

Can you guess which borough, the Bronx! The Bronx river used to be an industrial neighborhood before it was torn down to build a water preserve in the late 1900’s. After reconstruction and digging up the oil. The city designed the river with the intent to have it used for a clean source of drinking water for New York city. This attempt had failed when the city failed to build a proper filtration system. Therefore the bronx river turned from being the cleanest water to the dirtiest water. There was tons of sewage backed up in the water that the conditions became unlivable. 

Today, the Bronx river alliance has made it their mission to foresee that the bronx river never experiences devastating living conditions again. In one way we see that today there is a trash boom located at the end of the river that connects with the ocean. This is to prevent trash from entering the ocean. Then the city comes once a month to dig up that trash. 

On February 26th, I took a dive into history at Starlight park. Where I got to watch the light come back into this very city since the 1900’s. One of the ways I got to observe that, was through watching the animals that once left, return to our city. At this winter bird watching nature event, I saw Mallard ducks swimming in the river. I also got to experience a couple of “lifers.” Lifers is when you see a new species of bird for the first time. I saw red cardinals with their bright red feathers. The female cardinals don’t sing but the male was making his mating call. I learned that birds that take the same parental role in their species tend to be difficult to differentiate between male and female. As the European starling flew over my head and I saw its iridescent feathers. The leader of the event told me that these birds were brought by a man, who wanted to bring these birds in the place of our great writer shakespeare. NYC Audubon and the Bronx River Aliance are doing things everyday to maintain the upkeep of the park. They have designed an area for native plants to benefit the environment by contributing to the food chain. They also are testing the water qualities of the river frequently to track progress. So far, they have discovered that we are seeing some progress in the water properties. I interviewed the leader of the event and he said, 

“We had dolphins visit us from the ocean because they were chasing the fish, proving that we have some wildlife coming back to our river. I see a positive outlook for the future of our river.” – Christian Murphy