River to Creek: A Roving Natural History of North Brooklyn
River to Creek: A Roving Natural History of North Brooklyn is a participatory research project and art action that will draw attention to the geographic and ecological connections across the industrial landscape of North Brooklyn, from the wild empty lots at the end of Newtown Creek in Bushwick to the East River at the edge of Greenpoint. It is a collaboration between marine scientist/dancer Carolyn Hall, ecologist/visual artist Kathleen McCarthy and the members of TRYST. River to Creek is part of the iLAB Residency at iLAND. Visit our blog and check out some photos of our research so far.
Events:
COMING UP! September 11, 2010: A research bike ride through the industrial wilderness along the banks of the Queens side of the Newtown Creek, with an informal talk about the environmental history of the Creek by Ryan Kuonen of NAG and bird talk by Peter Joost of the New York Audubon Society. Flocking, soaring, and environmental history. Wear closed shoes and bring a bike, water, and (if you have them) binoculars.
Meet at Bogart St. and Grattan St., in front of the Archive Cafe. Bogart St. exit of the Morgan Ave. L stop. RSVP and questions to tryst@culturepush.org.
Call 917-306-6363 if questions on the day of the ride.
This is the last public hands-on research tour this Summer. There will be a final presentation for River to Creek in the beginning of October.
July 17, 2010: We did a hands-on research walk through the wilds of North Brooklyn in a tactile historical tour of the land. Eighteen intrepid resarchers follwd a route thaat began on Inda Street and Manhattan Avenue and wound it's way around the banks of the East River and the beginning of Newtown Creek, ending at the park near the wastewater treatment plant at the end of Paidge Avenue. With an oyster shell beach, corn planting and your own personal marsh. See some photos of the walk here. Researchers were given notebooks for observations and took their own photos (including a few for a state assembly campaign.) A big thank you to Steve Glenn of the Brooklyn Botanical Garden for his wealth of information on plants and botany during the walk. All of our plant samples are being logged by the NY Metropolitan Flora Project. Thanks also to Jesse Hornstein, marine biologist, the Blue Ribbon Restaurant Brooklyn and the Brooklyn Fish Camp for their generous donations of clam and oyster shells.
A random sampling of observations by the citizen researchers:
"I'm caught in a serene space; thinking about the progression of our human society. From the natives to the settlers to industrializers to residents in our new city economy. Hindsight is often very clear, while history remains malleable. What was on their minds 100 years ago, 200 years ago...?" Andre S.
(at the American Manufacturing Co. Building) "I am a muskrat surviving on decomposing polyester, wet and rich with mold. Smoked out by the fire for "redevelopment" I am hiding deep within this concrete crack. Will the people leave soon?" Scrapworm
(at the end of India St.) "No escaping the wind." Elizabeth M.
"Body language of trees, nomenclature of leaves, without words as we know them." Cassie T.
More to come soon
August 21, 2010: East River and Newtown Creek and informal talk by James MacDonald from the NY Seagrant. Water testing, fish dancing and observing bluefish "snappers" in the Creek
Upcoming events (all events are FREE):
September 11, 2010: Bike ride through the environment with informal talk by a specialist TBA. RSVP and questions to tryst@culturepush.org
October 2 & 3, 2010: Final presentations of our data. Performances, talks, films and more. Exact locations and times TBD. For more information or questions: tryst@culturepush.org
Why River to Creek?
In New York City we tend to look at each environment as separate in space—a park is separate from a river is separate from a built structure, a river stops at the riverbank, and each neighborhood is an isolated phenomenon, when all these environments are actually highly interdependent. The collaborative team will highlight the connections between the different environments and illuminate the geographic continuity lying under our built structures and transportation networks. We will study the natural history of the current environment over the course of 15 weeks, compare it to historical records, and present our findings. Our research will bring in the public as research partners, asking citizens to become scientists and artists and observe their environment using scientific, somatic and sensory methods—science research and movement research. We will have several public events during the research process:
How will it end? For the presentation of our data, professional performers and scientists and general public will create events that will reflect what we’ve learned over the months of research—a dance on site, both performed and participatory; a kayak convoy that is both experiential (for the kayakers) and performative (for the invited audience on shore); a sound collage transmitted by radio along the route, a film of movement research in secret sites. Events will take place on the weekend of Oct 2 & 3.
Project Collaborators
We are a group of artist-scientists who are choosing to exercise both sides of our professional lives simultaneously. Carolyn Hall is a marine scientist who just received her MS in Marine Science from the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University, New York in December 2009. Her thesis dealt with marine historical ecology. Hall is also an accomplished dancer who has been recognized internationally for her work with several cutting-edge choreographers. Kathleen McCarthy is an ecologist who recently received her MS in Ecology and Evolution from Rutgers University, with a focus on freshwater ecosystems and the urban environment. Her thesis looked at amphibian life in storm water basins. She is also an award-winning visual artist who created work in public spaces for many years. TRYST is a collaborative group of artists who specialize in creating public interactions to create an unexpected set of circumstances. The two main TRYST collaborators on this project are Clarinda Mac Low and Paul Benney. In addition to her art practice Mac Low has been a researcher and science writer, mostly in HIV and medicine, for many years.