By Judith Schwartzstein, Vice President of Publicity, Sarah Lawrence College 

Apr. 27, 2016:  Compared to the rest of the world, the United States (and the Northeast, in particular) has a plentiful supply of clean water for recreation and drinking. But in order to keep it that way, more needs to be done to protect our water, environmental groups warned. 

About a dozen grassroots environmental groups from across the Hudson Valley met at the Center for the Urban River at Beczak in Yonkers to celebrate Earth Day and talk about the challenges they face in protecting water quality. 

“When you think about Flint, Michigan, and what has happened there, it was citizen science that helped to uncover this environmental disaster,’’ said Ryan Palmer, director of the Center for the Urban River at Beczak. “We are reminding people that Earth Day is not just about appreciating the environment, but about protecting it.’’ 

The program, sponsored by Sarah Lawrence College's Center for Urban River and the Hudson River Watershed Alliance, was attended by about 75 people. Groups represented included Riverkeeper, Groundwork Hudson Valley, Federated Conservationists of Westchester County, Saw Mill River Coalition, Bronx River Alliance, Pocantico River Watershed Alliance, and the Sparkill Creek Watershed Alliance. 

Palmer said that the quality of water is central to our health, from the water we drink to the water we swim, fish, and boat in. 

For more than a year now, the Center for the Urban River has been undertaking an ambitious water sampling program in the Hudson and Saw Mill to learn more about what is polluting these rivers and how to reverse this pollution. 

In 2015, volunteers collected water samples on seven different days from 18 different locations along the Saw Mill River from Chappaqua to Yonkers. Palmer said that even with the limited number of samples analyzed, they were able to uncover some interesting trends. They hope to add up to 20 testing dates this year to build on their preliminary findings. 

“We need eyes on the ground to spot these problems,’’ he said. “That's part of the value of citizen science,’’ he said. 

The Center for the Urban River at Beczak (CURB) began in 2013 when Sarah Lawrence College entered an alliance with the Hudson River Valley Environmental Education Institute, which had operated the Beczak Environmental Education Center on the banks of the Hudson River in downtown Yonkers. The collaboration allowed the college to establish a research field station and facilitate faculty and student research while continuing environmental education programming about the river for school and community groups. In addition to providing hands-on K-12 environmental education, CURB works with partners such as the Riverkeeper to perform citizen/scientist-led studies to look for ways to combat sewage and other contamination of river water.

Pictured here:  Ryan Palmer, director of the Center for the Urban River at Beczak, addresses crowd at Earth Day celebration in Yonkers.  

Photo courtesy Judith Schwartzstein, Vice President of Publicity, Sarah Lawrence College