Fifty years ago, the waterways of NYC and Northern NJ (the NY-NJ Harbor Estuary) were full of industrial waste, raw sewage, and garbage. The waterfront was mostly industrial facilities and garbage dumps; there was little public access, but most people wouldn’t have wanted to be close to smelly polluted waters. Starting with the Clean Water Act in the early ’70s, there has been a remarkable improvement in water quality; biodiversity increased from a few pollution-tolerant species to a rich diversity of marine/estuarine life, bird life, and even whales. The waterfront is now lined with walkways, parks and recreational activities, and even restaurants. This amazing recovery was due to the hard work of government agencies and dozens of environmental organizations; this recovery was the basis of the estuary being designated a “Hope Spot” by Mission Blue, Sylvia Earle’s organization (Dr. Earle was the guest of honor at the 2022 SOFO gala.) This illustrated talk is being presented by the person who put together the nomination last year, and who has been designated the “Champion” of the estuary.

Program Presenter: Dr. Judith S. Weis, Professor Emerita of Biological Sciences at Rutgers University, Newark.

This free program is for adults and teens.

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