Time Out NY recommends "Pedal to Pelham Bay Park"!

Time Out New York just added WildMetro event "Pedal to Pelham Bay Park" as a Critic's Pick for Own this City.

Click here to check it out.

WildMetro Pelham Bay Park project area: Golden Meadow, Granny Oak, and vicinity. Photos by Professor Ruth Gyure, taken August 19, 2009

Early morning light at the edge of the Golden Meadow.

The Golden Meadow near the Granny Oak. Professor Gyure took these lovely photos . Dr. Gyure is an expert on microbial ecology who teaches at Western Connecticut State University.

Ancient Granny Oak, 350 to 450 years old. It is a white oak (Querqus alba). D. Burg for scale.

David Burg and WildMetro intern Adrian Ruiz clearing invasive porcelain berry vines. Adrian is a senior at SUNY Binghamton and a native of both Mexico and Suffolk County, Long Island.

Mysterious rock formation. Said to have been sacred to native Algonquin tribes.

Joe-Pye weed (Eupatorium sp.) in a hidden pocket of rare wetland plants.

Check our Flickr account for more pictures.

Pedal to Preserve Pelham Bay Park August 30th

9AM, Meeting at Bike & Roll, Pier 84, Hudson River Park, 557 12th Ave. @ 43rd Street, Manhattan, across from Circle Line.

12PM, Meeting at Bronx Victory Memorial in Southern Section of Pelham Bay Park, Bronx, close to end of 6 train.

Environmental and biking organizations from 5 boroughs are joining together to gain much needed attention for NYC's biggest park - Pelham Bay - home to wild turkeys, terrapin turtles and the famous 400-year old Granny Oak. At 9AM the East Coast Greenway Alliance and Time's Up New York are teaming up to lead a 25-mile one-way bicycle ride to Pelham Bay Park along existing and proposed portions of the East Coast Greenway in Manhattan and the Bronx. At noon, bikers will arrive at the Bronx Victory Memorial and WildMetro, a local environmental organization, will coordinate a clearing out of invasive species and trash of the park, to follow with a nature walk through the park. Be sure to pack a lunch!

Tour of the Museum of Natural History!

August 6, 2009

The huge crygenic vats used to preserve the DNA samples.

Last week two WildMetro interns, Paige Reidy and Megan Szrom, were able to get a behind the scenes tour of the Museum of Natural History! Paige and Megan met up with the Earthwatch crew (a non-profit worldwide organization that involves volunteers with scientific research. This crew was led by Dr. Catherine Burns and conducted small mammal research in and around the New York City area.) at the Museum to get a tour of the DNA laboratories. DNA is collected from all over the world and placed in huge cryogenic vats that are kept at a chilling -170 ºC by liquid nitrogen. Liquid nitrogen’s odd chemical properties were demonstrated to us by the head of this DNA laboratory. She poured liquid nitrogen onto the floor and we watched as it spread out over the floor and then simply evaporated. These DNA samples can come from a tiny insect or a huge land mammal! It is extremely important to keep these samples frozen in order to keep them viable long into the future.

The head of the lab opening up the vats.