Hope on the Hudson

New York City is truly a water city. Everywhere you go, there are tunnels and bridges delivering you over water, to such a degree some have dubbed the waterways that encircle New York City "the sixth borough." Waterways like Brooklyn's Newtown Creek and Queens' Flushing Meadow, once thought ruined forever by industrial and manmade pollution are making a comeback.

For nearly a year the historic sloop 'Clearwater' was out of the water, on land, enduring what wooden boats have historically endured forever: Restoration. Onshore near the Hudson River Maritime Museum on the Rondout Creek in Kingston, swathed in tarps and protective sheets, the nearly 60-year-old wooden boat was carefully mended and updated.

From planting to harvest, follow the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe at Akwesasne, the Hudson Valley Farm Hub and Seedshed as they honor Native American seeds that are at risk of disappearing. Can they preserve their rich agricultural heritage and the stories that each seed holds?

In partnership with volunteer citizen samplers, Hudson Riverkeeper tests select tributaries of the Hudson for fecal-indicating bacteria and other water quality indicators. These samples are collected from the streambank by trained community scientists, and processed in our onboard lab, our lab in Kingston, or one of our partner labs.

Many fish use tributaries to the Hudson River as pathways to move between feeding, nursery, and spawning grounds. Unfortunately, thousands of dams, many built in the 19th and 20th Centuries are blocking those pathways and dramatically shrinking accessible habitat area, causing declines in fish and other wildlife.

Upstate New York used to be a breadbasket of grain growing. Westward expansion yielded more ideal climates for growing and production shifted to the midwest. Scientists, farmers, bakers and brewers take part in a grain trial test that hopes to produce a new generation of grain suited for the northeast, bringing sustainable and more localized grain production back to the region.

Carbon is life. when balanced, in its right place, it's critical to our biosphere. when out of balance, in the wrong place, it's proven to have dire consequences. Hudson Valley farmers have been dealing with the impacts of a changing climate for several years now, impacts that range from too much rain to too much drought, cooler summers and warmer winters and more.

The Hudson has endured decades of damage and neglect. despite the myth of a dead ecosystem, the river lives. Despite its polluted reputation, the Hudson River is teeming with life. From the tiny Glass Eels to the massive 14 foot long Atlantic Sturgeon, a vital web of life defies decades of oppression.

Farming is ever-evolving. Today, when we think about what's to come next for farmers a key question is, "How do we produce food and still maintain a livelihood for farmers, while respecting the needs of other organisms with which we share the land.