Name: Matias

Social Justice Group: Environment: Plastic Pollution

Date of Fieldwork: January 7, 2019

Name of Organization: Wildlife Conservation Society

Person (people) with whom I met and their job titles: Edward Perri and Noah Chesnin New York Aquerium docents

Type of Fieldwork: Tour of Organization

What I did:

We visited the New York Aquarium and had a private tour of the new exhibit on sharks, and a tour of the filtration system as well.

What I learned:

During the tour I learned a lot about animals in the waters of New York City and Long Island. I learned out of all of the shark species 30% are endangered due to over fishing. I also learned that New York Cities water is cleaner than most people think. Many people think the water is dirty because the water isn’t clear. I learned that if the water isn’t clear it just means that the water is rich in nutrients and is home to more organisms.

What I learned about Social Justice “work” and/or Civil and Human rights “work” from this fieldwork:

I learned that change doesn’t come over night, and that it takes many determined people to bring change. Due to many long cleanup projects the New York harbor is cleaner than it’s been in more than 100 years. Despite all of this work, there is still along way to go in the fight against pollution.