Schodack Island June 23, 2014

Schodack Island: Ecological Communities

The Schodack Island is 1,052 acres of land that includes about seven miles of the Hudson River. Above is a map of the ecological communities that are in the Schodack Shoreline. Plants, animals and other factors that make up Schodack Island live in these ecological communities and interact with one another. I guess that is why Toby wanted us to interact with the environment. When we first got there, I was sure we were just going to walk along the shore like we did at Peebles Island. I was so wrong. After minutes of screaming and holding for dear life onto Kassiana, I was finally in the water. The mud at the bottom of the river was so thick that my rain boots sank right into the ground. If you stayed in one area for about 2 minutes, you were as good as stuck. Some of the life in the Hudson River includes wild celery, Atlantic Sturgeon, Zebra Mussels, Striped Bass, Hogchockers, American Eel, and Catfish. I’m sure that I have encountered all of these things on my swim in the river. I actually wish I would have seen a Sturgeon because they are so interesting to me. The Sturgeon, a protected species, is the Hudson’s largest fish that eats invertebrates such as mollusks, worms, and crustaceans. They are also older than dinosaurs, which makes them even cooler. I was upset that we didn’t catch anything, probably because Kassiana and I scared it away, because that’s why I got inside the water. But since we didn’t catch anything we had to make fun out of the situation. Rose, Kassiana, and I started throwing mud at each other and it was hilarious. Some got in my mouth and hair but I nonetheless I thought it was fun. We’re already surrounded by dirty water so we might as well contribute to our filth. That was our way of contributing to the environment today. Another way was giving the flies a delicious snack because they were surrounding us on our walk on the trail. I’m glad I actually got into the water because I hate feeling as though I didn’t participate in our activities during the day. Although I can’t say I would ever do that again, I did have fun. 

Schodack Island Area Map