Denning's Point and Walkway over The Hudson

After reading some blogs and eating breakfast, we continued our daily adventures.  We first visited the Denning’s point. As we hiked through the woods, the professors Sharon, Toby and Ander told us some fascinating facts. Unfortunately, Professor Michelle could not come with us because his sprained ankle hurt.

The picture above shows  Am track train. Professor Toby told us about some of the consequences that the construction of trains has in the environment. To build railroads we definitely need space. This means that many trees were cut in order to build the train track. As a result, a whole ecosystem was affected and probably destroyed. In addition, professor Toby said that the construction of railroad produced marches which are not bad consequences at all. Instead, marches are seemed to be very good for the environment.

A March

Marches are a low area of water where small fishes usually live. The different types of plant materials that occupy the marches clean contaminated water by absorbing the contaminants.  As a result, contaminated water that comes to the marches leaves the marches uncontaminated. Wetlands also have the same characteristics that marches do. A very good analogy that professor Toby struggled with to tell us was that marches and wetlands were the kidneys of the environment.  In the same way that our kidneys clean our blood, marches and wetlands clean the water in an environment.

This picture shows a pond which is overfed with nutrients just like the pond in Oakwood cemetery. Professor Toby explained that ponds do not only go through eutrophication due to the nutrients of death bodies, but they also go through eutrophication naturally. This pond has definitely more nutrients than the one in the cemetery.While we were hiking, we saw an old brick factory. 

Outside of the Brick Company

Inside Of the Brisk Company

Brick found in the Bay

The pictures above show the inside and outside of the factory.
Professor Andor and I got closer to the building and took some pictures of the inside. Part of the second floor was in the ground while some of the doors were about to fall. Obviously, this building can collapse in any moment. The professors explained that many brick factories settled around this area because they needed clay to build the bricks. This area was known to be a great source of clay. While we walked along Dennig’s point, we were able to see bricks embedded in the ground. Every time that I saw a brick, I tried to figure out their labels. However, I had no luck since the majority of the bricks were broken or were embedded deep in the ground.  Was not able to see the full label. The girls found one that was laying in the ground of the bay. The picture above shows it.

Add caption

Before hiking to the bay, we stopped to see the Hudson from where we were. As the picture above shows, this part of the river was very unusual. It was very static and it seemed very contaminated. The invasive species water chestnut is the responsible for the way this part of the river looks. This invasive species was introduced to the United Stated by a European man who saw it in Europe, liked it and brought it to the United States. He placed it in a pond that he owned in Schenectady. Since almost all the ponds and lakes somehow connect with the Hudson River, water chestnut spread.

Water Chestnut Seeds

Their seeds are very dangerous due to their needles like structure. Due to the design that the seeds have, I would have never imagine they were some plants’ seeds. According to Professor Sharon, these seeds look like the eye of the devil.  Water chestnuts are very dangerous for boats as well. They can tangled around the boat’s motor and prevent them from functioning properly.

After lunch, we went for the greater walkway experience. We walked the bridge over the Hudson River. This was an amazing experience. I was able to see a beautiful view of the Hudson along with the houses, bridges and streets. Even though it was very hot, I enjoyed the walk. As we walked the bridge, we stopped to read some of the posts hanging in the fence of the bridge. Some of these posts had fascinating facts, others were ok. To me, the most fascinating one was the one about the Atlantic Sturgeon Fish. This fish is the largest one in the Hudson River. It reach lengths up to 14 feet and it weights up to 800 pounds. This fish is the oldest one in the Hudson.  It lived during the dinosaurs’ era and it has survived since. When the European came, they consumed a large amount of the Atlantic Sturgeon Fishes. Due to that, now this type of fish is at risk of extinction. If the Atlantic Sturgeon fishes are extinct, other species in the Hudson might get affected and this can cause a big change in the ecosystem of the Hudson.