Save the date, March 27th, 2012, for the Whitehall Award. Rocking the Boat’s annual benefit at the New York Yacht Club. This year’s honoree is John Brady, CEO of Independence Seaport Museum.

Funds raised from the Whitehall Award provide major support for Rocking the Boat’s work helping young people in the South Bronx.

More info to come.

See photos from the 2011 Whitehall Award honoring Majora Carter.

Rocking the Boat’s Fall 2011 End of Semester Celebration was a huge success! Over 200 people from all over the Bronx and beyond came to see the launch of our latest boat, the 17-foot Whitehall Knowledge; danced to live music by the amazing Abrazos Orchestra; enjoyed a huge assortment of homemade food provided by Rocking the Boat parents, and saw the unveiling of a new six panel art project on the history of the Bronx River, created by our On-Water students and Environmental Job Skills apprentices.

Check out the pictures below:

See all the photos from the Fall 2011 Semester

Photo by Joaquin Cotten. See more on our Flickr Photostream

Rocking the Boat’s Fall 2011 End of Semester Celebration is on Friday, December 16th, from 6pm to 8pm. Come join us in celebrating all the work of our participants this fall!

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Satellite Academy service learning interns at Rocking the Boat get their feet wet at Pugsley Creek Park observing winter waterfowl. The park is currently undergoing restoration including installation of native grasses called spartina that will benefit native birds and other wildlife.  The interns are collecting data as a part of a 5-year monitoring project following the restoration.  The data will be used by scientists and technicians at the Natural Resources Group of the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation.  The views are beautiful not all easily accessible since the site is not yet fully open to the public.  One student, Jose, said it’s “like taking a ride on the Magic School Bus!”

In the WFUV studio with Stephanie and Rachel

On November 19th, Fordham University radio station WFUV aired a full 30 minute program on Rocking the Boat!

We’ve received lots of print and television attention over the years, but this is Rocking the Boat’s first mainstream radio coverage. Have a listen!

Fordham Conversations on WFUV

Marcus and Anajess baking up a storm!

On-Water and Boatbuilding students had an awesome day before Thanksgiving working on the boat and cooking in the kitchen.  We made some awesome pumpkin spice cookies.  They started like this:

pumpkin spice cookie batter

And ended like this:

We also made some pretty amazing guacamole (go, Aurea!) and green bean casserole.  Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Rocking the Boat!

Rocking the Boat Program Assistants and Executive Director Adam Green with U.S. Rep. Jose Serrano (far left) and U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar (third from right)

In October, Rocking the Boat was invited by the National Park Service to attend the launch of the New York component of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership at Roberto Clemente State Park, in the Bronx.

NY Daily News article – Sunday, October 30, 2011: Natural resources czar visits the Bronx

The Satellite Academy Service Learning group is a program of Rocking the Boat’s On-Water Groups Program.  This group of 8 high school students are participating in an extended program in which they assist in Rocking the Boat’s environmental restoration projects while earning high school science credit.  This semester they have been trained to monitor Bronx River water quality and oyster gardens.  They will also complete a winter waterfowl survey for the Natural Resources Group of the Parks Department and build nest boxes for local tree swallows.  The interns can use this experience for college applications and resumes.  For them, science has never been like this!