Long Island’s freshwater habitats face constant pressure from aquatic invasive species, and responding to those challenges requires steady commitment from professionals, community volunteers, and students. Work often depends on people willing to spend long hours on the water removing plants that threaten local ecosystems. With efforts from professionals like Carlos Morantes‑Ariza and teachers like Andrea Durbin, the LIISMA region gets students involved in addressing aquatic invasive species.
Carlos Morantes‑Ariza, the Department of Environmental Conservation’s Region 1 Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator, has been working to address aquatic invasive species that affect Long Island’s waterways.
One such species is water chestnut (Trapa natans): a rapidly spreading aquatic invasive plant native to Eurasia and Africa. It can be recognized by its floating rosettes of triangular leaves and the hard, sharp nutlets. Once the plant becomes established in ponds, lakes, or other freshwater systems, it can outcompete native vegetation, it creates thick mats that make boating, fishing, and paddling difficult. The sharp nuts often wash onto shorelines, where they can puncture footwear and create hazards for people and pets on shores.
To keep small populations from expanding, Carlos leads volunteers and staff to remove the plants by hand, pulling the roots from the sediment and bagging them. Mid‑summer removal is ideal because it prevents the plants from dropping mature seeds prolonging the infestation. Volunteers play a crucial role in the work of the New York State DEC and regional PRISMs. Hand‑pulling by trained volunteers is the most reliable way to eliminate small, isolated patches of water chestnut before they grow into large infestations.
West Babylon High School AP Environmental Science teacher Andrea Durbin has taken the initiative to bring her students to these volunteer efforts, giving them the chance to participate directly in conservation work. Her students joined LIISMA and DEC staff during New York Invasive Species Awareness Week (June 6–14) to remove water chestnuts, demonstrating the NYISAW goal of informed community action. LIISMA reached out to Andrea to learn more about what motivates her to involve her students in this kind of stewardship, with the conversation recorded below.
Out of all the environmental topics you could focus on, what made you pick invasive species as the main way to get your students out doing hands-on work?
Ridding our local habitat of invasive species such as the water chestnut is one of the few environmental topics that students can see the impact they are making immediately. Many topics in environmental science take years for one to see the benefits – but removing plants is instant gratification! And for students, that is very important.
How has teaming up with the DEC over the years changed or influenced how you plan out the ecology unit for your AP course?
Our yearly visit to Massapequa Park & Preserve to remove Water Chestnuts is a highlight of our class. We don’t have an “ecology” unit in our AP class. The entire course is about the environment and has set units that have been dictated by Collegeboard. Invasive species are covered earlier in the course. The water chestnut pull occurs after the AP exam, due to weather constraints and scheduling. But the water chestnut pull is a great way for students to see what they learned all year in a “real” scenario just minutes from where they live. I do include the water chestnut pull as a part of our final projects, where students can write a children’s book about invasive species.
A lot of teachers find the idea of organizing outdoor conservation trips pretty intimidating. What advice or encouragement would you give to other educators who want to start a volunteer program like this for their own students?
Planning a field trip is a lot of work. For me, these trips are planned out early in the school year, usually in the fall. It does take time to find trips that really incorporate students in the environment. Working with the DEC, students can engage in trips like this one, in the removal of invasive species. There is also the “Day in the Life” program that occurs in the fall. Beach cleanups are also a great way to get students involved, and you can contact Fire Island National Seashore and work with the National Parks to plan a trip. One of the hardest parts is finding a trip that works for the teacher and will be engaging for the students. Once that is done, the administration needs to approve it. Having a good relationship with your administration is key, and it is important that the admin has a full understanding of the educational importance of any field trip. I would suggest having a meeting with your admin and discuss the field trip to help it be approved. And then go! The time and effort it takes to arrange these trips will be worth it when you see your students doing something that makes an impact on their own education as well as the community and the environment.
What has been the most rewarding part for you personally, watching this program turn into a yearly tradition for West Babylon?
For me, it’s the willingness of the kids to go. Many teenagers do NOT want to get dirty. Or wet. They don’t think of these things as “fun”. I am clear when I tell them this water chestnut pull field trip is optional. But they all go anyway. And though I can’t say all of them dive in and start pulling plants, many of them will tell me after how much they enjoyed it or how good they felt for doing something that was truly helpful for all.
These conversations show how much impact a single experience outdoors can have on students. What began as a small volunteer opportunity has grown into a tradition that helps young people understand their environment in a direct, memorable way. By giving students the chance to step outside the classroom and take part in real stewardship, Andrea and her partners at DEC and LIISMA are helping shape a new generation of learners who understand what it means to care for their local ecosystems.
