(Click here if unable to view slideshow.)
June 18, 2016: Water Quality
Another new walk this season—water quality is often in the news, and it’s been on our families’ minds. Thankfully, NYC is lucky to have some of the best tap water you can find!
First things first, we thanked all the families who showed up to the Health in Action Summit and helped us win won of the grants—we look forward to even more great walks!
NYC water is clean, healthy and FREE! We’ll it’s not exactly free, because $2 billion a year goes into protecting, testing and maintaining the system. But the great water that comes out of the tap costs less than 1¢ per gallon compared to about $10 per gallon for bottled water. So why pay for something that’s essentially free right from your faucet? Also, bottled water is not regulated as strictly for chemical and biological contaminants as tap water. Bottled water could even come from some other community’s tap!
Although the water provided by the city is great, the pipes and fixtures in your own building might have rust (which can cause discoloration) or lead. If you’re concerned, run the cold water for 30 seconds before using, and call 311 and to request help fixing the pipes and a FREE lead testing kit. Or request a kit online.
Especially appropriate this time, we gave stickers to the kids who brought their reusable water bottles. And Alicia brought mint and cucumber for flavoring the water.
¡Vámonos! And then we walked! Through the shady paths of Franklin and East River Houses and over the pedestrian bridge to the East River Greenway. We stopped at the 106th St pier to eat our apples and bananas and the kids helped collect a sample of water from the East River.
As the day grew hotter, we were happy to find shade passing through Jefferson Park and into Rodale Pleasant Park Community Garden. Garden member Hazel welcomed us, talked about the history the park has with Little Sisters, and we gathered ’round the table to test our water samples from the park drinking fountain, one of the family’s home water, and the East River. Although there was a bit of a mix up with the testing kits, we did show that the home water had no lead. And the home and park samples had no bacterial growth, while the East River sample did—indicating sewage contamination.
Rodale was busy with gardeners that day, and the fruit trees were starting to produce. The kids took interest in the stacked bales of hay—see the photos for action sequences!
Another great walk!
Stats
Date: April 23, 2016
Adults: 20
Children: 34
Total: 54
Miles: 1.74
Time: about 2.5 hours
Calories: 350 kcal**
Co-leaders: Cappy Collins, Mario Lavelanet, Deysi Martínez, Elsa Parra, Rachael, Maria Reyes
**http://www.nutristrategy.com/activitylist4.htm
“Walking, under 2.0 mph, very slow,” 155lbs = 140 kcal/hr