The Hudson River Fishermen’s Association and the Palisades Interstate Park of New Jersey held its 29th annual “Hooked on the Hudson,” fundraising event on Saturday, May 3rd, at the Ross Dock picnic area in Fort Lee.
The event is designed to introduce people to the Hudson River and all that it has to offer. There were environmental groups on hand to provide information, as well as fishing and casting contests for the kids.
Our talented hands-on facilitator, John Ponticorvo, explains the importance of the trip for our students, “The trip enabled the Explore students to view the Hudson and the Palisade Cliffs from a different perspective. Besides being exposed to the recreational sport of fishing, the students were given an introduction to their future study and investigation of the historical richness of the region as well as its natural beauty. In the fall, the students will also study the environmental threats to these same natural resources they enjoyed today”.
Explore 2000 learned about clean boating practices from the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Division 10 and they also learned and practiced fly casting with Trout Unlimited. We learned about what it means to leave your Carbon Footprint behind, and we also signed petitions to save the historical cliffs that George Washington once climbed, fleeing from the British. 1st year student Angelina Ponce reflects on the trip and says, “For one of my first few times fishing, I had fun with my friends, and also got to learn how to cast.”
Although our Explore 2000 family didn’t have any luck catching any fish, we learned a lot, we were able to practice our fishing safety, and we had a ton of fun.
