Hello! My name is Larry Markel and I am a sophomore attending Macaulay Honors at Brooklyn College and am majoring in either biology or chemistry to further pursue my goals of becoming a radiologist. I have always been fascinated with the idea that one person could entirely change the medical perspective on various diseases that were previously incurable and save hundreds of thousands of lives. I strive to be one of those people and therefore involve myself in rigorous scientific courses to prepare myself for medical school.

I believe that this class will teach me how to think and talk about science in a way that I haven’t ever before. With my academic strength focused in math and science, i have always had a formal background in it, such as learning about electron orbitals and why certain chemical mixtures change colors when mixed together. In this class however, we will learn how science affects certain individuals outside the settings of the laboratory or classroom. It will certainly broaden my narrow focus on science and perhaps help me better understand science as a whole. I am wholeheartedly excited to be a part of this course and hope it will strengthen my connection to science.

During the bioblitz, I was part of a lichen group. Lichens are a symbiotic relationship between algae and fungi that primarily grow on barks of trees and certain rocks. We were all examining the 22 different species of lichens and trying to find out exactly how many were still plentiful in central park. Because lichens are very sensitive to air pollution, our guide told us if we didn’t find too many species that would mean that central park was too polluted for the lichens.

The guide was doing the bioblitz because she was writing a thesis in lichenology, the study of lichens and wanted to show us how interesting it could be to observe all the different types of species and see how present they were in one of New York’s best parks. It was a very fun day and seeing how exciting it was for some group experts definitely made it more exciting for the group as a whole.

The activity benefits us as citizens because it allows us to fully understand everything that is hidden in parks such as Central park. Before bioblitz, I would never have imagined that so many species of lichen could be recognized just by looking at them. the diversity of all the plants and animals and other organisms is truly breathtaking if you don’t take a backseat and actually explore it all for yourself. In total there were probably over 20 different living organisms that Macaulay spent a day in total observing. Those numbers make me feel as if I have taken for granted the diversity of Central Park and have not fully taken advantage of its beauty.

The bioblitz was a great learning experience for me. When i thought lichens, i thought to myself that it would be a very boring time but it turned out to be a pleasant and fun experience. I met new people and we all collaborated on finding all the various types of species of lichens. There was nothing really that turned me off from the bioblitz and I would definately do it again if I could.