Life amid the Ghosts: BioBlitz 2014 at Rocky Point

 

DSC08250From the mid-19th century until the late 20th, it was a fantasy land of adventure. Rides, games, food, music. Over its 150-year life cycle, it was a world of vaudeville acts and 1970’s metal bands playing in the Windjammer Lounge. Visitors swam in a salt water swimming pool, filled from the rocky waters of Narragansett Bay, whose cool breezes swept the park from only feet away. They arrived by train, carriage, buses, and muscle cars with wide tires and radios blasting Deep Purple, and they feasted on clam cakes and chowder at the Shore Dinner Hall, a cavernous building capable of seating hundreds at a time.

Rocky Point in an 1800's postcard.

Rocky Point in an 1800’s postcard.

But that ended nearly 20 years ago with the closure of Rocky Point Amusement Park, a Rhode Island legend. As various banks, politicians, developers argued over the fate of the prime property, vandals worked their way through the abandoned corpse of a park, tagging signs with paint, burning what they could, or littering the property with empty bottles of booze. Eventually, fences were erected, rides were salvaged and sold off. And slowly but surely, the earth began to reclaim its land.

This last fact explains why nearly 200 people descended once again on the legendary Rocky Point on Friday and Saturday. They came not in carriages or muscle cars, but in station wagons and Priuses festooned with bumper stickers that said things like “Trees are Cool”, and “I (heart) Open Space”. Instead of fancy hats and parasols, they wore foul weather gear and carried binoculars or field guides. They spoke not of rides, cotton candy, or pools, but of mushrooms, dragonflies, or lichen. This was BioBlitz 2014, the annual event which brings scientists, naturalists, and passionate enthusiasts of many natural science fields. Their mission, sponsored by the Rhode Island Natural History Survey (RINHS), is to count as many living species as they can find in 24 hours, thereby creating a kind of biological inventory of the spot. This is the 15th year in a row RINHS has sponsored such an event, and its location is one of the more unusual.

A student peers into a makeshift specimen jar.

A student peers into a makeshift specimen jar.

“This may be the BioBlitz of the cracked pavement,” said RINHS Executive Director David Gregg at a pre-BioBlitz orientation. “I won’t sugar coat it: this site is much more of a suburban landscape. This will be a challenge.”

The majority of the amusement park property, now owned by the state and the city of Warwick, sits behind a chain link fence, too dangerous for exploration. However, the city took ownership of a lengthy strip of land along the outer edge some time ago, and turned the area into walking trails and preserved natural habitat. These areas, along with that which could be observed with binoculars on the other side of the fence, would be the focus of the group’s count.

Each BioBlitz runs for 24 straight hours, starting at three on a Friday afternoon and lasting until three on Saturday. During that time, experts will roll out in waves: birders dividing into groups to catch the late afternoon feed, fungi fanatics combing the woods in search of mushrooms, moss gatherers bringing samples back for identification. (Didn’t know there are dozens of types of mosses? Oh yes… it goes well beyond “green” and “fuzzy”.) The ocean team readies its nets for seining, and will continue to pursue ocean life throughout the tidal cycle. Plant people will begin the laborious process of collecting and cataloging hundreds of species of plants in the landscape. (Including the poison ivy. And boy, was there poison ivy.)

Salad?

Salad?

The hub of the wheel is Science Central. The nerve center is protected by a large canopy with clear plastic walls, and houses microscopes, field guides, nets, alongside the required coffee and snacks, all of which are required to keep the Blitz running throughout the night. Here, conversations are a bit different from the ordinary gathering: “May I borrow some of your alcohol?” One woman bends close to a bearded gentleman sitting at a table to make the request. In front of him is a bottle with clear liquid in it marked “GRAIN ALCOHOL: 190 Proof”. “Of course,” he says, pouring some of the libation into a glass container. The woman walks away with a smile of thanks. While such an exchange may not be all that uncommon on a Friday night, here it has a slightly different focus: grain alcohol is said to be a better preservative for insect samples than other types of alcohol, keeping the colors of the deceased more vivid. Yes, this is a different sort of crowd.

Science Central also happens to be located on the site of the salt water swimming pool that was featured so prominently in the Rocky Point Park advertisements. Long since filled in, the outer perimeter of the canopy is bound by the pale blue sidewalks that edged the pool. The paint is badly chipped and fading, and it is one of the only remnants of the park sitting outside the chain link fence.

Back then: the park's distinctive saltwater swimming pool.

Back then: the park’s distinctive saltwater swimming pool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today: putting moths in rows, the remains of the pool in blue in the background.

Today: putting moths in rows, the remains of the pool in blue in the background.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BioBlitz is packed with scientists, of course, but there are also those just making their first foray into the natural science world, like the enthusiastic group of middle school students from Calcutt Middle School in Central Falls, there under the supervision of science teacher Stephanie Racine. Like some of the others at this BioBlitz, the group will brave the steady rain in tents, in order to have the full experience.

Central Falls teacher Stephanie Racine with her daughter and some of her students.

While the group shows its enthusiasm for the trip with youthful exuberance, they are focused and attentive when addressed by Racine. They gather around the sample table that stores the items they have found in and around the water. In no time, each member of the group is able to identify every creature on display. There is also a group of youngsters from Roger Williams Park Zoo, which is one of the sponsors of BioBlitz. The kids already volunteer their time at the zoo, and spend their 24 hours helping and learning in a variety of areas.

Putting initials on the big board as species are seen.

Putting initials on the big board as species are seen.

By the time the air horn signals the end to the marathon collecting session, the weather has gone from cool and rainy to overcast and humid. Despite the fenced-off limitations of the survey, over 1000 species have been documented. Those who remain are hot and exhausted, but no one seems to mind.

The turnstile that once led patrons to the midway, with the midway arch behind.

The turnstile that once led patrons to the midway, with the midway arch behind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not far away is a turnstile that once admitted eager fun seekers. The metal object is now wrapped in poison ivy. Next to it is the towering steel arch that marked the entrance to the Midway. It too is crumbling, its paint peeling away after years of being consumed by salt air. Much of the grass that covers the swimming pool, home to Science Central, has been trampled. Still, it will come back soon, as nature returns to reclaim the land. Once again, as the impact of man diminishes, the earth moves back in to reclaim its own. The rides may have stopped running at Rocky Point Amusement Park, but the earth is still doing just fine.

Baltimore Checkerspot.

Baltimore Checkerspot.

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