Videos

A Street Creeks Update: Ate Atema at TEDxGowanus

Following up on his talk from TED@250, Ate Atema explains where his Street Creeks proposal now stands. He's looking for support from the community and there are lots of ways to help... including sharing his original video below.

Ate Atema: Street Creeks

Whoever thought rainwater could be so dangerous? As architect Ate Atema explains, storm water is one of the biggest contributors to water pollution in major cities. He introduces his proposal for the Gowanus Canal in New York City, called Street Creeks, a series of in-street channels and pollutant-removing gardens, to help effectively curb the damage of sewer overflows.

Sludgie the Whale: An Epilogue by TEDxGowanus

In 2007 a baby Minke Whale found its way into the Gowanus Bay and tragically died a short time thereafter. The neighborhood affectionately named the whale "Sludgie" and the she quickly became an iconic symbol of the area. 

The minke whale swam into the Gowanus Canal alive, but very sick, and her health status was monitored by the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, a member of the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program.  Once she died, the rescue program team of the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation led an autopsy to determine the cause of death.   Dr. Joy Reidenberg, a comparative anatomist at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, was called in to dissect the whale and harvest samples for research.

TEDxGowanus had the opportunity to interview Joy and photograph the skull of Sludgie the Whale. The skull was on display at TEDxGowanus on January 26, 2014 and made part of an interactive exhibit designed by Proteus Gowanus.

The minke whale's tissues, including the skull, were collected under Riverhead Foundation's stranding agreement with NOAA Fisheries.