National Parks in Your Pocket: The New Video Podcast Series

Gateway National Recreation Area has it all! The park hosts beaches, bike and hiking trails, historic forts, nearly 350 species of birds and even hungry goats. This series of video podcasts helps you explore what the park offers at Sandy Hook, Jamaica Bay and on Staten Island. Find out how volunteer "citizen scientists" help us monitor natural species and what Gateway is doing now to save Jamaica Bay's salt marshes from the dangers of climate change.

Videos can be seen in three formats: Windows Media (.WMV), Quicktime for iPods (.MOV) or Apple TV (.m4V). If videos take too much time to open, right-click them and save them to your computer.

Videos for all Gateway units (Staten Island, Sandy Hook and Jamaica Bay) are below. See the entire series of videos to visit other National Parks of New York Harbor.

Photo by NPS volunteer Devora Fein

NPS Volunteer Elizabeth Reif, holding a diamondback terrapin

JAMAICA BAY, GATEWAY NRA

Citizen scientists look out for Jamaica Bay’s turtles (4:28)

Citizen scientists, from high school students to college professors, volunteer to keep watch over Jamaica Bay’s population of diamondback terrapins.

Windows Media     Quicktime     Apple TV

Jamaica Bay is for the birds (3:41)

Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge is a safe haven for nearly 350 different species of birds from all over the hemisphere.

Windows Media Quicktime     Apple TV

Climate change threatens Jamaica Bay’s salt marshes (4:29)

Even a small rise in the water level can drown Jamaica Bay’s salt marshes. See what Gateway National Recreation Area is doing to preserve this important wildlife habitat.
Windows Media     Quicktime     Apple TV

NPS PHOTO

The lighthouse at Sandy Hook

SANDY HOOK, GATEWAY NRA

Beaches are only the beginning (3:34)

Sandy Hook’s beaches attract over two million people a year. But did you know about its bird habitat, salt marsh and the largest holly forest on the east coast?

Windows Media      Quicktime      Apple TV

Disappearing guns and nuclear missiles (4:28)

Fort Hancock on Sandy Hook defended New York Harbor using cutting-edge weaponry.

Windows Media       Quicktime   Apple TV

Life at an Army fort (3:09)

Sandy Hook has the oldest standing lighthouse in the U.S. But many of Fort Hancock’s military structures are just as significant. Photos: NPS, Sandy Hook Archives.
Windows Media      Quicktime    Apple TV

NPS Photo

Battery Weed, one of two historic fortifications at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island

FORT WADSWORTH, GATEWAY NRA

Guardian of New York Harbor (3:46)

Fort Wadsworth preserves two historic forts and offers a terrific view of New York Harbor. Some images courtesy of The New York Public Library. Used by permission.

Windows Media        Quicktime        Apple TV

How goats help preserve Fort Wadsworth (3:03)

Fort Wadsworth once protected New York from invasion. Today, its historic structures are threatened by “invasive” weeds. Hungry goats graze to the rescue!
Windows Media        Quicktime        Apple TV