CURB's Blue Team Tracks Fecal Indicator Bacteria Levels in the Hudson

by Katie Lamboy Roman - CURB Educator & Water Quality Specialist

The CURB Blue Team consists of 10 Yonkers public high school students who have completed the prerequisite Winter Water Academy weeklong water quality intensive during the YPS winter break. These paid summer interns focused their research on the quantity of fecal indicator bacteria present at the Yonkers Paddling and Rowing Club dock three times throughout the day on Tuesdays and Wednesdays during the month of July. These students also worked together in the planning of a community event aimed to showcase their research and inform key stakeholders in a day of fun activities.

The program hosts an opportunity for two prior students to return as mentors, acting as leaders and knowledge sharers of the program. The program also hosts a Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) student who supports with educational lessons and overall guidance. This past summer the SLC student, Vivian Navarette, was also a student who has held both Blue Team student and mentor roles in past summer cohorts. Below she shares a bit about her experience in the program.

“During my Blue Team internship, I worked with 9 other students of different schools in the same district. I got to know my acquaintances while working and was taught about many topics related to environmental justice. The experience was always learner friendly, and I always felt that we all had a responsibility toward our research work on enterococcus in the Hudson. Our community event was a daunting thought, but by working together with my acquaintances, it was so much more manageable and motivating. I learned how important it was to be a team player, be confident, and to be resourceful.

My time at CURB was so influential to a point where I wanted to continue to be a part of the community there. I came back as a mentor. Yet another fun and educational opportunity I was given a year after my internship. I was in charge of creating the research poster associated with the incoming Blue Team interns work. I learned how to increase my confidence more, projecting my knowledge and words to the students who were in the position I was a year before. I loved doing my job as Data Analyst mentor, as I learned how much more complicated and important our research was. [In 2025] I worked with CURB as a Summer Science Intern from Sarah Lawrence College! Out of any choices I've had in the past, I would have always chosen to go down this route as I have grown with CURB and will always cherish my experiences here.”