WMA 5 Ambassador Update

By Michael Guerriero

 

As Spring Heats Up, So Do Outdoor Activities

 

Once again, the change in seasons has ushered in a corresponding adaptation in the activities of both Hackensack Riverkeeper and its dutiful Watershed Ambassador. As spring blossoms throughout the watershed and its various streams quicken in flow, I too, find myself in a particularly rapid work state. And just as a resurgent stream changes in both pace and character, both the amount and variety of watershed activities has grown throughout the past few months.

The milder temperatures experienced as winter gives way to spring have made me bold enough to introduce and instruct others in the visual and biological assessment work that I perform for the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Whereas during winter I would only subject the neighboring Watershed Ambassadors to the elements during assessments, warmer weather has allowed me to train several groups in visual and biological monitoring protocol. These groups are now able to monitor on their own, and should they wish, submit their findings to the DEP.

The more temperate weather has also produced a welcome change in location for much of the work I do with schools. While I still travel to schools to present lessons on watersheds and pollution, an increasing amount of this work can now be done outdoors at Laurel Hill County Park in Secaucus, where Hackensack Riverkeeper conducts land-based and pontoon boat combination programs for school groups. Whereas I have been confined to the simple watershed lesson inside the classroom, at the park I am able to show students the watershed, let them chemically test the water of the Hackensack River, and send them though the park on nature searches.

The hectic pace of the season has also led to a bit of a personal revelation, as constant work with school groups in both classroom settings and in collaboration on special projects has now led me to seriously consider a career in education. Exposed to the daily highs and lows of teaching, I have not shied away from the challenge. Rather, my work with the Watershed Ambassador Program and Hackensack Riverkeeper has granted me invaluable experience and confidence should I enter the world of formal education.