WMA5 Watershed Ambassador Update

 

By Tara M. Casella

 

As you know, one of my responsibilities is to visit schools and explain watershed concepts.  So far, I’ve had great experiences, especially at Memorial Middle School in Little Ferry. The students were so welcoming and attentive.  From class to class, all the students helped me clean my Enviroscape model and carry it to the next room where I was greeted with a colorful banner made by the students.  I’ve also visited Teaneck and New Milford and will soon make appearances at Ridgewood’s Super Science Saturday, Jersey City middle schools, and others.  If you are a teacher and want a lesson in your classroom on watersheds and pollution, just call me and I’ll be more than happy to come to your school too.   As far as my Ambassadorship goals, I have already met my presentation commitment, but I look forward to performing many more as requested.  I haven’t completed many RATs (River Assessments) and BATs (Biological Assessments) this fall, but come warmer weather, I will be out in the field monitoring local waterways three to four times a week.  Anyone who has interest is welcome to come out with me and have some fun in nature.  I am also required to attend municipal meetings (e.g. planning board and environmental commission meetings), so please keep me informed of these dates across WMA 5 (Hackensack River, Hudson River and Pascack Brook).

 

As many of you probably know, TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) site assessments for fecal coliform (a bacteria that mostly comes from our friends the geese) in WMA 5 were completed in December.  Please, plant some trees or other flora in open spaces where geese love to live—they’ll find a better home.

 

Speaking of tree plantings, the 2003 National 4-H Youth in Action/Community Tree Planting Grant is available, with funding provided by Deft, Inc.  Grants range from $200 to $1,000, and the application deadline is Tuesday, March 18, 2003.  More timely is the EPA’s Environmental Education Grant deadline: February 14, 2003. More information about these grants can be found on their websites, www.grants.n4h.org and http://www.epa.gov/enviroed/grants.html.  Please let me know if you will apply for one of these.  Thanks!

 

To let you all know, I am very happy with Hackensack Riverkeeper.  They feed me well—my mind, that is.  I am learning more than I could have ever imagined.  When I accompany Jared to schools and assist with his chemical testing project, I learn more than I have in any semester-long course.  Kathy is an inspiration and a fine example of practicing what she preaches—her commitment to sustainable living. Both Hughie and Bill seem filled with tireless effort and volumes of knowledge, especially Bill.  And, there is never a dull moment in the office with Hughie around. They keep me informed of the political mumbo-jumbo operating throughout the environmental arena.

 

More than ever I see how politics affects our lives on so many levels. I love watching the faces of the audience when we inform them that the water belongs to all of us, as decreed in the Public Trust Doctrine.  People need to know their rights, and I am so proud to be working for that end.  When we understand what we have control over in our own communities, we are empowered with the knowledge to responsibly care for our environment and to encourage others to do so as well.

 

After all, it belongs to us just as we belong to it. In my metaphysical book, this is the universal law of reciprocity and it applies to all of our relations—with other humans and with the earth.  To be cared for, one must care.  To be supported, one must support.  To be respected, one must respect.  Although I am aware that I am preaching to the converted, I will leave you with this wisdom of the conscious and conscientious.  It is my hope that we care for, support, and respect our earth, our earth brothers and sisters, and our earth neighbors—the animals and plants—for as long as we live.  Remember the law of reciprocity—what you give is what you get!