NJMSC August 18-20

This past weekend it was great to have the New Jersey marine Science Consortium and friends on Sedge Island. The diverse group participated in many activities on the island and the surrounding marsh.

The group came in Friday evening with a stellar sunset and was able to absorb some of the early evening meteor shower from the top deck.

The next morning we rose early to a beautiful sunrise over Island Beach State Park and prepared for an all day paddle. John Wnek who is doing his doctoral research on diamondback terrapins arrived on the island and gave a talk about his research. He brought over a dozen terrapins, which we later released in the beginning of our paddling adventure. The tide was super low and paddling was slow going alternating with carrying the boats over sand flats and shallow sections. The group stopped to clam and do some bird watching with the shorebird migration in full swing.

At the USACE Dike the group discussed the ecological and financial reverberations of the project. With a great diversity of work backgrounds in the group many aspects were discussed.

Back at the Sedge House the group did many different things including water quality monitoring, cleaning and looking at the clams and oysters, fishing and examining many specimens under the microscopes and in field books.

The weather was supposed to turn, but we awoke on Sunday to clearing skies after a very windy, but rain free night. The group again did many different activities, this time including seining and snorkeling around the Sedge Island dock. It was great having the group on the island and we look forward to reading your comments!

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Teacher Training Workshop #2

This week we welcomed our second Teacher Training Workshop on Sedge Island. The adventure began in the middle of the Barnegat Bay when the extreme low tide made it difficult to get to the island and we had to literally get out of the boat and pull it across shallow sections.

The group started out with a short paddle around the marsh and stopped several times to note certain species and learn more about the history of the area Along the way we noticed a large number of naked sea butterflies, not normally abundant in the bay, but beautiful none the less.

Back at the Sedge House we looked at different lesson plans in the packet and created our own watershed ,complete with polluting chemical plant and pumpkin patch, and examined the extensions and cross curricular possibilities of the activity.

The next morning John Wnek, with Project Terrapin, arrived and the group was treated to a lesson on diamondback terrapins before we headed out in the kayaks. Once again we were battling the low tide and snaked through the marsh trying to stay in deeper channels. We stopped on a sandbar on the outside of the marsh and watched the boats in the Oyster Creek Channel. While paddling we saw a group of over 40 American Oyster Catchers on one sandbar! On some further off sand bars we were treated to the start of the bird migration season. We saw: brown pelicans, double crested cormorants, various species of gulls, semipalmated plovers, greater yellowlegs, willets, sanderlings, semipalmated sandpipers, black bellied plovers, ruddy turnstones and many many more!!

Back at the house we conducted water quality tests and went over extensions and different equipment that can be used in the classroom. We watched a beautiful sunset and prepared our dinner with many additions from the bay including, a white clam sauce made with hard clams, steamed soft shelled clams, blue claw crabs as well as some green crab claws, and one sautéed soft shell crab.

The morning the group was leaving one of the small terrapin hatchlings emerged and the group got to see the first sedge terrapin hatch out!

This group was full of firsts and everyone was happy to experience new things and leave with information to bring back to their classroom and to their life. We look forward to reading your comments about your trip and hope to see you back on sedge!

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Sedge Island Teacher Training Workshop #1

This past week we had a wonderful mix of teachers out on Sedge Island for our annual teacher training workshop. This group was my best yet on sedge. We had retired and working teachers, history and science, high school and grade school and a whole lot more. We got to have a lot of fun, but learn about the marsh and surrounding areas in a way that the teachers can bring what they learned back into their classrooms and their lives.

The high point for me was probably when we had finished building our “Wetland in a Pan” with our clay and paint tray. When the lemonaid mix (oops I mean toxic sludge) came out of the CIBA chemical plant, and the crowd gasped and cheered, I knew that my work was done. As teachers we strive for the “wow” moment, the moment when you know a student actually gets it, and to get that reaction from teachers was priceless.






We had many more teachable moments than just playing with clay. We fished, conducted water quality sampling, clammed, snorkeled, and ate our catches. Christine, an expert birder, was able to point out many species not known to most, and Georgiana erupted with a plan when she saw and learned about the USACE Dike. Chris was our expert griller, and Hillary started the outdoor shower trend, running around in the pouring rain with a huge smile on her face.
Judy Peet, a reporter form the Star Ledger stuck out all 3 days with us on the island and was such an asset to the group. She knew so many things about the area and contributed to our discussions and teachings. Nine teachers came out to Sedge Island, and left as a unified group. The teamwork was amazing, and everyone pitched in to help wherever and whenever it was needed. The house was left more than spotless, thanks to Jill and Pat’s sneaky cleaning maneuvers. I would turn around for 5 minutes and the dishes would be cleaned, dry and put away!
This group was truly amazing and New Jersey (and Philly too) is blessed to have them. We look forward to hearing your comments about your time on Sedge! Have a great rest of your summer!!!

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Friends of Sedge Gathering

As usual, the Friends of Sedge gathering was a completely informal affair. People began arriving Friday night, some choosing to paddle out into a beautiful sunset. After dinner a small group of Friends sat on the porch enjoying the fireflys over the marsh and the stars overhead. At dawn on Saturday morning Jose Fernandez joined Tony Raniero on his dock to catch more than a dozen perfect eating size bluefish.

Just before lunch on Saturday with the bulk of the group present, Jim Merritt recognized the contributions made by Friends thus far in 2006. As always Tony and Jackie Raniero had by far the greatest the number of hours spent working at the island. With the summer nearly half over our four interns have already contributed over 1,000 hours of unpaid work. Their efforts were recognized by a contribution of $100.00 each from the Conserve Wildlife Foundation. In addition, researchers who use Sedge Island as a base of operations and always take time to educate and involve residential groups in their work were recognized for their contribution.

On Saturday afternoon twenty-five Friends were involved in a variety of work projects. Several people helped Tony Raniero erect the Sedge Island Marine Conservation Zone sign along the Oyster Creek Channel. Many others dug sand from the bay and filled in the washed out areas behind the bulkhead. But everyone worked with artist Lisa Williams as together we created a mosaic “Welcome to Sedge” sign.

Many thanks to all of you for coming and helping out. A special big thank you to intern and culinary artist Alyssa Tripler for coordinating the event and most importantly, the food. For those of you who didn’t make it – sorry you missed this opportunity to be on the island. Don’t wait too long to come back. Our next event will be on Saturday October 7th when a group the Appalachian Mountain Club will be in residence for the Columbus Day weekend.

Paulsboro’s Learn and Earn Program

The long bus ride from Paulsboro always causes groups of students from Exelon’s Learn and Earn program to compress a full day schedule into several hours of activity. But, as in previous years, the participants always rise to the challenge. Groups kayaked into the salt marsh to get close views of the peregrine falcons and the osprey. In addition they used their water testing equipment to sample and later compare water quality in the Sedge Island Marine Conservation Zone with other watersheds where they have previously taken samples. Because of their background, these students are able to build on previously acquired knowledge of wetlands to better understand the role the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife plays in managing and protecting this habitat. It is my hope that some day, the students will be able to come for at least one overnight. Jim