Spring Break
Water Watch uses interns
Group focuses on sewage, other waste on Barnegat Bay, other county waterways
By Carmelo Martinez
in NewsIssue date: 2/19/09 Section: News
New Jersey Community Water watch is a group that, among other things, works in cooperation with the Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program. N.J. Water Watch met Feb. 11 in the Solar Lounge in the College Center to discuss the effects of sewage and other waste on Barnegat Bay.
Stanton Hales, program director, said there is a huge dilemma with the bay. Scientists have noted Ocean County waterways connected to Barnegat Bay are affected by sewage, trash and waste.
Congress has passed The Clean Water Act, giving full force to make surrounding communities aware of this dilemma. N.J. Community Water Watch is doing so on the campus.
Rebecca Donatelli, campus organizer, is not a student. She is a resource to interns to reach out to their communities on the big issues. She helps the interns in getting their points across to the communities regarding the program.
According to Hales, they start reaching out by going through the classrooms in the counties, talking to children about the environment they live in and what they can do to protect it. Then children begin persuading their parents to come and help make it a better place, he said.
The interns are responsible for collecting core samples and monitoring rivers. Intern Matt Buenevida, said, "Ten years ago the bay was affected 95 percent, and today, in 2009, it has dropped to 75 percent, little progress, but it shows this program is working."
"The students drive exactly 20 million miles, and by this, they are letting carbon dioxideinto the atmosphere since what goes up in the sky comes down and affects the bay," Hales said.
Hales sowed the Viking News the difference between the density of the lawn on campus and the wooded area itself. "It turns out the lawn is two inches on the penetrometer, but in the wooded area, the penetrometer went through with ease. The wooded area shows it holds more water than the lawn on campus.
"They fertilize and water the lawn, but it is not sufficient enough to hold it under ground, and it washes to the bay. I want them to stop fertilizing and let the water soak into the soil," said Hales.
"Our sign for Barnegat Bay does not mean we only work on the bay; we also work with Ocean County as a whole," Hales said.
N.J. Community Water watch meets Wednesdays at 2 p.m. in Russell Building Room 126. Hales can be contacted at 732-255-0472. The estuary program has an office on campus in Lot 1 next to the security office.
Stanton Hales, program director, said there is a huge dilemma with the bay. Scientists have noted Ocean County waterways connected to Barnegat Bay are affected by sewage, trash and waste.
Congress has passed The Clean Water Act, giving full force to make surrounding communities aware of this dilemma. N.J. Community Water Watch is doing so on the campus.
Rebecca Donatelli, campus organizer, is not a student. She is a resource to interns to reach out to their communities on the big issues. She helps the interns in getting their points across to the communities regarding the program.
According to Hales, they start reaching out by going through the classrooms in the counties, talking to children about the environment they live in and what they can do to protect it. Then children begin persuading their parents to come and help make it a better place, he said.
The interns are responsible for collecting core samples and monitoring rivers. Intern Matt Buenevida, said, "Ten years ago the bay was affected 95 percent, and today, in 2009, it has dropped to 75 percent, little progress, but it shows this program is working."
"The students drive exactly 20 million miles, and by this, they are letting carbon dioxideinto the atmosphere since what goes up in the sky comes down and affects the bay," Hales said.
Hales sowed the Viking News the difference between the density of the lawn on campus and the wooded area itself. "It turns out the lawn is two inches on the penetrometer, but in the wooded area, the penetrometer went through with ease. The wooded area shows it holds more water than the lawn on campus.
"They fertilize and water the lawn, but it is not sufficient enough to hold it under ground, and it washes to the bay. I want them to stop fertilizing and let the water soak into the soil," said Hales.
"Our sign for Barnegat Bay does not mean we only work on the bay; we also work with Ocean County as a whole," Hales said.
N.J. Community Water watch meets Wednesdays at 2 p.m. in Russell Building Room 126. Hales can be contacted at 732-255-0472. The estuary program has an office on campus in Lot 1 next to the security office.
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