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 News
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MFS News April 25, 2008 MFS STUDENTS TO LEAD DETENTION BASIN CLEANUP AND RETROFITTING ON MAY 3--COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS WELCOME
A group of Moorestown Friends School (MFS) students, with assistance from the Pompeston Creek Watershed Association (PCWA), will spearhead a cleanup and retrofitting of the Riverton Road detention basin (across from the First Presbyterian Church) on Saturday, May 3, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Community volunteers are welcome and encouraged to attend. Volunteers are asked to bring shovels, rakes and gloves if possible and should wear appropriate footwear. This project is being funded by a Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJ DEP). The Riverton Road detention basin, located in Moorestown, will be retrofitted with native plants and shrubs by the volunteers. The goal of the project is to improve pollutant filtration in the Pompeston Creek Watershed. Objectives of the day will be to 1) remove non-native plants from the basin, 2) plant native vegetation in the basin and 3) to publicize the purpose of the change in vegetation. “The purpose of the WET program is to first teach teachers about water stewardship and then help students to work with community organizations and a group of volunteers to carry the teaching beyond the classroom,” said MFS Science Department Chair Dr. Barbara Kreider, who is also a Moorestown resident. “None of the five students coordinating this project live in Moorestown. However, these five sophomores understand – as we all should – that we are all downstream. Taking care of water anywhere is taking care of water everywhere. We hope many volunteers come out to help us on May 3rd.” The five sophomores heading up the project are: Alison Barton (Riverton), Monica Chelius (Haddon Township), Jake Montgomery (Medford), Robert Rinaldi (Shamong), and Jordan Zaid (Marlton). Retrofitting of detention basins with native vegetation can improve storm water management and watershed quality in two ways. First, the replacement of mowed grass or non-native vegetation with native plants that absorb pollutants and trap sediment will improve the quality of the water being discharged to the creek. Second, when plants occupy a majority of the basin, these plants slow down the rapid flow of storm water from the basin and erosion of waterways is reduced. When coupled with educational signage to discourage mowing of planted vegetation, retrofitted basins improve water quality and decrease flooding. “Benjamin Franklin said that when the well is dry, we learn the worth of water,” said Dr. Kreider. “Soon the value of water will be painfully apparent: the increase in water use world-wide is more than three times the increase in the human population. Clearly, clean water is an investment in our future, both our immediate future and the distant future.” This project is being conducted in partnership with the NJ DEP, PCWA, Township of Moorestown and Leonberg Nursery of Moorestown, which has donated 11.5 yards of triple hardwood mulch for the project. Community volunteers interested in this project or seeking more information may contact Dr. Kreider at Moorestown Friends School at 856-235-2900 or bkreider@mfriends.org.
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110 E. Main Street Moorestown, NJ 08057-2949 Phone: (856) 235-2900 |
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