Monday,
December 19, 2016
Contact: Susan Allen
News
and Media Relations
Galloway,
N.J. 08205
Susan.Allen@stockton.edu
(609) 652-4790
Galloway, N.J. - Bridgeton City Park served as a
community classroom for Stockton University students studying environmental
issues with Emma Witt, assistant professor of Environmental Science. After a
semester-long resource assessment of the Cohansey watershed and Sunset Lake,
the class presented their findings and recommendations to Bridgeton Mayor
Albert Kelly and city officials.
Months of
data collection has provided a solid baseline and hope for the lake, which is
closed to swimmers due to bacteria. The students called for continued
monitoring to collect a more complete data set, which is necessary to take the
next steps in creating a healthier, more diverse ecosystem.
The Cohansey
watershed and Sunset Lake have a history of support for the agriculture, iron
and timber industries. The waterways connect Bridgeton to the Delaware Bay and
offer an escape into nature within an urban environment.
On the
bicentennial of the Sunset Lake raceway (hand-dug in 1811 for timber transport),
severe storms caused significant damage resulting in a drained lake. With help
from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), water re-entered the raceway in
2015, but high bacteria levels have since ended swimming in the lake.
Students
gained experience in testing water samples for total coliforms, nitrate and
total phosphorus, building on work shared by the Cumberland County Health
Department and Rutgers Cooperative Extension. The students recommended more
comprehensive and long-term testing to add to existing data and gain a clearer
picture of the situation.
Other teams
of students looked at macroinvertebrates, which are indicators of water
quality, and found the highest populations were species that are the most
tolerant of pollution. Fish, reptiles, amphibians, raptors and waterfowl,
including a large population of resident geese, were also studied through seine
netting and observation, sometimes by kayak for the waterfowl that live past
the shoreline.
Thomas
Johnson, a senior Environmental Science major from Tabernacle, Burlington
County, flew a drone to access the more remote areas in search of suitable
habitat.
Kimberly
Dudek, a senior Environmental Science major from Pine Beach, Ocean County,
explained that her work focused on answering the question: “What can we do to
improve the health of the forest and increase biodiversity?”
Her team
gained hands-on experience developing a forest management plan tailored to the
park environment. They found a healthy oak-dominated forest that could benefit
from some clear cuts and thinning of trees to open up space that would attract
species that prefer a young forest habitat. Controlled burning is a management
technique they would avoid, based on the proximity to residents in the
city.
Other
recommendations included more detailed signage to educate the community about
the biodiversity, a nine-hole disc golf course to increase visitation,
installation of birdhouses and bat houses by volunteers, seeking Green Acres
grant funding for future projects and additional pedestrian signage for safety
in areas where trails cut across roadways.
Mayor Albert
Kelly said, “This partnership is made in heaven. It gives us great information
about the resources we have in our city and Stockton went far and above what I
had expected. The students gave us a plan that reinforces some things we need
to do in our entire recreational park area. Having students at Stockton was
fantastic for us. I look forward to a greater and even more in-depth
relationship with Stockton because they can do things for us that we cannot do
for ourselves.”
Blake
Maloney, president of the Cohansey Area Watershed Association (CAWA) and a
resident who lives on the lake, was very excited to learn about the students’
efforts.
CAWA, which
meets once a month, conducts water sampling and cleanups and involves area schools
and volunteers in helping to protect the natural areas. As someone who fishes,
kayaks and canoes on the lake, Maloney said, “I love it. The lake has always
been there for everybody.”
Dawn Watkins,
who grew up in Bridgeton and has worked on a number of Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) initiatives, connected Stockton, where she
works in the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, with her hometown. She
knew that the lake contamination had to be addressed and saw an opportunity for
students to “put their skills to work in a real-world setting” which would
benefit the city and provide them with an experience that could make a
difference.