USR River Day

Volunteers walk assigned half-mile sections of the river quarterly to monitor and visually assess the river.  Factors such as erosion, bank stability, stream width and flow, algae and the evidence of vegetation and wildlife, indicators of good water quality, are noted quarterly and entered into an interactive database maintained by the DEP. The group also does periodic chemical analyses of the water as well.

Yeomans said, "We wanted to take it one step further and instill appreciation of the environment in the children so they will become responsible water stewards in the future.  The river flows through our town and the town is named for it, but many of us don't pay much attention to it.  We all need to realize that anything we throw in here flows downstream and anything that goes in above comes here.  We are all connected and must work together to save this vital resource for future generations."

Funded by a grant from the Upper Saddle River Educational Foundation (USREF) and Student Council, River Day was centered on the sixth grade's science curriculum on environmental studies but was inter-disciplinary.   Kicked off earlier in the week with a visit from the Hackensack River Keeper, the children also learned about the history of the Saddle River and the important role it played in the growth of the town.   The children were provided with cameras to document what they saw and later wrote of their impressions in Language Arts class.

Todd McMichael, president of the USREF, explained, "This program is a perfect example of what the USREF provides the students.  Our goal is to enhance and enrich the existing curriculum.  We work with the teachers and administration to ensure that everything we do is educationally valuable.  Children learn so much from hands-on activities and here they have learned much more than science or history, they've learned responsible citizenship." 

Councilwoman Deborah Viola, liaison to the Environmental Committee and a professor of Public Health at the New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY, spoke to the students in the morning before they walked to the river.  "Our predecessors relied on the river for food and water.  The river made the area ideal for farming.  The force of the water powered mills for grain and lumber.  And although we don't rely on the river for these things nowadays, we still must be very concerned about the purity of the water for we need plentiful, clean water in our wells to drink, cook with and bathe in.  It is very important that we do not take this for granted."

Environmental Committee volunteers and staff from the Meadowlands Environmental Center greeted the students as they arrived at the river's bank.  The students broke up into groups and visited different stations on a rotating schedule.

Volunteers Joanne Lombardo and Pat Pula led the students on a nature hike along the Borough's River Walk area.  The children, armed with guides prepared by their teachers, found and identified a variety of plants native to the area as well as a great-horned owl.  They also learned how fertilizer runs off adjacent lawns into the river and the importance of maintaining the town's aquifer. 

Councilman Dennis Schubert explained the visual assessment process to the kids.  They then moved to a station manned by Roy Ostrom where they actually drew water samples from the river and tested it for dissolved oxygen, calcium and silica.  Ostrom, a member of the Environmental Committee, a chemical engineer and author of How To Stop Global Warming, told them, "We live in a sea of chemistry; we should all understand it."

Kristen Crawford, from the Meadowlands Environmental Center, showed the children how to use nets to collect microscopic life.  They found tiny shrimp, snails and other crustaceans, mayflies, dragonflies and a variety of life forms that Crawford told them are the beginning of the food chain cycle. 

"Without these microorganisms, life in the river cannot exist.  The more present, the healthier the river.  So an abundance of microorganisms is an important tool that we use to assess a healthy waterway."

The students examined the different species they had collected under microscopes provided by the Meadowlands Environmental Center.

Bucky Rehain, a lifelong Upper Saddle River resident and fishing enthusiast, taught the students the art of fishing.  "I want to get these kids 'hooked' on fishing and to realize that if the water is not clean, the fish will not survive.  We need a healthy eco-system to be able to enjoy the river and all it has to offer."

Dr. Gene Solomon, building principal, commented, "What was particularly exciting about this project was that many different constituencies were involved, some that may not have ordinarily worked together in the past.  The Borough's Environmental Committee, the NJ DEP, the teachers, the Upper Saddle River Educational Foundation and the Student Council all played a significant part in today's success.  I believe the impact on our students was powerful.   It certainly made the concept, 'think globally, act locally' very real to the students."

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