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ROBBINSVILLE: Envoys for the environment

DEP’s 20 AmeriCorps watershed ambassadors graduate at Assunpink

By Joanne Degnan, Managing Editor
   ROBBINSVILLE — The expertise of these 20 distinguished ambassadors leans more toward midgeflies than matters of State, but their collective 34,000 hours of service to communities is no less a cause for celebration.
   On Friday, graduation ceremonies were held at the Assunpink Willdlife Management Area in Robbinsville for the AmeriCorps watershed ambassadors who have spent the past 10 months monitoring the 20 different New Jersey watersheds and teaching the residents who live there how to keep their waterways clean.
   For the past 12 years, the state Department of Environmental Protection has been hosting the AmeriCorps program, a national service initiative that is a domestic version of the Peace Corps. The 20 recruits DEP chooses for its AmeriCorps NJ Watershed Ambassador Program complete at least 1,700 hours of service each.
   ”I have really enjoyed this job more than I can say,” said Peter Zampella, the ambassador for the 253-square-mile Assiscunk, Crosswicks and Doctors Watershed, which includes 26 towns in Mercer, Burlington, Monmouth and Ocean counties, including Robbinsville, Allentown Upper Freehold and Plumsted.
   ”When I went to do programs at the schools, the kids would say, ‘You mean it’s your job to play outside in the streams?’ and I would say, ‘Yeah, pretty awesome isn’t it?’” Mr. Zampella said Friday.
   Although monitoring the health of streams, creeks and rivers wasn’t really child’s play, the task was still fascinating work, said Mr. Zampella, who was based out of the Mercer County Soil Conservation District office in Hamilton Square. In the field, he inspected waterways for erosion and vegetation, and collected samples to check for the aquatic insects known as benthic macroinvertebrates whose presence are biological indicators of the watershed’s health.
   For example, an abundance of midgeflies and stoneflies, an important food source for fish, means there is ample clean oxygenated water because these aquatic insects cannot tolerate pollution, Mr. Zampella said. When sampling finds only pollution-tolerant leeches and flatworms, it means the water is heavily polluted.
   In the Assiscunk, Crosswicks and Doctors Watershed, which the DEP calls Water Management Area (WMA) 20, the waterways often fell somewhere in between. Macroinvertebrates that tolerate a limited amount of pollution, but not heavy pollution, such as dragonflies and sowbugs, were typically found, he said.
   The use of fertilizers and pesticides in farming communities, along with the fact that water doesn’t move much on flat terrain, often means creeks and streams in this area aren’t as rich in oxygen as those in hilly areas of the state, he said.
   Mr. Zampella, a 25-year-old Shamong resident who graduated from The College of New Jersey with a degree in English, said that what he most enjoyed was the community outreach aspect of his job. He gave community presentations on nonpoint source pollution, helped organize stream cleanup events, taught residents how to build rain barrels and rain gardens and visited middle school classrooms throughout the region, including in Plumsted, Trenton and Bordentown.
   ”I really enjoyed working with the kids the most and seeing how excited they would become about learning how a watershed works,” Mr. Zampella said.
   Watersheds are nature’s boundaries, a land area that drains into a body of water such as a river, lake, stream or bay. Conines Millpond (Allentown Lake) in Allentown; Imlaystown Lake in Upper Freehold; Oakford Lake in Plumsted; and the 25-mile-long Crosswicks Creek, which drains into the Delaware River in Bordentown, are all part of WMA 20. The eastern part of Robbinsville falls under WMA 20 and the western part is in WMA 11, the Central Delaware River Tributaries Watershed, whose 2012 ambassador was Allison Kohler.
   Nonpoint source pollution, including runoff from fertilizers, pet wastes and littering, greatly impacts the water quality within a watershed, which is why watershed ambassadors focus so much time on community education and outreach.
   The DEP’s New Jersey’s Watershed Ambassador Program has received $260,000 in federal funding for 2013 and has started to recruit applicants for its next class, which begins in mid-September. Watershed ambassadors receive a living stipend of up to $12,100 over the course of their 10 to 12-month term; eligibility for health benefits during this period; and training prior to and throughout their service.
   Applicants must be U.S. citizens and have a bachelor’s degree, a valid driver’s license, and reliable transportation to get to and from field sites. The application deadline is Aug. 17.
   ”Individuals who are selected for the watershed ambassadors program go through a rigorous training program that prepares them to work in the environmental field, particularly in the area of water resources,” said Jill Lipoti, director of DEP’s Division of Water Monitoring and Standards.
   ”Ambassadors have proven to be extremely valuable resources in assisting the state in fill water quality information gaps,” Ms. Lipoti said.
   Mr. Zampella is so enthusiastic about the program that he is ready to sign up again for another year. He said that if his application is approved, he hopes to be assigned to WMA 19, the Rancocas Watershed, which covers 360 square miles in Burlington, Camden, and Ocean counties and reaches deep into Pine Barrens.
   For more information about the DEP’s AmeriCorps NJ Watershed Ambassadors Program, go online to www.nj.gov/dep/wms/bear/americorps.htm. For more information on the AmeriCorps National Service Initiative, go to www.americorps.gov.