A clean-up campaign along a Philadelphia waterway, Wilmington area youth immersed in the Christina River and wetland ecosystems, and a series of videos highlighting Camden’s trails, rivers and parks, are just a few examples of the inspiring summer projects organized by Delaware River Fellows of the Alliance for Watershed Education.
Each of the 13 young adults participating in the Delaware River Fellows Program this summer are working on individual Capstone initiatives focused on environmental issues and engaging local communities. They are paid to carry out the projects, gaining valuable first-hand experience in habitat conservation and environmental education in the Delaware watershed.
The Fellows are employed by the PA, NJ and DE environmental education Centers that comprise the Alliance for Watershed Education (AWE), and hail from the urban, suburban and rural communities that make up the diversity of the Centers themselves. There has been a growing recognition of the lack of diversity, equity and inclusion in the environmental education and conservation field, and the Fellows program, now in its fourth year, engages and inspires young environmentalists to be agents of change, to bring their knowledge and interest in conservation to their communities, encouraging the enjoyment, use, and care of the natural areas in the watershed.
AWE builds on that momentum by intentionally engaging diverse communities, especially those that have historically been left out of conversations about protecting our shared environment, in addition to promoting equitable access to its Centers and fostering socially responsible practices that will result in a healthier natural environment.
Robin Irizarry, Fellowship Coordinator for AWE, is excited about the cohort of Fellows this year but recognizes there are some unique challenges facing them. “AWE Centers have had to creatively pivot from in-person to virtual programs this summer due to the pandemic, but that has not stopped the Fellows from pursuing their projects with passion and dedication. We’re seeing Fellows helping to transition summer camps and activities onto online platforms, developing self-guided tours and mailing do-it-yourself nature kits to people’s homes. The tools the Fellows are helping create will make our programming more relevant and accessible to the communities we serve into the future.”
The 2020 Fellows are passionate about the environment and are working hard to connect neighborhoods and people with nature and the watershed.
Meet the Fellows
For Adriana Amador-Chacon, Ivana Quinones, and Priscilla Rios, their fellowships with the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, The Center for Aquatic Sciences, and New Jersey Natural Landsat Petty’s Island, respectively, are giving them an opportunity to introduce their hometown Camden to the city’s many natural spaces. Through a project called “Virtually Camden,” they will create a series of educational videos, informational graphics, and social media posts showcasing Camden’s rivers, trails, parks, and preserved natural areas.
Speaking for all three Fellows, Adriana expressed a mutual desire to cultivate an appreciation of the natural areas among the Camden community so that residents understand the importance of keeping those areas clean.
“Unfortunately for most residents, we’ve been disconnected from natural spaces for a multitude of reasons, and if we do have access, there tends to be a disregard and lack of respect for nature, as there is a lot of litter in these beautiful places. We hope to expose
more families to activities in our natural surroundings that many don’t normally get to see or enjoy and show them ways they can help preserve these areas by making small eco-friendly changes.”
Charlye Stewart is concerned about the lack of exposure city-dwellers have to nature. She is a Fellow at First State National Historical Park and The Nature Conservancy and hopes to encourage the local residents to feel more welcome in the outdoors.
“Many people in urban communities have not had the opportunity to form relationships with nature early on in their lives. So, not only might people be unaware of and disinterested in the outdoors, but they might fear what they do not know. I hope to show people how they are directly impacted by urban nature so that they are encouraged to treat their surroundings with greater care.” Charlye is focusing on a series of informative videos to raise awareness of issues of the Brandywine Creek, local dam removals and the return of the American shad, a native migratory fish.
At the DuPont Environmental Education Center in Wilmington, fellow Allison Harten is working with the Trail Ambassadors program, an initiative to create a more inclusive and diverse outdoor space. The program works primarily with African American teens in the Wilmington community, teaching them about the Delaware Watershed and hoping to empower them to become environmental advocates.
Allison is developing a program for “Watershed Week,” the watershed education component of the summer Trail Ambassadors program. She is also leading watershed activities for the Ambassadors program and creating an educational syllabus for high school Trail Ambassadors. “My work will engage young residents of Wilmington in understanding the importance of practicing conservation in the Delaware Watershed. They will be able to take the tools, content knowledge, and activities learned during the program into the community and help educate Wilmington residents about the Christina River and wetland ecosystems.”
Ranim Albarkawi and Ian Johnson are leading the charge on a litter cleanup campaign at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.
The #PhilaBag social media campaign aims to educate Southwest Philadelphians about their impact on the Delaware watershed and to engage the local community in clean-up events. Ranim and Ian also hopeto increase participation in the volunteer paddle litter cleanup program, Caretakers of the Creek, if permissible under social distancing guidelines.
“At America’s First Urban Refuge, community engagement is essential, both for the preservation of our beautiful green spaces and for the betterment of the community as a whole. Through the #PhilaBag campaign, we are focusing on several community spaces with organized litter clean ups to encourage Southwest Philadelphia residents to help out wherever they are.
At Bartram’s Garden, Fellows Keith Southerland and Brooklyn Clayton will be focusing on wildlife issues and enhancing communication with the local community, respectively.
Keith is working on developing interpretive signs about the wildlife that inhabit the garden and surrounding river and is particularly interested in raising awareness about invasive wildlife, such as the red-eared slider turtle.
Brooklyn is planning a dialogue to foster a greater connection to the Schuylkill River among Bartram’s Garden staff, volunteers and community members. She is hoping to engage in these conversations on the water using Bartram’s own supply of kayaks and rowboats.
Marcus Baldwin, a Philadelphian and Fellow at Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Education Center, hopes to reach the neighboring community and attract new visitors by highlighting the multitude of birds at the Center.
He is monitoring bird species at the Center and surrounding park and once his research is finished, Marcus will create a printed birding brochure and a birding slideshow that will stress the importance of clean water and be posted on the Center’s website.
Katie Toner, a Fellow at the Heritage Conservancy at Bristol Marsh, is creating training materials for the Lower Bucks Environmental Stewardship Team. The materials will highlight the diversity among the stewardship team with the overall goal of establishing an ethos of inclusion.
At the Lehigh Gap Nature Center, Fellow Kelci Knirnschild is creating a sensory trail to highlight native plants. As a tool for self-guided education, the Native Sensory Garden Trail will appeal to the senses of sight, smell, sound and touch. The trail will be accessible to individuals with disabilities and Kelci hopes the multi-sensory trail will encourage a wide range of visitors to interact with, and enjoy, the Center and its native plants.
Veronica Wynn is creating bilingual educational kits at the Schuylkill River Greenways National Heritage Area that focus on watershed education and promote positive behavioral changes to keep our waterways clean.The kits will be widely distributed at trails, community centers, AWE Centers, and parks and recreational facilities. The goal is to create a larger and more inclusive constituency of visitors near the Schuylkill River by making the kits widely available and accessible.
The Delaware River Fellows Program will culminate in the Capstone Summit when each Fellow will present his/her/their research, findings, and experiences. Follow the Fellows on AWE’s website, Instagram and Facebook page. The Fellows Program is funded by the William Penn Foundation, which has supported four cohorts and more than 90 individual Fellows. At least 10 Fellows have been hired for full- or part-time work by AWE centers.
The Alliance for Watershed Education of the Delaware River(AWE) aims to raise awareness about the 13,500-square mile system which provides clean drinking water for 15 million people. The 23 AWE member centers are located along Circuit Trails or major connecting trails throughout the Delaware River watershed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. These centers share a mission to collectively increase and enhance constituent appreciation and stewardship of the Delaware River watershed.