Quarterly Reporter June 2016

Updates from Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River and Its Tributaries, Inc.

CU’s Watershed Steward Program 2016 (WSP) continues to provide information on ecofriendly best-management alternatives to more harmful traditional property management techniques. Throughout the newsletter this program’s activities are labeled WSP (sponsored in part by The Watershed Institute).

Wednesday, July 13, 2016
Meeting 6:30, Presentation at 7:15
George Luciano Center, Cumberland County College

Integrated Pest Management and Mosquito Control
By John Betz, Department of Public Works Mosquito Control Division

John BetzJohn has long been involved in area natural history. Today he follows his passion for all creatures great and small and is currently a Biologist for the County of Cumberland. His responsibilities include identifying, testing, and mapping of mosquito populations. Since mosquitoes are virus vectors, one of his goals is to control larvae numbers in an ecologically-sound fashion.

This presentation will inform homeowners on Integrated Pest Management practices for mosquito and other insect control. John will identify local pest species and explain efficient and less harmful techniques for their removal from your property and neighborhood.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Meeting 6:30, Presentation at 7:15
George Luciano Center, Cumberland County College

Green Construction Techniques
By David D’Onofrio, LEEDS Certified Contractor

David D'OnofrioDavid is a local certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) contractor, with a background in engineering, construction management, and green building fields. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Notre Dame and a master’s degree in Construction Management from Philadelphia University. After working in Chicago, David returned to the area and is currently working for Stanker and Galetto, Inc., a regional construction company. He specializes in LEED project solutions, from site selection and building, shell design to renewable power sources, masonry, concrete and carpentry.

His presentation will introduce resource efficient building strategies and explore what simple tasks everyone can employ to make their buildings function in a more environmentally-friendly manner. He will offer ideas for green building design, infrastructure, and construction, while highlighting ecologically-friendly interior design practices and the importance of regular maintenance.

AN ASSOCIATED TOPICAL OUTING to Stockton University will take place on September 20th with Alice Gitchell and other university employees. Experience Stockton University’s Energy and Sustainability Initiative. Many of these green alternatives can be implemented by private property owners.

UPCOMING EVENTS FOR MEMBERS AND FRIENDS

The Next CU BIG DAY is June 11th
Exploration, Orientation, and Celebration

Menantico Ponds

Paddle Menantico Ponds 10 a.m. – Meet at Menantico Ponds Wildlife Management Area ramp. Personal floation devices are mandatory. Details have been emailed.

New Member Orientation 5:00 p.m.– New members will gather at the Russells’ home on the Maurice River. New members please contact Doreen if you plan to attend. Depending on the number of attendees and weather we may opt for a close-by venue before heading to the campfire.

Campfire 6:30-10 p.m. – The Russells’ home on the Maurice River. Meet the new members; all can sign up.

Email Doreen or call 856-300-5331 to tell her what side dish you plan to bring. Sides should feed 15-20 people. Directions will be provided to RSVPs. Water and a non-alcoholic beverage will be available.

A Great Family Weekend – Bay Day June 4th and Barn Day June 5th

Two super days of camaraderie. You won’t want to miss out on this fun filled weekend. We will need CU Ambassadors for both events. More details to follow in emails. To volunteer as a CU Ambassador contact Doreen Homan or call 856-300-5331.

Bay Day takes place on Saturday, June 4th at the Bayshore Center in Bivalve. It includes live entertainment, vendors, exhibits, all manner of seafood, Jersey Fresh fare, kid’s activities, information booths, and even the Bay Day Strut. The strut begins at Memorial & Main in Port Norris at 11a.m. By 12:30 events will begin at the Center culminating in fireworks at 9 p.m.

Bay Day

Barn Day takes place on Sunday, June 5th at the Barn Studio on Whitaker Ave in Millville. Local artists will display their wares, there will be refreshments, and CU will host the CU Paint-A-Landscape.

Purple Martin

This is the 15th year that we have worked with Maurice River Purple Martin SpectacularTownship to help folks to witness the Purple Martin Spectacular. Make your reservations now for the Purple Martin Spectacular trip. Some of the cruises are already half full and we haven’t even advertised yet. Boats will go out on the evenings of August 11, 12, 13 and 18, 19, 21. Join fellow bird enthusiasts aboard the Bonanza II at 6:30 pm as we search for southbound migrating Purple Martins. Allen Jackson and CU Representatives will be on hand to share information and answer questions. Reservations are $40 which also includes fruits, pastries and soft drinks.

Dragonfly Nymph Collection
On August 24th, 25th, and 26th CUMR needs the help of citizen scientists like you! On this occasion, CUMR volunteers will be visiting three different sites in our watershed to collect dragonfly nymphs for analysis. The specimens will be sent to the University of Maine as part of a large air quality study that is being conducted in many national parks nationwide. To get involved email Program Manager Karla Rossini or call 856-300-5331.

St. Augustine Prep interns

Annual Garden Tour
The Garden Tour with Pat Sutton on August 27th is full and has a waiting list. So if you have signed up and find that you can’t attend, please notify Doreen or call 856-300-5331 ASAP to allow someone else to take your slot.

CUMR will participate in the National Waterways Clean-up on Saturday, September 17th starting at 9:30am. We will paddle the Maurice River, removing litter and debris. To sign up email Program Manager Karla Rossini or call 856-300-5331.

Waterways Clean-Up

Greenville Inn

The CU Down Jersey Dinner Dance, our Fall FUNdraiser, will be held on Saturday, September 17th at 6 p.m. at Greenview Inn, Eastlyn Golf Course and it’s going to be a blast. The Shakes will be back once again to help you shake a leg. Reserve your spot ASAP for a wonderful evening celebrating CU Maurice River; tickets are $85. For reservations contact Membership, Events and Office Manager Doreen Homan or call 856-300-5331.

The Shakes

Wendy Walker Wanders: Be on the lookout for emails titled WWW@”SITENAME” for information on impromptu walks with Wendy & Company. Our volunteer naturalists often like to organize outings based on weather reports and enthusiasm. Think of it as being similar to a neighborhood game of stickball when you were younger.

Saturday Maurice River Bicycling and Walking Trail Treks
(WSP) Gather at CU Maurice River’s office for a brief presentation followed by a walk on Saturday, June 18, at 9:30 a.m. The NJ Invasive Species Strike Team will take us on a park tour to discuss invasive species control. The Team will provide us with a phone app we can put to use in the field, teach us to identify invasive species, and explore best practices for their removal.

July 16th Waltman Park will be led by CU Naturalists

Tuesdays on the Fly
June 21st Location TBA
July 19th Location TBA
August no Tuesday on the Fly scheduled
(WSP) September 20th (See above)

FEATURE STORY

May’s BIG DAY
The Annual 2016 Presidential, Ah Why Knot, & Sanderling Awards
with special guests:
the International Shorebird Recovery Team, and of course
the PIG ROAST

Red Knot

What a super day! All four members of the World Series of Birding Team led the Hansey Creek Road Birding walk (see World Series below). The morning featured the nicest weather of the day and people had a delightful time. Participants studied plants and marveled at all the upland forest, shore, and wetland birds that made an appearance that morning.

The weather for the Ah Why Knots was truly gloomy but the faces were all smiles. Maybe it was the oysters, or curly fries, or pig and sides. But we think it was simply “the people” – folks who like to volunteer with enthusiasm, all coming together to celebrate their efforts. We guess there were about 150+ attendees.

The CU Ah Why Knots & Presidential Award
Sue FeniliThis year’s Presidential Award was presented to CU Trustee Sue Fenili. Sue has been a Trustee in the organization since 2006. Even before she joined the board her contributions have been nothing shy of remarkable. She was a third grade teacher for years, reaching students using nature as the key to learning. In fact her students were the first to point out pollution issues on the Maurice River. She has been instrumental in creating and orchestrating our YMCA camp program. She has devoted time to Wild About Cumberland, first in bringing her students and now leading classrooms from all across the County. Sue is a co-chair of our Educational Committee. She helps lead ‘Elevate,’ a summer enrichment program. She is active on our Events Committee as well. In her community Sue is a member of the Shade Tree Commission and the Vineland Environmental Commission, and she started the ball rolling many years ago by forming Kids Against Pollution. In addition she has long been involved in mental health issues in our county and has assisted with hotlines. She and her husband Dave mentor youngsters with special needs and help disadvantaged families.

Christine helps students enjoy nature at Wild About Cumberlantd event

We celebrated volunteer efforts by awarding Christine Brown and Carl Homan with Ah Why Knots. Both have served as Ambassadors of CU Maurice River. Both have volunteered for clean-ups and habitat projects. Christine has focused on sharing her interest in the natural world with adults and children. She also has a great many organizational skills that she offers to the office staff on a weekly basis. Christine is a reserved Brit hailing from across the pond and a former RAF gal. She has a quick dry wit and an affable personality, but she prefers the shadows to the limelight. Christine has been invaluable in the office and on the trail. Her love of flora has made her key to expanding our members’ interest in our region’s vegetation. She always has facts about a plant’s vitamin content and overall usefulness. And her “Attenborough” affect could make even the implausible very believable.

Carl HomanCarl is an outgoing songster and loves the crowd. He is our Mr. Fix It, very involved in fundraising events and campfires. We think of him as our “twofer” in that his wife, Doreen is our Membership, Events and Office Manager, so Carl gets roped into most everything and we think of him as a member of our office team. In receiving their awards, Carl spoke of the ‘joy’ he gets from interactions with CU and Christine commented that in giving she receives much more in return – a feeling that many of our volunteers have expressed over the years.

Marika MaserekSanderling Award
Our first ever Sanderling Award for youth goes to Marika Masarek. One could say that Marika’s involvement is a bit of a family affair, in that the entire family: her grandmother Judy Nelson, and parents Paul and Sharry; are invaluable CU team members. But make no mistake about it – Marika has stood on her own. She is a super CU Ambassador, helping all manner of visitors with our arts and crafts. She mentors people of her age and younger at events like Elevate with her kindness and easy-going demeanor.

Her devotion to CU has been constant and longstanding, while the sweets she and her mother bring to social events are the cherry on the cake. Marika is a leader and an outdoor enthusiast. We feel fortunate to have a school-aged member like her among our ranks. Marika said her involvement was made possible by her mother’s participation. She expressed gratitude to her mother for including her.

Shorebird Recovery Team Ah Why Knot Awards
“The Canadians” and “A Brit”

This year we honored two Canadian couples and an Englishman. They are Angela and Barrie Watts, Gwen and Gerald “Gerry” Binsfeld, and Humphrey Sitters.

Ah Why Knot awardsHumphrey Sitters, DPhil, (of course, it’s different from the American PhD) hails from the UK. It’s hard to know exactly when Humphrey fell in love with shorebirds, or “waders” as the Brits call them, but it must have been about the same time he fell in love with his wife, Jackie, while cannon-netting shorebirds in Great Britain. Realizing his passion for birds, Humphrey left his early profession as a lawyer and carried out a doctoral project on night foraging in oystercatchers at Oxford (or was it Cambridge)? The rest is history. Humphrey is the editor of the shorebird research journal called “Wader Studies,” an Honorary Secretary of British Ornithologists’ Union, and A Vice President of the British Trust for Ornithology. He has taken part in shorebird expeditions throughout the world – from the Canadian Arctic to NW Australia. This is his 20th consecutive season studying the shorebird stopover on the Delaware Bay! Humphrey worked with NJ researchers to develop the red knot status assessment which led to the bird’s federal listing in 2016. Upon receiving the Why Knot award Humphrey entertained the attendees with impressions of his visits to NJ’s Bayshore. His wit had everyone in stitches. In addition he updated us about the progress of the recovery program. (To watch Humphrey speak, [or hear his daughter laugh!], watch this video posted to youtube – turn volume on high).

Then we recognized Angela and Barrie Watts and Gwen and Gerry Binsfeld; both couples fill similar important roles in the team.

Gerry is a birding fanatic, always seeking the thrill of a new bird species, and Gwen is a passionate advocate for the handicapped. Like Barry and Angela they are gregarious Canadians with hearts of gold. Gerry is a fire chief who sees tragedies that would cause most of us to lose our cool. Gwen, who is a downhill skier, routinely comes to the bayshore recovering from various broken bones. They perform many jobs that often go unnoticed but which create the thread that knits a team together. The two of them keep the team in line, they are quick to step in and solve small difficulties before they become bigger problems, and they take on any job, no matter how daunting. Gwen leads volunteer coordination and tracks logged hours, which are important components for getting matching grant dollars. In this way Gwen’s diligent record keeping has helped raise funds for work in Brazil and Tierra del Fuego.

Angela and Barrie Watts have a special connection to the Shorebird Recovery Team: Angela is sister to our “monarch of the cannon,” Clive Minton. So although she is a Canadian of many years she is of British origin. Angela and Barrie have been coming to the Delaware Bay for nearly 20 years. They are accomplished banders and are generous to a fault. They are always seeking to improve team operations – making burlap keeping-cages for the project, provisioning the team, and training new volunteers in banding procedures. Barrie and Angela are those members in a team who will selflessly satisfy essentials of the group, shopping for food, picking people up at airports, or running off to twinkle birds in far away places. Their tasks are very important to the success of the team. They are bighearted in all respects.

2017 Ecotrip
Victor Emanuel Tours survey results thus far show the North Western Ecuador trip in the lead with 8 votes, followed by Southern Arizona with 5 votes, then Spain with 3. In June we will poll your interest one more time. What unique natural area would you like to travel to in 2017? If you prefer, call or email us to let us know what trip you are most interested in.

RECENT EVENTS and HAPPENINGS

Paint-a-Landscape programMember Caitlin Mazowski, RN is CU Maurice River’s Visiting Crafts Coordinator. Since December Caitlin has volunteered each Tuesday 10:30-12:30 at the Maurice River House to engage seniors in an extension of our CU Paint-a-Landscape program. Her arts and crafts sessions allow residents to express themselves and work with various mediums. They have painted birdhouses, decorated door wreaths, planted flowers, painted pots and canvases, fired pottery and more.

NEEDED: Caitlin would like to have donations of art supplies such as canvases 8 x11 and smaller, acrylic paints, brushes, faux florals, pipe cleaners, fabric, beads (we are good on yarn; in fact you yarned us out) and the like.

March 18th CU Maurice River Sponsored the Riverfront Renaissance Center for the Arts Associate Artists’ Show – Ambassadors represented the organization and spread the word about our efforts.

The March 19th Maurice River Bicycle and Walking Trail Clean Up, held in conjunction with the Cumberland County Improvement Authority county wide trash hunt, resulted in two truckloads of trash being collected. Thank you to the 30 volunteers who worked hard to make the park so very nice! This event was sponsored by Amcor Rigid Plastic employees, who also held a sandwich sale and then donated the proceeds to CUMR’s clean-up of Waltman Park. Four Amcor employees also participated.

Maurice River Bicycle and Walking Trail clean up

Wild About Cumberland – March 22th, 23th & 24th was an amazing success. Program Manager Karla Rossini and the large crew of CU teaching naturalists took some 600 students on a woods tour. The Bayshore Center in Bivalve coordinated and taught the inside classes. Administration and funding of the three days was handled through our office. Over 30 volunteers participated. Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge was contracted to offer live raptor presentations. The Nature Conservancy once again prepared the PSEG trails and helped lead the trips. We are very grateful for their dedication to the event. Also we had representation from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions to help in the leading of the walks.

Adrianna Zito Livingston of The Nature Conservancy at the scope station with CU Volunteers Ed Pio, Walt Birbeck and Jim Simpson

The World Famous Chili Bowl on April 9th was a wonderful event. We were concerned that when the Easter holiday pushed us to a late date we would be eating chili on a hot sunny day, but instead there was an April snowstorm! The event was sold out, although the snow did affect attendance a bit. The cooks, auction staff, and beverage folks outdid themselves. In the end the ‘funraiser’ did a super job of raising funds, and in fact it was our most lucrative Chili Bowl to date. We truly can’t offer enough thanks to the 100+ members and 200+ attendees that made this happen. Yes, you read that right – an amazing effort to be sure! And special kudos to the great Events Committee for their superb organizational skills.

Going Native…

Packed house listens to Tallamy

(WSP) Bringing Nature Home – a trifecta of events for land stewards. The Book Circle on April 21 was led by librarian/member Suzy Merighi.She guided the discussion with about 30 attendees, and folks were eager to share their impressions of Doug Tallamy’s book.We also enlisted Doug Tallamy as a keynote speaker at the WheatonArts Ecofair on May 7th, where he held the attention of a crowd of over 200 folks who had a thirst for more information. And Allen Jackson, Tony Klock, and Mary Watkins led two separate groups on a WheatonArts/ CU partnership trail/nature walk.

Afternoon tour group lead by Mary Watkins and Allen Jackson

CU Ambassadors engaged people throughout the day at our information booth. WheatonArts hosts of the Fair were wonderful partners in the walks and presentation. Then, on May 11th, Pat Sutton focused on the identification and removal of invasive species with her well-received Battlestar Backyardia presentation at our Cumberland County College general meeting.

On the May 14th World Series of Birding, our CU Fish Hawks did another super job. This year’s team, Clay Sutton, Tony Klock, Kathy Michel, and Captain Mary Watkins, logged 135 different species of birds from midnight to 6 p.m. The team also gave our new scopes their inaugural use. They birded in only the NJ DE Bayshore region – a tribute to the great number of species we have. Some proved elusive on their BIG DAY but the team’s efforts were very successful anyway. It appears that once all pledges are in we will have reached our goal of $10,000. We would like to thank all those who participated and also remind you all that it is never to late to donate. A gift of $50 or more nets you our commemorative t-shirt and our sincere thanks. But more importantly all funds go toward our avian-oriented projects.

Holly City Family Success Center’s FIERCE Outdoor Explorers – Sabrina Simpkins, Program Coordinator at the Holly City Family Success Center, and Karla have been working together to help more community members get outdoors and appreciate the natural treasures of our area. On Wednesday, May 18th, Karla, Christine Brown, and Wendy Walker led the first walk.

(WSP) Saturday, April 16th Fred Akers, aka Watershed Fred, took a group of 23 people along the Maurice River Bicycle and Walking Trail. Fred offered the regular walkers and newcomers a different perspective to habitat issues at the park. He described land use practices affecting water quality in the park; these included urban and residential run off, municipal water management practices, and the interpretation of water testing results. At the same time he stressed that residents can contribute to bettering water quality through best management practices on their property.

On Saturday, April 30, 2016 Tom and Suzanne Talalaj hosted this year’s first campfire.The event allowed members to socialize while getting a glimpse of the Menantico from the shore.The children especially enjoyed the Talalajs’ newest addition – a full-sized teepee.

Past Tuesdays on the Fly

Tuesday, March 29th – The historic interpretative tour of the Maurice River Bicycling and Walking Trail was led by Millville Historical Society’s Bob Francois with resource interpretation by Jane Morton Galetto. After traversing the trail we headed to Union House for a tour. This event was extremely well attended.

Tuesday, April 19th – We ventured to the northern tributaries of our watershed and walked the Elephant Swamp Trail. This introduced many members to a resource that they had not formerly visited.

(WSP) Tuesday, May 24th – Jane Morton Galetto led a small caravan on a tour of portions of the bayshore to view various habitat enhancement techniques such as PSEG’s wetland restoration sites, impoundments, and establishment of living shorelines. At Heislerville we were treated to a banding demonstration by Dr. David Mizrahi of NJA’s Cape May Bird Observatory Center for Research.

More Past Happenings…

For the month of May – many of our members have been busy preparing meals for the Shorebird Recovery Team members. Anywhere from 15-40 folks have eaten each evening; in fact their appetites are beginning to rival the shorebird migrants. A core group of 50 people have cooked and another group of an equal or larger number helped with the pig roast – a very impressive endeavor. Thanks to everyone who has been involved!

reTurn the Favor – 48 volunteers from CU Maurice River attended the training session on April 23rd at the Bayshore Center in Bivalve. Program Manager Karla Rossini took the trainees to East Point for some firsthand experience and familiarization with the beachfront and statistical collection.

Horseshoe Crabs

10th Annual Frog Slog

Fred explains natural history of frogs to Karla, our youngest frogger Vera, and Courtney

Friday, May 27th the 10th Annual Frog Slog was led by none other than Watershed Fred a.k.a. Fred Akers. We had a nice turn out of 25 adults and youthful participants. Lots of giggles accompanied the many attempts to catch frogs for inspection. As always a fun time was had by all. Everyone learned a lot about the habits and habitat needs of these amazing amphibians.

On May 30th the A.J. Meerwald’s Memorial Day Birding Sail was led by Tony Klock. Tony helped passengers spot and identify some 50 different avian species. He also made sure everyone got to make use of our newly purchased scopes. Our CU contingent made up at least half the guests on board. Certain of the CU members and their guests calmed an infant by serenading her with an Argentine lulaby, which received applause from all on board. The crew members were wonderful hosts, incredibly informative and amicable. The predicted 4″ of rain held off and only light drizzle attempted unsuccessfully to dampen the spirits.

HABITAT HAPPENINGS

InsulatorsFrom tragedy arose opportunity. The Union Lake Dam is frequented in the spring by large groups of osprey and quite a few eagles, since the dam makes a ‘lunch box’ of sorts as it slows down migrating fish. This results in a number of birds using the nearby electrical poles as perches when eating or queuing up for a catch at the foot of the dam. Pat Stella called CU Wildlife Management Director Allen Jackson to inform him that there was a dead osprey at the base of an electric pole. The bird, which Jane and Peter Galetto had banded the bird three years earlier on the south end of the Peek Preserve, was examined and found to have been electrocuted.. Allen contacted the Endangered and Non Game Species Program (ENSP) who notified biologist Christina Frank of Pepco Holdings (a former ENSP employee) and she and her team leapt into action. Several crews installed protective materials and expanded the distance between the ‘hot’ wires. Further they plan to return to address poles along the stretch of roadway near the dam! So although some lives have been lost many more are anticipated to be saved. We also told Christina of other known trouble spots for electrocutions of osprey.

Birds

As part of Cumberland County Guidance Center (CCGC) trail project, CU Wildlife Management Director Allen Jackson supervised the installation of bluebird houses and feeding stations on the Guidance Center’s grounds. On Monday, May 2nd, there were new avian arrivals at the center, bluebird chicks. Daycare clients and staff came out to help Allen band these little nestlings. It was amazing – in fact transformative – to see the clients’ reactions. They seemed hesitant to hold a chick at first, but that quickly gave way to pride that the tiny chicks were born on “their trail.” In an effort to protect the privacy of clients and staff, I only took pictures of their hands cradling the chicks. But in my mind there is emblazoned a picture of their faces filled with delight and loving concern for the welfare of these miniature creatures. Our avian projects are not only for the birds but for the people who treasure their very existence. Since we had a small crew of CU folks present to witness the banding, we scheduled a stump removal project in which CCGC Staff and our volunteers removed stumps from the path. Allen and Virginia Mayr Freeman, CCGC’s Development Director, scheduled a second banding.

Bicycle and Walking TrailThe Maurice River Bicycle & Walking Trail brochure has been approved to go to print. Amcor Rigid Plastics is the key sponsor of this publication. We have been partnering with them on park projects and hope to continue this positive partnership. Watch for announcements about a special Trail Day that will unveil the brochure.

The WheatonArts Trail is seeing some transformations. On May 5th, a few days before the WheatonArts Ecofair, a crew of our members walked the trail and the perimeter of the property and picked up all manner of trash. They raked the sides of the crushed stone woods path (former rail bed), put up purple martin gourds, moved railroad ties and the like. A very special thanks to Fred Kruger of East Coast Excavation for leveling the trail so that walkers have more even ground for walking. And great news: three of four wood duck boxes were active at the WheatonArts site.

Other Trail Work
Allen Jackson continues to orchestrate volunteers on bluebird trail work. Mike Golla is especially happy about the new arrivals on the trail he monitors. Adult arrivals at the purple martin gourd racks suffered many mortalities due to the wet, cold spring. The weather conditions meant that insects were not plentiful and many starved. We hope that the later arriving sub-adults will have a productive year; fingers crossed!

WANT TO HELP If you are interested in trail work please email Karla.

ADVOCACY and FORUMS

On May 23, Governor Christie followed through on his threat, ignored the will of the voters, and conditionally vetoed S969, the Preserve New Jersey Act. This bill was necessary to allocate the funding that is constitutionally dedicated to Open Space, Farmland, Historic Preservation. For more detail go to NJ Keep It Green’s more extensive explanation.

Over the past few weeks we have interacted a great deal with local media. The SNJ Today studio has covered a number of our speakers and our staff has been interviewed to update viewers on our activities. Jane Morton Galetto did a special show on Hometown Heroes with host Mike Epifanio. They discussed Doug Tallamy’s visit, the Watershed Stewardship Program, and volunteer opportunities. To see the show click here.

The Atlantic City Press did an extensive article on water quality as it relates to some of the superfund sites that impact the Maurice. There was an editorial follow-up as well. Reporter Tom Barlas did a good job of raising people’s awareness about some of the local water quality issues.
To read Barlas’ article click here.
To read the editorial follow-up click here.

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO VOLUNTEER

Bay Day June 4th and Barn Day June 5th – Two super days of camaraderie. We will need CU Ambassadors for both events. More details will follow in emails. To volunteer as a CU Ambassador contact Doreen or call 856-300-5331.

August 19th – Pledge to Fledge is a NJ Audubon program at Cape May Point State Park. For the past two years we have run an information table and CU Paint-A-Landscape. The day is really busy and any help would be most appreciated. To sign up email Doreen or call 856-300-5331.

On September 10th we plan once again to be involved in Artists’ Day in Mauricetown. Generally we orchestrate CU Paint-A-Landscape and talk to folks about what CU does. CU Ambassadors, please contact Doreen or call 856-300-5331.

Calendar
Remember to check our calendar for any changes or updates.

Address Changes
Please keep us posted on any changes in your email address. Our emails contain a helpful stream of reminders and updates that you won’t want to miss.

Membership Info
Do keep your membership up-to-date and/or invite a friend to join. Membership is set at $20 for individuals and $30 for families, although our average annual donation is approximately $75. Mail your check to PO Box 474, Millville, NJ 08332 or join online at www.cumauriceriver.org.

A special thanks to all those who give the equally important gift of your time. We couldn’t do this without you!

CU on the River!