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THE MARSH CONNECTION
News from the Meadowlands Environment Center and the NJ Sports and Exposition Authority
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The Spooky Science Halloween Party takes place in our science center at the very end of Valley Brook Ave in Lyndhurst (3 De Korte Park Plaza). It runs from 12-3pm and you can come at any time. Parking is free.
If you have any questions, please feel free to call 201-460-8300. Space is limited!
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Grant Received from Orange and Rockland | |
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On October 1, 2023 the MEC was awarded a grant from the Orange and Rockland Foundation to deliver Professional Development to 50 K-8 grade teachers from school districts from NJ in the O&R service area. This grant will prepare teachers to teach their students about climate change using our programs described below.
The Foundation has funded the MEC twice to provide programs to students on food science and hydroponics using the Mobile Food Lab. They look forward to another successful partnership with us on this new important endeavor.
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Investigating Global Warming
& Climate Change
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The MEC has released our set of activities in response to the Governor’s mandate to teach students in New Jersey about Climate Change and Global Warming. We have designed programs for grades K-12. Beyond simply recognizing the reality of climate change, these workshop activities help students identify ways this reality might affect them, their families, and the communities in which they live.
Your class, school, and school district can engage in Climate Change and Global Warming activities by:
- Coming to the Meadowlands on a field trip.
- Scheduling our educators to present activities at your school.
- Scheduling professional development for your teachers. This includes lesson plans, supplies and a follow-up session.
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For more information or to book a program, please contact Michele Daly via email or by calling 201-460-4623. | |
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Calling all Kindergarten through 8th grade classroom teachers!!!
Are you off on November 9th for the NJEA Convention?
Instead of going to Atlantic City, come to Lyndhurst!
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Location: Meadowlands Environment Center (3 DeKorte Park Plaza, Lyndhurst)
Time: 10am-1pm
Cost: $125 per teacher; includes 2 binders of activities and access to online resources for classroom use
Childcare available by registering your child for a hands-on educational program running the same time.
Cost: $20 per child ages 5-12
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For more information, please call Michele Daly at 201-390-5583 or email us . | |
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Mobile Food Lab Travels to
2nd Annual Green Fair in Belleville
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The Mobile Food lab participated in the Green Fair at Belleville High School on Saturday September 16, 2023. Visitors to the Fair learned about hydroponics and herbal teas. They were introduced to the historic uses of ginger, peppermint, chamomile, lemon grass and other herb infusions to treat different illnesses. Participants were invited to make an infusion tea bag to take home and enjoy. Over 1000 people visited the fair.
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Meadowlands Birding Festival
an Enormous Success!
On Sunday, Oct. 1, some 300 bird enthusiasts attended the 7th Annual Meadowlands Birding Festival at DeKorte Park. The event, co-sponsored by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority and the Bergen County Audubon Society, featured guided walks, several talks and presentations, information tables with a plethora of avian information, and kid’s activity stations. A live raptor show was a highlight of the day, leaving all ages in awe.
We look forward to our next public event, The Meadowlands Bald Eagle Festival. This program will take place in January.
Check www.njsea.com and www.meadowblog.net for updates coming soon.
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Wildlife Research in the Meadowlands
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One of the Meadowlands Research and Restoration Institute’s (MRRI) principal tasks is to research the rare and imperiled wildlife species found throughout the Meadowlands. This type of work provides critical information on the most important habitat types, and this is then used inform land use, management and restoration decisions. This information is also shared with regional agencies and stakeholders to contribute to larger databases to ultimately assist with the preservation and recovery of these species.
In 2023, MRRI biologists investigated both bats and saltmarsh sparrows. Following is a short summary of these investigations.
Bats: During the summer of 2023, MRRI biologists designed and implemented the first year of a continuous monitoring program to characterize the diversity, distribution and habitat associations of bats in the Meadowlands. Hardware and software that has been endorsed by the U.S. Geological Survey and Fish and Wildlife Service were used to collect the data.
This data is not used to measure overall population numbers, but rather to determine what types of habitats Meadowlands bats use. Just under three months of data show that the forested areas of the Meadowlands District contain by far the highest bat diversity and amount of activity. Also of note, multiple confirmed detections of the candidate endangered species Tricolored Bat were observed at three sites. These results are preliminary and further analysis of the data will be conducted by other scientists. This project will be expanded in 2024 to investigate finer scale habitat associations of Meadowlands’ bats.
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Saltmarsh sparrow: From late spring to mid-summer of 2023, MRRI biologists conducted targeted breeding surveys for the rare and highly imperiled Saltmarsh Sparrow at Riverbend Wetland Preserve in the southern region of the Meadowland District. Previous observations suggested a steep decline in this local and isolated breeding population. 2023 data show that there were at least eight adults present at the site throughout the breeding season.
At least three nests fledged young, and at least five total fledglings were found. These observations show that Saltmarsh Sparrows are breeding at Riverbend, and the sparrows using Riverbend recruit individuals into the population. The conclusion drawn from this data is that this site remains as a small stronghold for saltmarsh sparrow breeding. The preservation of this delicate habitat is therefore of paramount importance. This project will be expanded in 2024 to include more surveys and possible a banding study.
These projects were just two of the many wildlife research projects MRRI biologists undertook in 2023 to deepen our understanding of Meadowlands ecosystems. Understanding these ecosystems is critical to the continued preservation and restoration of the natural areas found throughout the District.
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The Society for Ecological Restoration visits the Meadowlands | |
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The NJSEA’s Meadowlands Research & Restoration Institute recently hosted the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Society for Ecological Restoration. The focus of the meeting was Urban Restoration, and included people from federal, state and local governments, as well as consultants, contractors and non-profit organizations, all of whom have a common goal of assisting in the recovery of our urban ecosystems.
Don Torino, president of the Bergen County Audubon Society, spoke to attendees about his life growing up in the Meadowlands and about the positive transformations that have been occurring in the past few years, and the amazing diversity of birds and other wildlife now present in the Meadowlands.
The meeting also included a live taping for the podcast Native Plants, Healthy Planet, hosted by Fran Chismar and Tom Knezick from Pinelands Nursery. Fran and Tom interviewed Rebecca Swadek, Director of Wetland Management at New York City Parks. The interview, and a number of the meeting’s presentations, focused on the ecological restoration projects that have been occurring throughout New York City in recent years.
The day of presentations was followed by a day in the field, where attendees were treated to a pontoon boat tour of the Meadowlands, a tour of the newly restored Teaneck Creek Park, and a hike on Erie Landfill, where they could witness an on-going ecological restoration project.
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Meet Vasilya Luterzo
Environmental Educator
|  | Vasilya Luterzo was a co-op at student the MEC in winter of 2011 and graduated from Ramapo in the spring with Biology major and chemistry minor. She worked at the Center 2011-2012 as a post-baccalaureate fellow. Vasilia worked at the Wayne Environmental Education Center through a MOU with the Wayne Board of Education from 2013 through the closure of the Center in March 2020 because of COVID. When the Wayne center closed Vasilya came back to the MEC. She was very familiar with our programming and successfully pivoted to remote instruction because of the pandemic. Vasilya was a critical member of the team that developed the technology and content required to prepare and deliver synchronous and asynchronous instruction modules to schools through our website and live Youtube channel. As in-person instruction resumed, Vasilya develops and delivers programing at the MEC and onboard the Mobile Food Lab to students in partner district’s programs during the day and to family members and students at night. |
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Meet Ying ‘Cheryl’ Yao
Chief Chemist
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Ying ‘Cheryl’ Yao manages and operates the Department’s state-certified laboratory that includes 22 precision instruments used for chemical analysis and determining inorganic and organic pollutants in soil, water, air, and animal tissues. Cheryl analyzes various chemicals and environmental pollutants such as trace metals, ion species, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in different environmental matrices. As the Quality Assurance/Quality Control officer, she maintains records in accordance with certified laboratory practices.
In addition, Cheryl conducts environmental research analyzing water quality, air quality, pollutant loads in sediment and benthic samples, and wetland greenhouse gas emissions. Her recent research focuses on the effects of climate changes (sea level rise, intensive storm events, and enhanced temperature variation) on the Meadowlands’ water quality. She is also interested in emerging contaminants studies focusing on microplastics, synthetic industrial chemicals, and algal toxins.
Cheryl has over 10 years of experience in analytical laboratories with extensive hands-on experience of diverse sample preparation, sampling in the field, method development, and operating and trouble-shooting multiple analytical instruments. She received her M.S in Environmental Engineering from Arizona State University and her BS in Environmental Engineering from Nanjing Tech University in China. Cheryl was a Research Engineer at Georgia Tech University for more than two years focusing on sample analysis of soil, sediment, water, nanomaterials, fabric and food; and plant and data interpretation.
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Diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) are the only turtles in the U.S. that live exclusively in brackish saltwater marshes, coastal bays, and lagoons. Terrapins mainly stay in the water though they can be spotted basking along marsh banks. They are named for the concentric markings and grooves on their shells.
There are seven subspecies of the turtle, but the only one that lives in New Jersey is the northern diamondback terrapin. Here, they're mostly found from the Hackensack Meadowlands wetlands all the way down to Cape May and around the state's southern tip along the Delaware Bay.
Improvements to the Meadowlands District’s unique urban ecosystem are supported by the work of the NJSEA’s Natural Resources Management Department. Diamondback Terrapins are of particular interest because they are an iconic animal of many coastal salt marshes and near the top of the food chain in the Meadowlands’ brackish marshes. Terrapins were first observed in the 1970s – and have experienced a recent rapid growth in population. The study involves collecting data on the species in the Meadowlands to help answer questions about the life history of terrapins in the region including population size, how far the turtles move within a marsh and their growth rate. Students coming to the MEC are introduced to our Diamondbacks as part of their field trip to the marsh.
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