NEW JERSEY WATERSHED AMBASSADORS PROGRAM
Watershed Management Area 7
Arthur Kill

My name is Kristin Beebe, and I am an AmeriCorps member in the New Jersey Watershed Ambassadors Program, 2007-2008. I am working in Watershed Management Area 7 (WMA 7), the Arthur Kill Watershed, in conjunction with the Union County Department of Parks, Recreation, and Facilities in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The major streams and tributaries in WMA 7 include the Rahway River and its branches, the Elizabeth River, the Elizabeth Canal, and the Arthur Kill. I will be working to educate students, citizens, and/or any stakeholders about watersheds, point and nonpoint source pollution, watershed management, and the methods of improving watershed health and water quality.

I graduated in May 2007 with a B.S. degree in Biology with a specialization in Marine Science from the Boston University Marine Program (BUMP). During my time at Boston University, I was fortunate enough to spend a few months studying in Woods Hole, MA at the Marine Biological Laboratory. While there, I studied the effects of nutrient loading and human influence on local water bodies and undertook a project examining the effects of excess nutrients on an eelgrass bed in one estuary in Cape Cod. BUMP not only gave me experience in temperate ecosystems, but also allowed me to travel to Belize, Central America where I was able to research the feeding behaviors of some local species of tropical parrotfish in 2006. Since graduation, I have returned home to Middlesex County, and am eager to work with the communities in this highly urban watershed, which also includes Union and Essex counties, to restore and sustain wildlife and water quality.

Currently, I am available to make presentations to any school or community group interested in learning the effects their actions may have on their watershed and what they can do to better their watershed's overall health. These presentations typically include an explanation as to what a watershed actually is, why watersheds are so important to protect and keep clean, and also the use of an interactive three-dimensional watershed model that provides a visual of the positive and negative effects of human actions. With this knowledge, citizens will have a better understanding of what they can do both individually and on a larger scale to keep pollutants from entering the watershed and waterways.

In addition to presentations, I am also available to train groups and any concerned citizens to perform both visual and biological assessments of their local streams and rivers. They will be taught how to conduct these protocols themselves (for example, estimating river bank erosion, collecting and identifying samples of river/stream life, estimating shade cover, etc.) to estimate the health of the water and surrounding habitat. The data they obtain can be used by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection to help determine the overall health and stability of the stream or river.

The benefits of restoring and sustaining the health and beauty of New Jersey's waterways for the present and for generations to come are innumerable. We can help by working together to make these historic parks and watersheds healthy, safe and scenic again. For more information on WMA 7 or how I can help your school, organization, or community, please feel free to contact me. We can arrange presentations, trainings, stream clean-ups, tree plantings, and so much more. Keep in mind, I am a free resource to you and your community and that the health of New Jersey's waters depends on people like you and me. I look forward to hearing from you.

Kristin Beebe
kbeebe@ucnj.org
(908) 527-4032

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