Home > News Bytes > DRBC’s Water Quality Outreach Draws Large Crowds at Temple’s EarthFest and Lambertville’s Shad Festival
DRBC’s Water Quality Outreach Draws Large Crowds at Temple’s EarthFest and Lambertville’s Shad Festival
Temple University Ambler's 2015 EarthFest: April 24

On Friday, April 24, 2015, EarthFest was held on the Ambler Campus of Temple University. Hosted by the Temple University Center for Sustainable Communities, the mission of EarthFest is to promote environmental awareness using sustainable concepts, methods, and practices to protect and preserve our environment. To learn more about EarthFest, please click here.

Geared for kids of all ages, this free event attracted nearly 6,000 students and featured nearly 80 different exhibits that provided attendees with hands-on learning activities. Over the years, DRBC has been a frequent EarthFest exhibitor and was proud to again participate this year, using its Enviroscape model to teach about different sources of water pollution and what we all can do to help keep our waterways clean. 

View more photos from the 2015 Temple EarthFest on DRBC's Flickr page.

The fields at Temple University's Ambler Campus are filling up at the start of EarthFest 2015. Photo by DRBC.DRBC's Donna Woolf uses the Enviroscape model to teach about water pollution at EarthFest 2015. Photo by DRBC.DRBC's Kate Schmidt uses the Enviroscape model to teach about water pollution at EarthFest 2015. Photo by DRBC.Kids crowd around the DRBC table at EarthFest 2015 to learn about how they can help keep their waterways clean. Photo by DRBC.Kids crowd around the DRBC table at EarthFest 2015 to learn about how they can help keep their waterways clean. Photo by DRBC.Students and exhibitors pack the fields at Temple University Ambler's EarthFest 2015. Photo by DRBC.DRBC's Donna Woolf "makes it rain" to show kids how litter and other pollution on land can end up in the river. Photo by DRBC.Can you spot the DRBC staffer in the crowd of kids? DRBC's exhibit at Temple EarthFest 2015 was quite popular, visually demonstrating how pollution can enter our rivers and what we can do to help keep our waterways clean. Photo by DRBC.
2015 Lambertville Shad Festival: April 25-26

The 34th Lambertville Shad Festival took place on Saturday, April 25 and Sunday, April 26, 2015 in Lambertville, N.J. This annual festival celebrates the region's arts community, the Delaware River, and of course, the annual return of the American shad!

The Delaware River is an important waterway for American shad, and their presence is indicative of the water quality improvements that have occurred over time. For decades during the 1900s, pollution robbed the lower Delaware River of the oxygen needed for shad and other fish to breathe. The number of American shad in the Delaware increased dramatically by the late 1980s and early 1990s due in large part to pollution control programs conducted by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) and other environmental agencies. Learn more about American shad.

The Lewis Fishery, the last commercial shad fishery on the Delaware River, was on hand to demonstrate how to seine (catch with nets) for American shad from Lewis Island. Click here to see 2015 Delaware River shad fishing reports from N.J., including updates from the Lewis Fishery.

DRBC staff exhibited on Lewis Island on both days of the Shad Festival. Staff talked with festival attendees about the Delaware River and DRBC programs and initiatives. They also collected macroinvertebrates (aquatic bugs) from the Delaware River and discussed their connection to the river's water quality. The type and amount of aquatic insects found in a waterway can help indicate its water quality. Some bugs, for example mayfly larvae, are much more sensitive to pollution than others; finding them in numbers - which we did on both days of ShadFest - was a positive indicator of the health of the Delaware River off of Lewis Island. 

We thank Steve Meserve and the Lewis Fishery Crew for allowing us to again display on Lewis Island with them!

View more photos from the 2015 Shad Festival on DRBC's Flickr page.

DRBC's Eric Wentz collects a sample of aquatic bugs from the Delaware River using a net at the 2015 Lambertville ShadFest. The amount and kind of aquatic bugs you find in the river can help tell how clean the water is. Photo by DRBC.DRBC's Eric Wentz collects a sample of aquatic bugs from the Delaware River using a net at the 2015 Lambertville ShadFest. The amount and kind of aquatic bugs you find in the river can help tell how clean the water is. Photo by DRBC.Kids visiting DRBC's table at ShadFest 2015 learn what aquatic insects collected from the Delaware River tell us about its water quality. Some bugs, for example mayfly larvae, are much more sensitive to pollution than others; finding them in numbers - which we did on both days of ShadFest - was a positive indicator for the health of the Delaware River off of Lewis Island. Kids enjoyed trying to collect the bugs from one tray of water and place them in another. Photo by DRBC.  Kids visiting DRBC's table at ShadFest 2015 learn what aquatic insects collected from the Delaware River tell us about its water quality. Some bugs, for example mayfly larvae, are much more sensitive to pollution than others; finding them in numbers - which we did on both days of ShadFest - was a positive indicator for the health of the Delaware River off of Lewis Island. Kids enjoyed trying to collect the bugs from one tray of water and place them in another. Photo by DRBC.  Kids visiting DRBC's table at ShadFest 2015 learn what aquatic insects collected from the Delaware River tell us about its water quality. Some bugs, for example mayfly larvae, are much more sensitive to pollution than others; finding them in numbers - which we did on both days of ShadFest - was a positive indicator for the health of the Delaware River off of Lewis Island. Kids enjoyed trying to collect the bugs from one tray of water and place them in another. Photo by DRBC.  The Lewis Fishery Crew demonstrates to ShadFest attendees how they sein (catch) shad with nets at the 2015 Lambertville ShadFest. Photo by DRBC.Lewis Fishery Crew head Steve Meserve holds a female American shad to the applause of the crowd at the 2015 Lambertville ShadFest. Photo by DRBC.American shad caught by the Lewis Fishery Crew. Photo by DRBC.
DRBC's Steve Tambini (left) and Lewis Fishery Crew head Steve Meserve chat at the 2015 Lambertville ShadFest. Photo by DRBC.DRBC's Namsoo Suk smiles for the camera before the crowds arrive at the 2015 Lambertville ShadFest. Photo by DRBC.DRBC's Kate Schmidt smiles for the camera before the crowds arrive at the 2015 Lambertville ShadFest. Photo by DRBC.Kids visiting DRBC's table at ShadFest 2015 learn what aquatic insects collected from the Delaware River tell us about its water quality. Some bugs, for example mayfly larvae, are much more sensitive to pollution than others; finding them in numbers - which we did on both days of ShadFest - was a positive indicator for the health of the Delaware River off of Lewis Island. Kids enjoyed trying to collect the bugs from one tray of water and place them in another. Photo by DRBC.DRBC's Kate Schmidt talks to a ShadFest attendee about the Delaware River Watershed. Photo by DRBC.Kids visiting DRBC's table at ShadFest 2015 learn what aquatic insects collected from the Delaware River tell us about its water quality. Some bugs, for example mayfly larvae, are much more sensitive to pollution than others; finding them in numbers - which we did on both days of ShadFest - was a positive indicator for the health of the Delaware River off of Lewis Island. Kids enjoyed trying to collect the bugs from one tray of water and place them in another. Photo by DRBC.DRBC's Steve Tambini chats with the public who stopped by the DRBC table on Lewis Island at the 2015 Lambertville ShadFest. Photo by DRBC.(From L to R) DRBC's Namsoo Suk, Kate Schmidt, and Steve Tambini pause for a photo at the 2015 Lambertville ShadFest. Photo courtesy of DRBC.