DRBC and SPLASH staff pose for a photo at the 2025 Trenton RiverFest. Photo by the DRBC.

DRBC staff was happy to return to the Delaware River shoreline in Trenton for the Trenton RiverFest! This year, Mercer County, the Watershed Institute and Trenton Thunder collaborated to unite two popular fall festivals - Trenton River Days and Trenton Thunder RiverFest - into one day-long, family-friendly event celebrating the Trenton community and the scenic Delaware River. Held in the Trenton Thunder's back parking lot, with additional activities in the stadium, RiverFest offered fun, educational and interactive learning stations, from boat rides to fly fishing demos, live music and more. 

Our staff proudly teamed up for another year with SPLASH. SPLASH stands for Student Participation in Learning Aquatic Science & History and is a Lambertville-based nonprofit whose mission is to provide unique educational adventures that inspire both children and adults to learn about the Delaware Watershed, STEM sciences, local history and more. The organization has also been a longstanding partner of DRBC through the Our Shared Waters initiative, which seeks to build public awareness of the far-reaching natural resource value of the Delaware River Basin. 

Together, DRBC and SPLASH spent the day teaching about watersheds and macroinvertebrates (aquatic bugs or macros). SPLASH used the Enviroscape model to show folks how what we do on the land impacts water quality, while the DRBC team brought macros samples and kid-friendly activities to teach about how these bugs help scientists assess how clean the river is. Our staff also engaged attendees about how to participate in the development of DRBC's first Water Resources Resilience Plan for the Delaware River Basin.

Thank you to The Watershed Institute, Mercer County and the Trenton Thunder for putting on this educational event. We hope to be back next year!

DRBC staff chats with a festival attendee about how aquatic bugs - aka macroinvertebrates - help scientists assess how clean the river is! Photo by the DRBC.	The DRBC and SPLASH tent was a popular stop at RiverFest! Folks were interested in learning about watersheds and how scientists work to improve water quality. Photo by the DRBC.	DRBC staff chats with a festival attendee about how to engage with the DRBC as it develops its 1st Water  Resources Resilience Plan. Photo by the DRBC.