Rutgers NJAES Watershed Restoration Paraprofessional Training

The Rutgers University New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) is a part of the Rutgers Cooperative Extension (RCE). The Water Resources Program is dedicated to solve New Jersey's water resources issues. Created in 2002 by Rutgers professor Dr. Chris Obropta, P.E., the Water Resources program has hosted numerous trainings, workshops, and events to create solutions across the state.

RCE-Water hosted a Watershed Restoration Paraprofessional Training for AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassadors on Monday, October 7, 2013; a session for the general public was held the week prior. Dr. Obropta and other RCE-Water employees spoke to us about stormwater management and how green infrastructure best management practices (BMPs) such as rain gardens and rain barrels can be utilized to alleviate overflows as well as deteriorating water quality. An informative first session, we also met the Rutgers NJAES County Environmental Agents that serve selected counties throughout NJ. Amy Rowe, the Passaic & Essex Counties Agent, has been a great resource for me since meeting her; she has provided me with information on volunteer recruitment and is assisting on the Wanaque River Watershed Management Plan (WMP) I am working with PCPD on.

The second session on Tuesday, October 22, 2013 brought the public and NJWAP groups together. We went outside and evaluated a site, the Biological & Environmental Sciences building lot, for potential green infrastructure adjustments. Some valuable tools that were discussed include the US EPA's Stormwater Calculator and NRCS Web Soil Survey. I would also take a lot at the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map if you are interested in learning more about rain gardens and which plants to use-- they are fun to plant and can alleviate numerous water issues in your area. After exchanging contact information with various members of the public, I left Paraprofessional Training looking forward to what was in store!

Rain garden at RCE of Burlington County (water.rutgers.edu)

A rain garden, or bioretention basin, is a planted depression that allows surface runoff water from impervious surfaces like roofs, streets, and sidewalks to permeate through the soil to be absorbed into groundwater recharge aquifiers.

Diagram of a rain barrel's functions (mtwatercourse.org)

A rain barrel is a water tank used to collect and store runoff from roofs via storm gutters. The water can be utilized in gardening and helps disconnect sources from directly flowing into storm drains; this eases stormwater force and velocity into local streams and rivers.

UPDATE: I recently attended a Rutgers NJAES/Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission (PVSC) Green Infrastructure (GI) training on January 31, 2014 in Newark, NJ (Essex County) focusing on alleviating stormwater issues in the Lower Passaic River Watershed. We discussed in depth the benefits, construction, and maintenance of rain gardens and other GI BMPs for the region. 

I also attended a "Stormwater in Your Schoolyard" Teacher In-Service on January 28, 2014 at Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ (Somerset County) that focused on using these GI practices (specifically rain gardens) in school settings. The building and maintenance can be utilized as teaching tools for students as young as Pre-K up to high school level including core curriculum principles in math, science, language arts, and social studies. Feel free to contact me about setting up an informational workshop to get your rain barrel or rain garden project off the ground at your school or organization!