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Schools

Saving Potter Creek, One Student at a Time

Potter Creek Crusaders at Berkeley Township Elementary School are on a mission

Kathyn DeMuro, 11, had no idea the extent of the damage that chemical and solid waste pollution caused to Potter Creek before 2008.

Nick Campana, 11, had no idea there were endangered species that called the area in and around Potter Creek home.

Sean Hughes, 11, never realized that a piece of discarded plastic could kill a turtle or a shore bird or a frog.

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Ciara Goldin, 11, didn’t realize just how little some people care about the environment in her town.

But thanks to the Potter Creek Crusaders and a hands-on, get-dirty, touchy-feeley program at the Berkeley Township Elementary School, 16 sixth-graders know now. By the end of the school year, they will be experts on the Barnegat Bay estuary that flows from the Pinelands and through Berkeley Township.

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“I have been thinking about this program all summer,’’ Goldin said.

The program participants will become environmental advocates, educating their peers about the sensitivity of the unique eco-system that is just outside the school’s doors. The 16 students will then try to make Berkeley Township a “greener’’ place, one student at a time.

 “One child can make a difference,’’ said Joyce Meilner, a retired Berkeley Township teacher, who helps oversee the program.

“The goal of the program is to make people aware of the plight of Barnegat Bay and its estuaries,’’ said Lois Schoeck, a retired township teacher and an environmental educator.

The program, which was started and is maintained by grants, has grown from 10 to 16 students in its four years. Each student is given a digital camera and the photos they take of the plants and critters that call Potter Creek home are published in a hardcover book and displayed at different venues around Ocean County.

The photos taken by the Crusaders class of 2011 will be on display at the on Station Road through the end of September and then at the Cattus Island Park Festival on Oct. 2.

Though the 2012 Crusaders will not venture to Potter Creek for the first of many visits until Tuesday, at least one of its members already knows first hand the damage and dangers of pollution in the watershed.

Hughes, who often visits a lake believed to be one of the feeders of Potter Creek, gashed his foot on a broken bottle. The wound needed 21 stitches to close.

“I can’t believe the garbage people leave behind,’’ Hughes said.

And the impact of the program has become far-reaching.

“I never realized how dirty my family is,’’ Campana said. “I’ve tried to get my family to recycle more and become more green. I’m trying to make them see our environment is in trouble and we need to help.’’

“So many animals and plants around Potter Creek are dying,’’ said DeMuro. “It’s sickening. It gets me thinking about being more responsible.’’

Meilner, who leads the technology end of the project, lives on Potter Creek.

“Though they are wetlands, people have been allowed to build on the creek,’’ Meilner said. “As the result, we are seeing fewer animals. The sunfish are gone. The muskrats are gone.’’

During their year-long lesson, the 2012 Crusaders will understand the role Potter Creek – a waterway that is less than 50 feet wide and as narrow as two feet in places – plays in one of the world’s most amazing eco-systems.

“The headwaters of the creek are less than a minute away from the school,’’ Schoeck said. “There are turtles who come up from the creek to lay eggs on the edge of our playground. Many of the kids have no idea of what goes on around them.’’

The Crusaders, however, will seek to make them aware. One aspect of the program is that the students will then become the teachers. They will address their peers about their findings and show how they can become honorary Crusaders.

“The program has taken on a life of its own,’’ said Kathy Palagonia, the Media Specialist at BTES and one of the program’s founders. “Every group is different. Every group sees things differently.’’

Palagonia noted the program – designed originally to teach about environmental sciences – has become much more.

Because the students address environmental groups and their peers, they become adept at public speaking. Because they give Powerpoint presentations and write for the book, they improve their writing skills. Because of the pictures they take, they discover skills in photography and imagine editing. Palagonia noted that several of its previous 36 have interest in gaining entry to the prestigious Ocean County MATES program and have participated in the MATES summer session.

Since its inception in 2008-2009 with a mini-grant from the Barnegat Bay Partnership, the program has gone from publishing a 15-page, hard-cover book to a 40-page book. The program this year is being funded by the Little Stuff Fund and the school district. OceanFirst Bank has also been a major supporter of the Crusaders.

“While the plants and animals are often the same, every child views what they see differently and the photos they take reflect that,’’ Schoeck said.

The books published so far are:

“Lens on Potter Creek’’

“Did You Know …. We all live in a watershed?’’

“Walk Within Our Watershed … From Woodlands to Wetlands.’’

Palagonia said the title of this year’s book has yet to be determined.

“Kids in this program have been complimented by college professors,’’ Schoeck said. “They have addressed 70 educators at a round table.’’

All while carrying on what has become an environment-saving tradition at Berkeley Township Elementary School.

Other members of the 2012 Crusaders are Mike Cerbone, Conover Korvan, Gianna Davella, Brianna Dorso, Darius Edick, Will Krenza, Rory McFadden, Sarah Parisi, Royal Parks, Thomas Ruscitti, Camryn Sheppard, Sydney Van Lew and Ryan Blum.

  For more information on the Potter Creek Crusaders, go to the school website at www.btboe.org/bts/BTES/

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