Cinnaminson Water Festival Sheds Light On Conservation Friday

CINNAMINSON, NJ — The 16th annual Make A Splash! Water Festival in Cinnaminson is this Friday. More than 350 students, teachers, presenters, volunteers and honored guests will participate in the event at Palmyra Cove Nature Park, 1335 Route 73 South in Palmyra. The event will be held rain of shine.

The goal is to promote awareness, appreciation, knowledge, and stewardship of water resources. All fourth grade students from Cinnaminson’s Rush Intermediate School and the Riverton School will rotate through 16 learning stations. They will compete in a Water Wizard’s Challenge, following a keynote address by Dr. Ed Cohen, Environmental Advocate.

The day begins at 9:15 a.m., with Education Consultant Elaine Mendelow speaking about the importance of water conservation and what students can do in their lives. She will also discuss the “Water for South Sudan” program and read a proclamation presented to the students by State Sen. Diane Allen. Mendelow, a former Cinnaminson School District teacher, organizes the event.

Sixteen groups of students will then rotate through stations from 9:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. A new addition this year is the new computer game, “Facts and Fictions About H2O,” created by Steve Hochman. Hochman is an author, presenter, and electronic game creator. He will be the MC for this game throughout the day.

Interactive activities are designed to show students that water is important for all water users: energy producers, farmers and ranchers, fish and wildlife, manufacturers, recreationists, rural and urban dwellers.

“Interactive activities celebrate the important role of water in our lives and teach children about the science of water, one of our most important natural resources,” Palmyra Cove Nature Park Director John Moore said. “And Palmyra Cove Nature Park, the area’s largest outdoor classroom, is the perfect site for this outdoor learning event.”

• New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) Mosquito Control;
• Palmyra Cove Nature Park;
• Pompeston Creek Watershed Association;
• New Jersey American Water;
• Middle and high school environmental science students; and
• Volunteer parents.

Learning stations include:

• Mosquitoes! Mosquitoes!
• H2Olympics
• Seining the Delaware
• Facts and Fictions About H2O
• The Enviroscape
• Groundwater in NJ
• Water Tasting
• Bubbleology
• Wetlands: Nature’s Filter
• Macro Invertebrates
• The Long Haul
• The Eastern Oyster

The education continues after the festival ends, too. All the students are reading the book, “Just Add Water,” which is the story of Salva Dut’s life, what he endured without clean water, and what he is doing to bring clean water to South Sudan.

After the festival, the students and their families will be involved in the “Iron Giraffe Challenge,” in which they give up other beverages and only drink water for two weeks. The money raised by not purchasing other beverages, will be given to Salva Dut’s organization to help raise money for more wells. For more information see www.waterforsouthsudan.org.

• The Cinnaminson Education Association;
• The Cinnaminson Education Foundation;
• Cinnaminson Clean Communities;
• New Jersey American Water;
• Stout and Caldwell;
• Wegmans; and
• Many local businesses.

For more information about Project WET, visit www.projectwet.org.

Contact Elaine Mendelow 609-313-0188 or njagcelaine@verizon.net for more information on this year’s water festival. Directions are below:

From New Jersey Via Route 73

Travel on Route 73 north towards the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge. Make a right at the last light before the bridge at Souder Street (next to Dunkin Donuts). Follow to the stop sign (Temple Boulevard), make a left; just before the Toll Plaza, make a right into the driveway, follow the roadway behind the Toll Building and under the bridge, the Palmyra Cove Nature Park (Environmental Discovery Center) is just through the wooden gates under the bridge.

Do not take the jug handle at F.C. Kerbeck. That entrance is closed for the duration of the festival.

From Philadelphia Via Tacony-Palmyra Bridge

Keep left as you pass the Bridge Toll Plaza and take the left hand turn lane. Make the left on to Souder Street; follow to the stop sign (Temple Boulevard), make a left; just before the Toll Plaza, make a right into the driveway, follow the roadway behind the Toll Building and under the bridge, the Palmyra Cove Nature Park (Environmental Discovery Center) is just through the wooden gates under the bridge.

Anyone who gets lost can call the Burlington County Bridge Commission at 856-829-1900 for assistance.

Patch file photo