The DRBC table at Trenton River Days. Photo by DRBC.

DRBC had a great time participating in the 3rd Annual Trenton River Days Fair, held earlier this month at South Riverwalk Park, along the Delaware River in Trenton, N.J.

Exhibiting along with DRBC was SPLASH. SPLASH, which stands for Student Participation in Learning Aquatic Science and History, is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide environmental and historical education. SPLASH is a partner with DRBC in an outreach effort entitled Our Shared Waters: A Look at the Delaware River Basin (OSW for short), which aims to increase public awareness of the important role the Delaware River - and the basin as a whole - plays in our daily lives.

While SPLASH taught about how pollution on our lands negatively affects our waters using their Enviroscape watershed model, DRBC's activity focused on macroinvertebrates - aka aquatic bugs. Staff collected bugs from the Delaware River and displayed them in trays of water for attendees to check out, identify, and learn what they can tell us about water quality. 

Why bugs? They live underwater, among the stones, logs, sediments, and aquatic plants on the bottom of streams, rivers and lakes. The condition of the water determines what species of macroinvertebrates can and cannot survive, so the type of bugs you find can help tell about how clean the water is where they were collected. Factors that determine survival include temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen levels, as well as the presence (or not) of contaminants. In fact, studying the river's aquatic insect communities is one of the ways DRBC scientists determine the biological health of the river. 

The consensus? Squirming around in the leaf debris in the trays were various aquatic insects, including crayfish and mayfly nymphs. These organisms are pollutant intolerant, meaning that they require high quality, clean water to be able to thrive. This is an indicator that the Delaware River where these bugs were collected is healthy and supportive of a robust biological community.

This event was a great place for DRBC and SPLASH to exhibit, and providing hands-on experiences helped attendees get a better understanding of what we do to help monitor and protect our waterways. Connecting with the public helps share information about the Delaware River and the many organizations that are working to protect it, as well as encourages stewardship of our shared water resources.

Trenton River Days Fair was planned and organized by several entities, including The Watershed Institute, Mercer County Park Commission, The City of Trenton, D&R Greenway Land Trust and the Alliance for Watershed Education. We look forward to being back next year!

DRBC and SPLASH's activities drew a crowd at Trenton River Days. Photo by DRBC.	DRBC's Kyle McAllister (yellow shirt) explains what bugs we found. Mel (red shirt), is a local educator who helped us communicate with Spanish-speaking attendees. Photo by DRBC.	The bugs were a hit with attendees, who were eager to check out what we found in the river and learn about what they tell us about water quality. Photo by DRBC.
SPLASH's Eric Clark (left) uses the Enviroscape watershed model to show how what happens on land affects the water. Photo by DRBC.	Attendees could get their photo taken as "Major Macro," a watershed scientist, complete with waders, snorkel and net. As you can see, the "Major" is popular with adults & kids alike. Photo by DRBC.	Attendees could get their photo taken as "Major Macro," a watershed scientist, complete with waders, snorkel and net. As you can see, the "Major" is popular with adults & kids alike. Photo by DRBC.