My Summer of MAGIC as an

Environmental Educator

DNERR

• DELAWARE directly outside of Dover, DE• NATIONAL nation-wide effort to preserve,

protect, research, and educate about wetland/estuary areas

• ESTUARINE estuary area where fresh water and salt water meet and mix

• RESEARCH further study and discovery in flora, fauna, weather, geography, etc

• RESERVE wetland that is saved and preserved for educational and research purposes

DNERR continued

• 26 National Estuarine Research Reserves across the country

• DNERR was the 22nd built

• Consists of two components: Upper Blackbird Creek (land-based) and Lower St. Jones River Reserve (water-based), about 30 miles apart

The St. Jones Research Reserve

• Opened in May 1999 on 3,750 acres of land between the Delaware Bay and the St. Jones River

• Houses educational and research labs, office spaces, exhibits, classroom, conference rooms, and an auditorium

• Primarily used for school programs, conferences, workshops, and research

• It is a component of DNERR under the Division of Soil and Water for DNREC

The St. Jones Reserve cont.

• Research Department: 1 manager, 2 head researchers, 2 Graduate School research assistant, 1 Research Intern

• Education Department: 1 manager, 2 head environmental educators, 1 Education Intern

• Reserve Manager

• Americorp Volunteer Coordinator

My Job

• Environmental Educator– Nature interpreter– Design new educational programs– Increase advertisement

• Miscellaneous – Horseshoe crab research– “Naturalist Notebook” author– Reserve Artist– Canoe trip guide– Website design (

http://www.dnrec.state.de.us/DNREC2000/Divisions/Soil/DNERR/Projects.htm)

How was I trained?

• Read management plan • Accompanied every wetland tour and

took notes• Read all children’s books in Reserve

Library• Examined existing curriculum

Nature Interpreter

• Native species vs. Invasive species

• Riparian buffer• 4 most important

aspects about estuaries– 1. SPONGE– 2. NURSERY– 3. HABITAT– 4. AESTHETIC

New Programs I designed

• Preschool Naturalist curriculum• Crab Moon 3-D horseshoe crab w/ a decorated shell• Raccoon Moon face masks• Crabby’s Water Wish finger paint a clean water

habitat• Tammy the Turtle clay saucer turtle

• Estuary Explorers Day-Camp• Poetry in Motion• No-Trash Lunch Experiment

Naturalist Notebook

• The Skimmer – the St. Jones Reserve’s quarterly newsletter

• “Naturalist Notebook” –focuses on one specific animal found in an estuary environment

St. Jones Reserve Artist

SPOTLIGHT:Horseshoe Crabs

Environmental and Community Contributions

• Exposing

• Educating

• Conserving

Issues Facing the Reserve

• Teamwork amongst Research and Educational departments

• Publicity– Flyers, website, publications, press

releases

I learned about…

• the importance of wetlands• interesting/random facts about

estuaries and wildlife• the importance of DNERR and NERR• my new home state