Let the Sedge Season Begin

The air was 75F and the water was 62F. The sky was clear. The sun was bright. Conditions were perfect as ten Friends of Sedge joined three staff members and four interns for our annual “Open the House” weekend.

One of our priorities was to get the place ready for the first group. We turned on the water and got the generator running. (Karen and I were able to accomplish this with help some of the Friends and long distance consultation phone calls to Tony Raniero in Florida.) This being done, we were able to accomplish many of our usual chores. We washed windows, cleaned the cabinets, washed the dishes, put up screens, cleared out the boathouse, cleaned both Clivus, re-rigged the fishing rods, checked the composter, and moved empty propane tanks to Island Beach. In addition, because we had so much help, we were able to work on some new projects. We worked on the garden rain barrel irrigation system. We finished construction on the platform to hold the kitchen rain barrel. We raised the level of Jackie’s garden by eight inches.

Our interns are, as usual, an incredible group of individuals. All have had prior experience at Sedge. Emily Olson, who is just completing her freshman year at University of Delaware, spent most of last summer at Sedge. Madalyn Kulas, is finishing her sophomore year at the Stevens Institute where she is studying environmental engineering. Taylor Sehein is graduating from MATES and will be attending the University of Florida where she will study Marine Biology. Tom Segear will be at Rutgers in the fall and he will study ecology and environmental science.

Our staff training was a real success. Because everyone had spent time with groups at Sedge last year, we were able to move quickly through many of the basics. Jason took the group on the short kayak trip through the marsh as a refresher on one of our basic programs. Katina did a session on journaling and Karen updated some of the paper work necessary for volunteering at Sedge. In the evening former staff member, Dr. Tom Verzi talked about his research and invited interns to join him as he works with oyster catchers and osprey. Dr. Gary Patterson talked about some of he political battles he has fought during his long career as head of the Rowan University Graduate program in Environmental Studies.

Thank you to everyone who helped out this weekend. Sedge could not go on without you.

Early March 2009

I visited Sedge several times this past month. The first two trips were by kayak in near-freezing temperatures (both air and water). One time I paddled out from the dock at Island Beach. The following week, I paddled from my house in Seaside with some friends from the Jersey Shore Sea kayak Association (17 miles round trip)

Everything looked pretty good. The lights had not blown off the poles on the dock. None of the buildings had been broken into. The house had the usual accumulation of dirt but it was not filthy. The pile of broken clamshells on the deck (dropped by gulls) was no larger than usual. I measured the location of the raised bed vegetable garden we plan to develop in the spring. I made a diagram of the rainwater collection system we will build using 55 gal rain barrels. These will be our new projects for the spring.

Karen, Jason and I have been planning for the 2009 season. Our schedule is as busy as ever with many returning groups and a smattering of new ones. Karen has ordered new equipment including ten new kayaks. Construction on the solar and wind power systems is scheduled to begin in April.

We are excited about our interns. One is returning after working last year. The other three have helped out at Sedge so they know what to expect. We will have a very good crew. We are all looking forward to the Staff orientation/Friends of Sedge weekend on April 25 and 26th.

Jim