On the Edge of Philadelphia
Two weeks ago, the Ambassadors had a pretty calm week before venturing northeast to the border of Bucks County to visit Glen Foerd, a historic estate that overlooks the Delaware River and Poquessing Creek. They wrapped up their week on Saturday by cleaning up our river basin at ISM. Taniyah provides some insight into their week below!
“This week at Independence Seaport museum (ISM), it has been a very fun, relaxing week. Tuesday was a regular teaching day. However, no one came into learn about plant dissections that day. My coworker and I ended up leaving work early because we finished everything early. The next day, we went to Glen Foerd. That day was fun due to being able to row boats out into the Delaware River. It was different from being at ISM due to the open space. Thankfully, we got to do a competition to see which team filtered the best water. My team won!!! This day was my favorite. Thursday, was another regular day. Adding on, Saturday was Basin cleanup day. We cleaned up the River, and Mayci found a giant pipe! Lastly, that day we left earlier than ever. I'm excited to see what the next week holds!”
Ivan also seemed to enjoy his trip on the 8th! He provides his perspective of their trip, as well as his experience in the program so far, below!
“So far, my experience as a River Ambassador at the Independence Seaport Museum has been absolutely wonderful. This youth program is definitely a space where one is able to be who they are and connect with their peers. No one is left behind. When us Ambassadors aren't busy teaching the public about the importance of our interactions with the environment, we do various exchanges with youth organizations like us...”
“...One of the places I actually went to was named Glen Foerd, which is located near the division of Northeast Philadelphia and Bucks County. To start off the exchange, I was pretty happy that we didn't have to reintroduce ourselves. Instead, we all partook in a team challenge to create a water filtration device out of bottles and other, natural materials. Later on, we rowed boats in the river nearby. My group went near the shore to collect rocks and shells as souvenirs! I was also very mesmerized by the interior of the mansion on the property. Plus, Amber was a great guest as always...”
”...Like every week or so, all Ambassadors have to participate in Wetland Maintenance where we rid the basin of as much trash as possible. We find many unpleasant things there. You could find a 3 meter branch, a dead bulgy rat, and even a mutilated fish. Any dead animals and large pieces of debris can stay; however, all plastics have to go in a trash bag. The Delaware River will always have trash in it, so it makes sense to only remove the inorganic material...”
”...Speaking of Wetlands, during a thunderstorm, one of our floating Wetlands had flipped over. Me and another Ambassador, who goes by the name of Romeo, decided to jump into kayaks and flip it back over. It was a very inconvenient process because the material used as a flotation device gathered a lot of water. So, to fix the problem, a kind museum staff member had the ingenious idea of placing one cinder block on each side of the of the wetland to keep it balanced while the water left from inside. So as you can see, this job requires a lot of hands on action. And honestly, that's why I love it so much.”
Want to hear more from our Ambassadors? Stay tuned for Brianna and Jayla’s perspective of last week!
