4 minute read
An Interview with Senior Naturalist Essex County Environmental Center, David Alexander
By Jackie Schatell
The Essex County Environmental Center is a little- known gem situated right here in Essex County. The person responsible for all of the terrific programming is David Alexander, Senior Naturalist, Essex County Environmental Center, County of Essex, Department of Parks. This month, we sat down with David to learn more about his being a naturalist, the department and services it offers, as well as about current and future programming.
What is a naturalist?
Someone who is always exploring and learning about the natural world and gets to share their enthusiasm for it with program participants of all ages.
What made you choose the field?
Interacting with nature always provided me with rich sensory experiences and my interest in tourism and travel all led to a love of parks. It has been a source of pride to work in the same park system for 17 years that I grew up playing in.
What do you like best about it?
The work is always fresh as we offer educational programming opportunities that follow the seasons. I get to take what I’m enthusiastic about and turn it into engaging programing with the public that hopefully results in joy but also encourages a stewardship ethic and empowers others to take action to make better choices for our environment.
What is a project you are working on that is close to your heart?
I’ve been working with scouts and community groups to help create, cleanup, and promote better access to the Passaic River within Essex County’s West Essex Park. It is an impressively beautiful river in places and offers wonderful opportunities to canoe, kayak, bird watch, fish and just get out and enjoy local nature close to home.
What types of paddlesport trips do you offer?
The Upper Passaic River offers wonderful opportunities for recreation within easy access of millions of New Jersey residents. Participants can join us at the Essex County Environmental Center on scheduled guided canoe trips or paddle with their own boats by entering the river at available public access points. The Essex County Environmental Center only offers scheduled public and private group trips.
Do you have plans for any fall paddlesport trips, if so, please share the details?
We’ll be continuing to host public and private group Passaic River canoe trips from our access point behind the environmental center. Programs are posted on our website, Facebook and emailed out to those on our mailing list. Group leaders can call to schedule their own private programs.
What else do you offer at the Essex County Environmental Center?
In July we’ll have our Butterfly Tent Safari programming that allows close interactions with butterflies as you feed them on a foam brush dipped in Gatorade within a tent filled with native host and nectar plants. The program will entertain but also educate about how we can all be better neighbors for biodiversity by providing the right plants to act as a banquet for butterflies.
In August we’ll have a Buzzfest and learn about how honey goes from the hive to a jar, current challenges bees face and what we can do to help these important pollinators.
We also offer Frog Pond Science as a class and field trip offering, Family Frog Pond Visits, Frog Pond Club, and Hop, Walk, slither Summer Camp as well as other summer camp activities.
What is something people may not know about your department of will find surprising?
The Environmental Center is an environmentally friendly building with a green roof that attracts pollinators, recycled rubber shingles, rain garden, rain barrels, recycled plastic decking, recycled glass tiles in bathrooms, it is built on stilts to reduce impact on the surrounding wetland and offers access to some short family friendly trails that visit a frog pond, beehives, the Passaic River, a Lenape Learning Area, Bird Lane trail and more.
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