|
 |
 |
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
[Back to index of June articles] Boat blessing By Meg Bryant "God bless the boat!" With those words the Rev. David MacDonald, rector of Christ Church, Durham, in Nanjemoy, christened the 24-foot research boat "Betts" on May 21, as his wife, Betty, poured champagne over the vessel's gleaming white prow. Then, the boat was eased down the ramp at historic Friendship Landing and launched onto Nanjemoy Creek. The event marked the start of Project NESSY, an ambitious plan to monitor and safeguard water quality in Nanjemoy Creek in northwestern Charles County, the only remaining tributary of the Potomac watershed that has no sewage flowing into it. Members of Christ Church, as well as local and regional supporters, gathered under sun-drenched skies to celebrate the champagne launch and blessing of the fleet, as a gentle breeze rustled through towering trees and egrets and blue herons dipped into clear waters offshore. A smattering of kayaks, a fire and rescue boat and several other boats pulled up alongside the landing to also be blessed, something MacDonald hopes to turn into an annual event. Students, with adult assistance, will take biweekly water samples from the Nanjemoy, analyze them for dissolved oxygen levels, turbidity, phosphates, nitrogen and water temperature, and share the findings with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Nature Conservancy, and other interested groups. The group will also map submerged aquatic vegetation in the creek. Water samples will be collected at seven designated points between Friendship Landing and where Nanjemoy Creek flows into the Potomac, using high-tech scientific data collection instrumentation and environmental software. The tests will be conducted from late May to early November. According to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, NESSY is the first group of its type to provide both training and water sampling on the western shore of the bay. MacDonald sees the effort as an ideal way for adults to work with and mentor local youth and not be considered "square or boring." Plus, he said, "it keeps them environmentally aware that this is God's creation and we need to take care of it; it's very much a Celtic model" of Christianity, emphasizing teamwork, ministry and bearing witness. The initiative began as a community outreach by members of the 313-year-old parish, which was looking for a way to raise environmental awareness in the face of a recent growth spurt that has begun to pepper the rural hillsides of Nanjemoy with clusters of modern subdivisions. As word of the project spread, local politicians and environmental groups lent their support to NESSY. Thus far, 14 girls and boys between the ages of 8 and 18 have signed up to participate in the program, along with a number of adult volunteers. Amanda Coburn, 17, said she sees NESSY as a way to get a head start on college, where she plans to major in marine biology, beginning in the fall. "It should be fun," she added. Fifteen-year-old Ethan Stewart said he has already talked to his high school science teacher to see about weaving his work on the water into a science project for the coming school year. The 'Betts' itself is the product of a tough-love program that MacDonald initiated while pastor of a parish in St. Croix, Virgin Islands, to try and redirect troubled youth who had been kicked out of high school. Of about 120 kids who went through the program over four years, 25 eventually got a high school diploma, and 14 of those went on to work in the marine technology field, he notes proudly. When the boat was finally completed, the administrator of the vocational technology school with which MacDonald had been working gave the skiff back to the rector and his wife, who a year ago moved to Durham, and the 75-hp vessel was specially outfitted to handle water collection, analysis, and data storage. Among the new equipment on board are oxygenation meters, paid for by a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust. Nanjemoy Creek is heavily used for recreation, fishing and crabbing, and is the nesting grounds for one of the largest colonies of great blue herons on the East Coast. Approximately 1,400 of the 4-foot-tall wading birds returned to raise their young there this spring. The area also is home to mink, river otters, rails, the rare dwarf wedge mussel and assorted wetland vegetation. "More and more we see the importance of water quality and our nonrenewable resources," explained NESSY Project Manager Gloria Jean Heisserman, a member of Christ Church with an extensive background in environmental conservation. Noting that a coastal conservation group had just released thousands of baby yellow perch into the headwaters of the Nanjemoy, she added, "It's our charge to make sure that the water is good and clean and that it stays that way." [Back to index of June articles]
|
|
||||||||||
