Delaware River Festival: A day to connect people and the environment

PHILADELPHIA — With Philadelphia’s skyline disappearing behind a misty fog rolling through the gray afternoon skies, more than a dozen booths on each side of the river on Saturday educated Delaware River Festival-goers about the Delaware’s ecosystem.

It was environmental education that proved to be the most important topic on the promenades of both Penn’s Landing and Wiggins Park as families came from Pennsylvania and New Jersey to explore the festivities and lined up and down along the choppy river waterfront.

“One of the main goals of the festival is to provide learning experiences and connect with our waterways and environment as a whole, not only for young people but people of all ages,” said Chesa Blom, the Philadelphia community programs coordinator for the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, which organized the festival. “We feel like the best way for all of our residents throughout the Delaware River watershed to protect their water and be good stewards of our environment is to learn about it.”

The festival, which an estimated 1,000 people attended, was free. Blom believes such accessibility is important to a better-informed community.

“Since this festival has been going on, we’ve really tried to keep all of the activities accessible to the community,” Blom said. “Obviously, we are trying to educate the communities of Philadelphia and Camden, and I think the easiest way to do that is to continue to make the activities free and open for everyone.”

Marc Rogoff, lead environmental education specialist at the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, believes that the Delaware River Fest helps educate children about the environment. 

His booth on the Camden waterfront featured animal pelts and skulls, shells, rocks, and ancient fossils that he’s gathered throughout his 46 years as an educator in New Jersey.

“What we’re doing here is important for these kids. They’re going to be exposed to things that they would not be exposed to normally,” Rogoff said. “Every kid runs over here and wants to touch the animal pelts or the fossils, and I make a point of allowing them to do so. We are sensory beings. Seeing and touching makes us care.”

Beyond the educational aspects of the festival, attendees had the opportunity to traverse the Penn’s Landing marina on pedal-powered swan boats and take the River Link Ferry to and from the waterfronts. 

On the ferry, binoculars were provided to riders to catch glimpses of birds cruising over the rainy river chop. When the ferry departed from each waterfront, the boat whistle blew and sent the children on the ferry laughing, screaming and running up and down the deck.

“It’s really great being able to come here and have the kids explore different things and learn about our environment,” said Sylvia Mincey, a mother from Philadelphia who brought her kids to the festival. “It’s good to get them off their video games and get outside exercise. They’re learning and having fun at the same time.”

Through the educational booths at the festival, the Riverlink Ferry and swan boats, attendees were able to connect on a physical level with the Delaware River, which can be difficult for some living in Philadelphia and Camden.

“It’s hard to care about something that you don’t know about,” Blom said. “So really what we’re trying to do is — through all of our exhibitors and the wonderful organizations that come to the festival — teach different facets of our watershed so that we can all be good stewards and help protect our water.”

Marc Rogoff agreed.

“This isn’t our world. We share this world with a lot of different organisms and if you don’t have some connection to them, you don’t care about them,” Rogoff said. “This is similar to going to the zoo. A lot of people say zoos are bad because animals are in captivity, but if you never saw an elephant, what would cause you to care about one? So for the animals that are in zoos, they are the catalysts for making that connection to all of us so that many thousands of others can continue to live in the wild. Things like this really allow for that education to happen.”