Willow Pond teaches ecology lessons

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PERTH AMBOY - Krystal Febles wants to make sure the natural beauty in her hometown is preserved so in the future, when she's married with a family, she can bring them to Willow Pond, the city's only freshwater body of water.

"I want it to be as beautiful as I've known it," said Febles, 17, a Perth Amboy High School senior who, as a member of school's Environmental Club, has helped remove trash cans, shoes and car parts from the waterway.

"A lot of things we've taken out," she said. "I can't believe people dump them in the pond, but I know I'm making a difference."

During a news conference at the pond Wednesday, Mayor Joseph Vas, a Democratic 19th District state Assemblyman who is up for re-election next month, urged everyone to do more to make a difference in the environment.

"Each one of us has a role in protecting the environment," said Vas.

Vas's candidacy has been endorsed by the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club.

Becca Glenn, New Jersey Sierra Club program assistant, said Vas has supported every environmental bill.

Vas was prime sponsor of legislation last year that appropriated more than $52 million from the Garden State Farmland Preservation Trust Fund for farmland preservation.

As part of his efforts to protect the environment, Vas urged voters to support Public Question No. 3 on the Nov. 6 ballot that will provide an additional $200 million for open-space projects, like Willow Pond, and for farmland- and historic-preservation projects and voluntary buyouts of flood-prone properties.

The Garden State Preservation Trust, which finances the Green Acres, Farmland and Historical Preservation programs, is running out of money, and there has been no successful long-term funding proposal. Public Question No. 3 would provide one-year stop gap funding to allow the programs to continue or operate while legislators work to identify and secure a stable funding source for the trust, according to the Sierra Club.

Vas said Green Acres programs are one of the successes in the state of New Jersey, which has advanced open space. Green Acres funds have been used to rehabilitate 19 of the city's 21 parks.

Reyes Ortega of the city, one of the Republican candidates in the 19th District state Assembly race, said he too is in favor of protecting the environment.

"It's important for everyone," Ortega said.

Willow Pond is a habitat for waterfowl and serves as a stop for migratory birds.

In 1995 the pond was privately owned by a developer who wanted to develop it. The city worked to acquire Willow Pond and the surrounding property as part of a state Department of Environmental Protection Green Acres project. The pond and surrounding 13 acres became part of the Veteran's Memorial Youth Complex.

In 2004 the city reached out to the school district to become involved with the pond. Rebecca McLelland-Crawley, a Perth Amboy High School science teacher and Environmental Club adviser, developed a student program that adopted the pond.

The Willow Pond Nature Preserve is maintained by the Perth Amboy Watershed stewards who have removed tons of debris from the pond.

McLelland-Crawley said her students clean up the pond once a month. The Perth Amboy Fire Department provides a boat to help in their efforts. In the spring, students conduct weekly water quality tests.

"The students, they are the stewards of the pond," said McLelland-Crawley adding with grant funds they can help preserve the pond. "It's a great service learning opportunity for the students of Perth Amboy."

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