South Orange River Day, Sunday May 7th, 2017
Bumpification.
I'm surprised more people aren't interested in this.
We've never been but are hoping to go this year--looks like it'll be a gorgeous day.
Any input from past attendees about how toddler-friendly the River Day events are?
My kids have been going since they were babies. They start out in a carrier or backpack and then graduate to rain boots and gloves and wade in the shallow parts or walk the banks with us. I'd say three and up should be able to really participate with adult help, though every kid is different.
I stopped by River Day, and found myself delightfully surprised. Some nice tables with freebies from Trader Joes and Whole Foods. Free bottled water. I really enjoyed the 7th graders' tables with explanations of the Rahway watershed. Good music. Yoga class had a very nice turnout. Sorry I wasn't hungry. Would have liked to try the taco from Taqueria Autentica.
We had a great time, as did oyr kindergartener. She was more into splashing around and exploring the river but we managed to pick up some trash.
The South Orange Seaport folks are out there with the radio controlled boats as well. Fun stuff.
River Day was soooo great! Our family had a wonderful day. My 7 year old daughter and I walked the river cleaning up. My 12 year old had fun doing the same with her buddies. The DPW took away 4 tons of garbage that was collected (!). That's twice what they took away last year (scary? Good? I dunno) Anyway, the river has visible garbage removed from it and hopefully that will deter dumb people from throwing their garbage in, if they don;t see other garbage there.
The vibe was relaxed, there was some very interesting information being presented. We had delicious free apples and bananas and listened to some very nice acoustic guitar. Most importantly our kids were learning about stewardship or our local water way and its importance.I was a fabulous day and a fabulous event!
Went, got two buckets of trash and the kids had a great time. Amazing how many beer cans there are in the bed of that river. Are teens tossing them in after elicit drinking or are there just a lot of slovenly adults?
The website seems to have some missing files, but here's the link: http://www.soriverday.org/
Sunday May 3rd, from 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Participants and Exhibitors
Bicycle Donation - Boys & Girls Clubs of Newark Bike Exchange
Ecology Walk & Ground Water Display - Dr. Kirk Barrett
Essex Community Energy - Essex Green Teams Coalition
Farrell Field Park Conservancy
Home Composting - Millburn Green Team
Jersey Buzz Honey - Aaron Daniels
*Music - Jonathan Fritz, Guitarist
NJ Watershed Ambassadors
re:Yard – Essex Green Teams Coalition
River Greenway Project
River Yoga – South Mountain Yoga
SO Environmental Commission and Green Team
South Orange Village Center Alliance - SOVCA
Sustainable Yards Workshop – Neil Chambers
Wild Edibles Walk – Dan Lipow