S!NERGY: Ideas from Youth on Protecting New Jersey’s Waterways

On Oct. 2, 2021 International Association of Youth and Students for Peace co-hosted a S!NERGY event online with the New Jersey Ocean Tribe on the theme of “Creative Solutions to Accessing and Protecting New Jersey Waterways”.  Three presentations were given live by individuals and teams of youth to a panel of judges who evaluated their theme-related ideas and proposals. Audience members watching via livestream on facebook were also able to cast their votes online during the event. Each presenter won a placement and received a cash grant.

In first place was Jung Hae Joo with her presentation “Project: Plastic Scenery”. Her proposal addressed how to collect and take out micro plastics from the river using ferrofluid; a liquid developed by NASA. Ferrofluid is able to attract microplastics in water and can be pulled out using a magnet. The final outcome she desired was to reuse the collected microplastics into outdoor structures, such as park benches and art sculptures. 

Second place went to Asami Maruyama and Hana Tripathee with their team’s idea called “Trash Trend Project”. This project focussed on addressing the problem of dumping in the rivers by using social media platforms by “sending a message to the world”. They shared an example of a reverse trend on tik tok called “Angelic Yield” that was created to counter a more negatively impactful trend. Their hope is to create an online, viral trend that people can join to promote cleaning litter and preventing trash from getting washed into the rivers. 

Taking third place was Kai Schnetzer who created a proposal with Takafumi Mashiko and their youth group. Their project, “Marine Life Stewardship” addressed the problem of invasive species in New Jersey’s rivers, specifically the snakehead fish in the Delaware River. They proposed hosting a fishing tournament that targeted the snakehead fish. The winner would be chosen based on the number of snakehead fish caught instead of the largest. Because invasive species need to be eliminated instead of put back into the rivers, they also wanted to collaborate with chefs and volunteers to cook the fish after the tournament so that they won’t go to waste.  

Guest judges for this S!NERGY event included Marc Rogoff, Lead Education Specialist for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection; Jodi Jamieson, Project Manager for the Hackensack Riverkeeper; and Laurie Howard, Executive Director of the Passaic River Coalition. 

To watch the competition recording, click HERE.