American Littoral Society

For the first time ever students from Camden and Newark met at Sedge for a program of common interest- conservation of natural resources. Six students from the Urban Trekers Program in Camden paired up with six from the North Star Academy in Newark for three days of activities. For the entire time they were at Sedge they shared everything. They began by moving their gear into one of the tiny Sedge bedrooms. After a quick lunch the newly formed pairs attempted to kayak, but a fast moving cold front with winds of more than forty miles per hour limited our paddling to the area near the dock.

Later that evening we had a visit from John Wnek. To add to the excitement, his wife Patricia who is expecting a baby any day accompanied him. John demonstrated how he tags diamond backed terrapins that the students had seen laying eggs earlier in the day. The storm stranded our visitors on the island for the night and the happy couple left at 5:00am the following morning. They did not set a record for the first baby born on Sedge Island.

Despite their lack of kayaking experience our seven-mile paddle to the dike on the second day was trouble free. Toward the end of our paddle we approached the Bahamas, the large sandbar southwest of the house. We saw a boat high and dry. With less than two inches of water under the hull and a falling tide, it appeared that the owners, young couple and their two-year-old daughter, would be stranded for many hours. Our group decided to attempt a rescue mission. With all of us pushing, pulling and lifting we managed to move the boat into deeper water. Great teamwork allowed us to accomplish what Sea Tow had been unable to do.

On their last morning at Sedge students gave oral reports on topics they had studied while on the island. As they shared their feelings about their Sedge experience Chris Williams, a senior at the North Star Academy who describes himself as a philosopher, read the following poem.

An Island Like You
An island like you
Mirror
Not in the rear view
Viewpoint
Perspective
Success is a journey
Not a destination
Destination never culminates
Even after decimation
A mark is left
Whether big or little
Follow your intuition
You can never fail
What is success?
If you never fail
Opposing forces clash when not in agreement

An island like you
You may never see it
Never characterize possible as impossible
Then your mind shall never be sinkable
Key to life
Life ABCDEFG of the piano
I complain because of my ability
Offspring fly 1,000 miles for free
Money is personified as mankinds motivation
Why isn’t it fighting the temptation?

An island like you
Cannot be sought through excavation
Instead contemplation, meditation, isolation
Archeologist cannot find ones passion but only you
Even in the midst of far worse struggles, its an island like you