Green Eggs and Sand Educator Workshop

Horseshoe crab eggs on the beach. Photo from The Wetlands Institute.

During the full and new moon events in May and June thousands of horseshoe crabs come ashore to spawn, primarily in Delaware Bay. At the same time migrating shorebirds descend upon the beaches to rest and feed on the horseshoe crab eggs before continuing onto their breeding grounds. This interaction between horseshoe crab, shorebird and humans is what lays the ground works for the Green Eggs & Sand (GE&S) workshop.

The GE&S workshop is a three-day workshop for teachers focused on understanding the issues, science and management of the horseshoe crab/shorebird interaction. Workshop participants learn from top researchers and natural managers in the field, and participate in a horseshoe crab count.

Educators and natural resource managers from Delaware, Maryland and New Jersey developed the curriculum, and designed it for use with middle and high school students. It is broken down into four modules that introduce students to the lives of horseshoe crabs, their extraordinary history, ecological niche, interrelationships with other species and the challenges of managing horseshoe crabs.

At the end of the workshop participants take home the activity rich GE&S curriculum package and video that has been correlated to the national-learning standards in science, social studies, math and language arts.

For further information please contact Karen Byrne at 609-748-4347 or via e-mail at Karen.Byrne@dep.nj.gov.


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