Author: Leah Wells

For more than two decades, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey has inspired fifth graders across the state to celebrate wildlife through the Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest. Each year, students combine creativity, research, and conservation awareness to highlight New Jersey’s threatened and endangered species through original artwork and essays.

This year, students representing counties throughout New Jersey submitted impressive entries that reflected both artistic talent and a deep understanding of wildlife conservation. Participants selected a wide range of species to feature in their projects, showcasing the incredible diversity of wildlife found throughout the Garden State.

To enter the contest, students created an original piece of artwork and wrote an essay about a threatened, endangered, or special concern species, describing its habitat, challenges, and the importance of protecting it for future generations. Entries featured many remarkable species, from marine wildlife and migratory birds to reptiles, amphibians, and mammals native to New Jersey.

A panel of judges, including CWF biologists and conservation professionals, carefully reviewed each submission. Judges evaluated the creativity and quality of the artwork and essays, along with the accuracy of the species representation and conservation information. After thoughtful consideration, one winner and one runner-up were selected from each participating county.

We are grateful to our contest sponsors Atlantic City Electric, Church & Dwight, and Phillips 66 Bayway Refinery.

We are excited to announce the winners of the 2026 Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest and celebrate the outstanding efforts of all participating students, parents, teachers, and schools who helped make this year’s contest a success.

Atlantic County

First Place: Karsyn Priestley (Belhaven Middle School)

Second Place: Avalon Rendfrey (Belhaven Middle School)

Bergen County

First Place: Grace Lian (Manito Elementary School)

Second Place: Celine Cho (East Brook Middle School)

Camden County

First Place: Thomas Mohen (Homeschool)

Second Place: Hirva Patel (Mary E. Volz Middle School)

Cape May County

First Place: Chloe Cooper (Crest Memorial School)

Second Place: Avery Shapiro (Crest Memorial School)

Essex County

First Place: Samuel Aronoff (Yantacaw Elementary School)

Second Place: Arnav Mahajan (Yantacaw Elementary School)

Gloucester County

First Place: Leila Pacheco (J. Mason Tomlin Elementary School)

Second Place: Mira Gale (J. Mason Tomlin Elementary School)

Hudson County

First Place: Noreen Abdelmonem (Miftaahul Uloom Academy)

Second Place: Bhavya Golellu (Golden Door Charter School)

Hunterdon County

First Place: Emerson Pringle (Thomas B. Conley Elementary School)

Second Place: Reilly W. Evangelista (East Amwell Township School)

Mercer County

First Place: Alexander Ren (Stony Brook Elementary School)

Second Place: Riaan Puhan (Stony Brook Elementary School)

Middlesex County

First Place: Anthony Yurkovic (Hammarskjold Upper Elementary School)

Second Place: Isabella Osorio (Greater Brunswick Charter School)

Monmouth County

First Place: Emma Smith (Manasquan Elementary School)

Second Place: Shane Shelly (Manasquan Elementary School)

Morris County

First Place: Juha Lee (Valley View Elementary School)

Ocean County

First Place: Grady Pearsall (Nellie F. Bennett Elementary School)

Second Place: Delaney Fitzgerald (Nellie F. Bennett Elementary School)

Salem County

First Place: Lila Jusko (Creativity CoLaboratory Charter)

Second Place: Anderson Ale (Creativity CoLaboratory Charter)

Somerset County

First Place: Beverly Medina (School of Saint Elizabeth)

Second Place: Charlotte Yang (Mount Horeb Elementary School)

Sussex County

First Place: Violet Csencsits (Sandyston-Walpack Consolidated School)

Second Place: Imanol Cornejo (Sandyston-Walpack Consolidated School)

Union County

First Place: Noelle Mendoza (St. Theresa School)

Second Place: Nyah Harris (St. Theresa School)

Warren County

First Place: Hazel Ochs (Ridge and Valley Charter School)

Second Place: Bayla Philips Moraa (Memorial Elementary School)

On April 17, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey gathered at Tremley Point in Linden for the Blue Acres Floodplain Restoration Spring Planting and Clean-up Day. In partnership with Phillips 66, Infineum, FirstEnergy, Groundwork Elizabeth, and the City of Linden, volunteers planted trees, cleared invasive weeds, and enhanced green spaces.

This ongoing restoration project, launched in 2020, focuses on protecting flood-prone areas, creating wildlife habitat, and strengthening climate resilience. During the event, the team planted 60 native trees and shrubs and removed debris, improving site conditions and supporting the return of native vegetation. These efforts help reduce pollution and create a healthier environment for both wildlife and the surrounding community.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Blue Acres Program focuses on acquiring properties in flood-prone areas, relocating residents, and converting those vulnerable lands into natural floodplains. These restored areas serve as buffers during storms, absorbing excess water and reducing flood risks for surrounding communities.

The April 17th visit brought together a great group of partners and volunteers, all working toward a shared goal of restoring the ecological function of the site while enhancing its value for the community. Each planting contributes to stabilizing the soil, improving water quality, and rebuilding habitat for native wildlife. Over time, these efforts help transform previously developed land into thriving green space.

Native plants play a big role in this work. By reintroducing species adapted to local conditions, the team helps outcompete invasive plants while creating habitat for pollinators, birds, and other wildlife. These plantings also improve the site’s ability to filter runoff and reduce erosion which is an important function in areas that regularly experience flooding. Rain gardens and low-lying areas across the site further enhance stormwater management while supporting biodiversity.

Projects like Blue Acres highlight how conservation and climate resilience go hand in hand. By restoring floodplains and wetlands, these sites not only provide critical wildlife habitat but also help safeguard nearby communities from the increasing impacts of severe storms and sea-level rise. The work completed on April 17th is one piece of a much larger effort. One that will continue to evolve as native vegetation establishes and the landscape gradually returns to a more natural state.

Installing bat houses along utility rights-of-way can seem like a natural fit, these open, linear corridors often provide ideal flyways for bats and can support abundant insect life. However, getting bats to actually use those structures is another story. Even with thoughtful placement and a variety of bat house designs, occupancy is never guaranteed.

Last year, EPRI, DuBois Environmental Consultants, and First Energy Corp installed bat houses along FirstEnergy rights-of-way, with multiple designs grouped together to increase the chances of success. To better understand how bats were interacting with these sites, acoustic monitoring devices were also deployed. The acoustic data confirmed that bats were actively using these corridors for foraging and movement, highlighting that the habitat itself was suitable.

Continue reading “Using Light Lures to Improve Bat House Success Along Utility Rights-of-Way”

This year marked my third time attending the Northeast Bat Working Group (NEBWG) annual meeting, held in Saratoga Springs, New York. Over the past few years, this three-day conference has become a valuable space for connection, learning, and collaboration among bat biologists, researchers, and educators from across the region. Once again, the meeting was both engaging and energizing, offering new perspectives while building on conversations from years past.

Continue reading “Protecting Bats Through Science and Collaboration”

A collection of some of my favorite camera trap photos from the field, capturing candid moments of New Jersey wildlife and offering a glimpse into the species we encounter through our monitoring work.

Enjoy!

The New Jersey Endangered Species List just got expanded, which leaves more data to be submitted to the New Jersey Wildlife Tracker! The NJ Wildlife Tracker is our go-to place for submitting: 1) rare wildlife species sightings as well as 2) observations of wildlife (of any kind) on roadways.

Our biggest submissions of commonly known species are bobcats, box turtles, and Bald Eagles! Bobcats are found in over half of New Jersey counties and are native wild cats historically found throughout New Jersey. 

We also have a significant number of commonly known species that were added to the Endangered Species List that you might be surprised to see listed there. A few of these that you might be familiar with include: Green Heron, Purple Martin, Northern Diamond-backed Terrapins, Bottlenose Dolphins, and the Monarch Butterfly.

A fact that is even more surprising than this precious butterfly being listed as Special Concern is that ALL bat species in New Jersey are now on the list, Yikes! If you happen to encounter on any of these precious bat species injured, please contact a NJ Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitator who treats bats. If you would like to learn more about how New Jersey Fish and Wildlife are combatting this, you can read all about it on their website NJDEP| Fish & Wildlife | Bat Conservation. 

Lastly, if you encounter any wild animal, please treat them with respect and ensure your safety first before attempting to assist it. To view the full list of endangered species, click here: NJDEP| Fish & Wildlife | New Jersey’s Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern Species. To view a comprehensive guide to New Jerseys Endangered and Threatened Species, click here: Rare Species Field Guide / Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ

Earlier this month, I attended the Northeast Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (NEPARC) conference at the Pocono Environmental Education Center in Pennsylvania. NEPARC’s mission is to build a community that values, protects, and conserves local amphibians, reptiles, and their habitats across the Northeast, and the conference was the perfect example of that vision in action.

Continue reading “NEPARC Conference Recap: Salamanders, Waterfalls, and Conservation Connections”

The Barnegat Light habitat restoration site has wrapped up its best breeding season for beach nesting birds since the start of the restoration project in 2019. This is exciting news given it was a challenging year at many other breeding sites along the New Jersey coast this year.

Piping plovers, the prime focus of the restoration, had an especially good season. Seventeen (17) fledglings were produced from six pairs for a fledge rate of 2.83 per pair, well above the federal recovery goal of 1.50 fledglings per pair and even more above the anticipated statewide rate for 2025. The six pairs represent the high number for the restoration site, up from one breeding pair remaining at the inlet just before the project began.

Continue reading “Barnegat Light Habitat Restoration Breeding Update”

Audrey Randazzo – Crew Leader

This is Audrey’s third year with CWF surveying beach nesting birds. After graduating from Delaware Valley University’s conservation and wildlife management program in 2021, she has been doing field research on endangered birds throughout the Eastern U.S. From studying Henslow’s sparrow in North Carolina to working on raptor research in upstate New York, she has a lot of experience with studying birds.

Audrey’s favorite parts of the job are finding nests and watching chicks grow into fledglings. She also really enjoys how her work with CWF allows her to spend more time outside, especially in places that are inaccessible to the public. She is greatly appreciative of the opportunities she has had to work so closely with wildlife and recognizes what a privilege it is. 

A raptor-lover at heart, Audrey’s favorite bird is the Northern harrier, but of the beach nesting birds, piping plovers take the cake. She loves their personalities and their adorable chicks, which she affectionately describes as “puffballs with legs”. Her favorite plover is MJ (Michael Jackson) due to his outgoing personality.

Outside of work, Audrey enjoys hiking, paddleboarding, and kayaking.

Gianna Canale

Gianna has been working for CWF for three years and has spent that time focused on the beach nesting birds project. She graduated from Juniata College with a degree in wildlife conservation, inspired by her childhood spent enjoying nature with her family. In addition to her work with CWF, Gianna also helps the state of New Jersey with chronic wasting disease sampling in deer and with the Waterfowl Ecology and Management Program. 

Her favorite parts about working for CWF are the closeness she has developed with the crew and the jokes and stories that they share. She also enjoys getting to see the birds incubate and raise their chicks.

Of the beach nesting birds, Gianna’s favorite species is the piping plover because she finds them to have unique personalities and attitudes. She is especially fond of the plover Sasquatch, since she was part of the crew that got to name her and because Sasquatch tends to live up to her name (her nests are often tricky to find).

In her free time, Gianna enjoys birding and being active outdoors.

Kaiulani Sund

Now in her second year with CWF, Kaiulani joined the team after graduating from Gettysburg College with a degree in environmental studies and a minor in data science. During her senior year at Gettysburg, she worked closely with common and Arctic terns on Petit Manan Island in Maine. 

For Kaiulani, the most rewarding part of her job is getting to know the people and the birds that she works with. She loves Atlantic puffins and piping plovers, and her favorite plover in the project is Zucchini, who built the first nest she ever found. 

When she’s not working, Kaiulani can be found reading and horseback riding.

Mary Adams

This is Mary’s first season with CWF. She attended Franklin & Marshall College, majoring in biology and minoring in environmental studies and French. While in college, she did a thesis on avian habitat selection and during her senior year, she studied wildlife ecology in Dublin, Ireland. She has worked for a wildlife refuge, trained scent-detection dogs, and worked at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania. Even with that amazing lineup of past experience, Mary says that her job with CWF is her favorite experience yet.

She loves finding new nests, seeing each one as a new opportunity for the success of the species. Of the bird species she works with, Mary’s favorite is the American oystercatcher. Her favorite plover is MJ (Michael Jackson), because his was the first plover nest she ever found. Her favorite bird species overall, though, is the red-winged blackbird.

Mary is a proud Philadelphia Phillies fan and she is currently fostering a dog from a shelter. She also likes to read.

Madison Patterson

Madison joined CWF this past spring after graduating from Monmouth University, where she majored in biology. In college, she joined a wildlife ecology research lab in which she studied mammalian predation of box turtles. 

While her background is mainly in herpetology, she has grown to love working with birds, especially black skimmers and a plover named Pikachu, whose nest she found on her first day out surveying. She feels that she has learned so much about shorebirds in her time with the Foundation, from their behavior to their conservation, and she appreciates having the opportunity to do research that she finds so fascinating.

Back at Monmouth, Madison was the vice president of their outdoors club. She frequently goes hiking, camping and backpacking with her friends, and recently, she has been learning how to forage wild edible plants and fungi.

On Monday, July 14, the first of two groups of winners of Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s 2025 ‘s Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest had the chance to visit Sedge Island Natural Resource Education Center with  New Jersey Fish and Wildlife  (NJFW). These fifth-grade students and their family members were in for an exciting day full of marshland activities and hands-on wildlife education.

The morning started with a boat ride on Barnegat Bay from Island Beach State Park to Sedge Island, which is closed to the public and only accessible through NJFW programs.

After docking in front of the Sedge House, a century-old old building which once served as a duck hunting lodge, everyone was invited on a tour of the property. There, the staff told the story of Sedge Island, from its earliest history to the modern day.

Once the visitors had settled in, it was time for a kayak adventure through the marsh.

The students got to paddle through New Jersey’s unique marshland ecosystem, stopping every so often to learn from NJFW’s staff about the wildlife that surrounded them. Ospreys, American oystercatchers, and even a bald eagle made an appearance, along with a myriad of shellfish in the water below.

While kayaking, a staff member collected a male Northern diamondback terrapin. When they returned to shore, students were invited to help collect data on the terrapin, from measuring the length of the shell to counting the scutes.

After the turtle had been tagged, it was set free back into the bay.

Families were then free to enjoy the sights and sounds of the island along with their lunches before heading to the next activity: Clamming.

Off the Western shore of Sedge Island, little neck clams abound. Students were able to tread through the dirt, collecting clams as they went.

Afterwards, the students sorted the clams by size and, after learning about clamming regulations and the importance of conservation, sent the larger ones back into the bay.

The ones they did keep, though, had another purpose.

Back at the house, the group participated in a clam dissection, learning about clam anatomy and their water-filtering abilities. Then, the remaining clams were put on the grill and everyone got to enjoy the fruits of their work in the bay.

Soon, it was time to get back on the boats and return to the mainland. As they made their way across the water, the group spotted schools of fish, flocks of gulls, and a couple of rays, all coming together to create the beautiful natural harmony of the bay.

For the students and their family, it was surely a day to remember. 

Thank you to our Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest sponsors PSEG Foundation, Phillips 66 Bayway Refinery, Church & Dwight, Atlantic City Electric, and The Zoological Society of New Jersey.