Join CWF Staff for this virtual information session about the Species on the Edge 2.0 Conservation Challenge. This is where you can ask questions to biologists who work with rare wildlife in New Jersey before registering your team and to help develop your project.
For more than twenty years, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey has been organizing the Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest, inviting all fifth graders in New Jersey to participate. This year marked another successful run, with an array of imaginative and captivating submissions pouring in from all twenty-one counties. Each entry examined the plight of a threatened or endangered species native to New Jersey.
To take part in the Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest, students must craft an original piece of handmade artwork and compose an essay responding to a provided prompt. Both components of their submission center around a single at-risk species from New Jersey. We typically find that some species are represented more than others. This year, the golden-winged warbler stood out with numerous striking artworks spotlighting this bird. Other frequently chosen species included the blue whale, bobcat, and red-headed woodpecker.
Blue Whale by Chelsea Li (Jefferson Elementary School, Union County)
Wildlife biologist Christine Healy teaches the scouts about CWF’s work to protect the federally threatened bog turtle. Credit: Jim Kasprzak.
The classic justification for conserving wildlife is, of course, to protect diversity for future generations. While that’s not my go-to motivation for pursuing this line of work (I believe in the intrinsic value of nature and feel we are obligated to serve as good planetary stewards), I always feel over the moon when kids demonstrate the passion and interest in getting involved in this critical mission early on. When I received a request from Scouts BSA Troop #276 for assistance in earning their environmental science merit badge, I was eager to comply.
Earning a merit badge is no easy feat. It takes time and hard work, which is why attaining the rank of eagle scout, requiring the acquisition of at least 21 merit badges in addition to demonstrating leadership and service to the community, is such an achievement. For the environmental science badge, scouts must 1) study the history of the environmental movement in the US; 2) understand vocabulary relevant to wildlife, pollution, and green energy; 3) complete an activity relevant to seven of the following categories: ecology, air pollution, water pollution, land pollution, endangered species, pollution prevention, pollination, and invasive species; 4) complete a comparative study between two distinct habitat types; 5) practice drafting an environmental impact statement; and 6) research three career opportunities available in the field. Like I said, no easy feat, but Sebastian, Aidan, and Josh are up to the task.
Asbury Park students and staff pose with their “talons up” after seeing an Osprey snatch a fish from the ocean.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF), the Asbury Park mayor’s office and public schools, and New Jersey Natural Gas hosted Wildlife Wednesdays Field Experience at North Beach at the end of July. The hands-on, project-based outing taught elementary school students about Asbury Park’s rare wildlife, and how to protect and preserve the environment the kids – and wildlife- call home.
Jim Wright, whose “Bird Watcher” column appears twice-weekly in The Record and on NorthJersey.com, shares his favorite places to spot rare and beautiful birds in North Jersey. Video created with Wochit.
Nest cams offer you a peek into the natural world from the comfort of your own phone or computer screen. Jim Wright interviews CWF Executive Director David Wheeler about the cams and why they are such an effective way to connect people to wildlife.
“Viewers feel the drama, the danger, the sibling squabbles, the results of chases for prey, the perils of wind and rain and snow and windblown trees, and of course the joys of a new egg hatching or a bird taking flight for the first time,” Wheeler explains.
CWF has long led the efforts to offer free wildlife webcams, made possible by generous sponsors and partners such as Phillips 66 and Union County Parks, whom CWF partners with on the Union County peregrine falcon cam in Elizabeth.
A barn owl hatched in captivity in 2008 is among the residents at Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge in Medford. (Photo: File photo, Courier Post)
The Conserve Wildlife Foundation invites high schools students from across the state to submit an original social media campaign showing the importance of protecting rare wildlife in New Jersey. The “Species on the Edge 2.0” contest is in its fifth year and sponsored by the PSEG Foundation.
Do you have a teen who loves animals and getting out in nature?
You might want to encourage him or her to spend more time on the phone — at least for one specific project.
The Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey is inviting high school students from across the state to participate in a social-media contest to win scholarship money.
The “Species on the Edge 2.0” Social Media Contest encourages teens to leverage their digital knowledge for the chance to win prizes.
Splashing across a stream, letting imagination take flight on the wings of a bird and the excitement of navigating a new trail are some magical moments in childhood that resonate through the years, not just as memories but as life lessons.
Kids who spend time outdoors, or #OptOutside, aren’t just having fun getting dirty. Time outdoors has been shown to reduce childhood depression and stress, build kids’ confidence and even improve performance in school.
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.
Anyone who has ever explored their artistic side knows that when you draw something, you understand it better. In order to successfully represent the intricacies of the subject, you have to study it and become invested in the details of its existence. When you’re bringing a concept, real or imagined, to life on paper, you familiarize yourself with it. And everyone knows that the more you seek to understand something, the more you can appreciate it. Continue reading “High School Junior Teaches Art and Raises Funds for CWF”
The 2017 Species on the Edge Art and Essay contest drew in more than 2,500 entries from students throughout New Jersey. This contest is designed to empower 5th grade students through the arts by writing a creative essay and drawing an original art piece of a threatened or endangered New Jersey species. Continue reading “Species on the Edge Contest Art on Display at D&R Greenway Land Trust”
