Getting kids excited about a career in science is no walk in the park, but thanks to the Bayshore Adventure Program, it is a week at the marina.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation, the State Parks Department and the Leonardo State Marina held the Bayshore Adventure Program for 40 Monmouth County 8-11 year olds in August. The program gives kids the chance to peek into the lives of a variety of science based professionals through exciting, hands-on activities that foster exploration and discovery of the natural world.
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.
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.
New, exciting programs at Island Beach State Park this summer
by Lindsay McNamara, Communications Manager
Full moon on the beach by Eric Hance.
The Jersey Shore has changed immeasurably over the past century. But one place gives you the chance to recapture the beauty and wild feeling that once encompassed the entire coast – Island Beach State Park.
At Island Beach State Park, you can still find hands-on adventures along the Atlantic Coast and the Barnegat Bay. You can still be immersed in the nature of coastal beach dunes, maritime forest, and vast saltmarsh. You can still find wildlife like osprey, red fox, diamondback terrapins, piping plover, sea turtles, and an incredible array of fish and shellfish.
Red fox by Eric Hance.
We are excited to partner once again with New Jersey State Parks and offer incredible programsabout New Jersey’s natural world at Island Beach State Park.
A new feature has been added to the Moonlight Hikes this year. The hike will start in parking lot A13, through the thicket, over the dunes, onto the beach and the bonfire will be in front of the judges shack. A representative will be there to talk more about the shack’s history. The astronomers will be with us again this year too.
The Kayak Eco-Tour and the Sedge Islands Then & Now Tour have been merged into one program. The program is now called the Sedge Islands Eco-Tour and will be an all-encompassing kayak tour of the area.
Also new this year, Island Beach State Park has partnered with the Marine Mammal Stranding Center to offer Mock Stranding events. There will be four this year, two mock dolphin strandings and two mock sea turtle strandings.
Make sure to point your browser to the new, Island Beach Nature Programs website. Check out the list of programs. Bookmark the site and share it with your friends! Make sure to include some awesome, educational outdoor recreational plans for your summer vacation along the Jersey Shore!
Photo by Ray Hennessy.
Lindsay McNamara is the Communications Manager for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
