 Saturday, September 21
Times and places vary Click here to volunteer You can help keep New York state's beaches looking lovely by joining in a beach cleanup on in September or October. International Coastal Cleanup Day is September 21. The American Littoral Society's Northeast Chapter organizes New York's annual participation in the International Coastal Cleanup. Hundreds of volunteers help clean shorelines and document the debris throughout New York state. The collected data helps inform ocean pollution protocols and regulations. The Society has led the New York State Beach Cleanup for more than thirty years. During the 2018 NYS Beach Cleanup 7,053 volunteers in 22 counties removed 45,311 pounds of debris along 194 miles of shoreline. Go to: www.nysbeachcleanup.org to register as a beach captain or to volunteer for a cleanup near you. Cleanups can be scheduled for any day in September and October.  The American Littoral Society could use some help finishing the three reefs that were started at Cooks Beach, near Cape May Courthouse, NJ, during the recent Shell-A-Bration event (Map).
Because tides affect when the work can be done, we're looking for help on Tuesday August 27 at 11 a.m. and Wednesday, August 28 at noon. If you'd like to lend a hand, contact Shane Godshall, Delaware Bayshore Habitat Restoration Coordinator, by emailing Shane@littoralsociety.org. Click link for more information about the project: http://ow.ly/l2v950vHtaW  Representatives from the American Littoral Society stood beside NJ Congressman Frank Pallone on Thursday, Aug. 22, to voice strong support for the Living Shorelines Act of 2019.
During a press conference in Keyport, NJ's Cedar Street Park Beach, which is the site of a living shoreline project, the Society joined other environmental organizations and representatives for coastal communities in asking that US Congress pass the bill, which is critical to help protect our nation’s coasts and estuaries, as well as coastal communities and the economies they support. H.R. 3115 would provide $50 million in federal funds that would be matched by state and local governments, as well as the NGOs applying for grants and projects. Priority consideration would be given to projects in areas where a federal disaster has been declared in the past 10 years or that have a history of flooding, which includes New Jersey’s coastal towns. The bill also provides for project monitoring to measure and help determine best practices for future living shoreline projects. It would be administered through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to assist states, localities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in constructing living shorelines. Senators Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Chris Murphy (D-CT) will introduce the companion bill in the Senate.  We need your help! We've got a big job lined up for Saturday that is impossible to do alone.
On August 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the American Littoral Society will hold the Fifth Annual Shell-A-Bration at Cooks Beach, near Cape May, NJ (Map). There will be food, fun, and family friendly activities, along our biggest reef-building project yet. This week 80 pallets of whelk shell arrived and, with the help of Cape May County's generously loaned Mudd-Ox Ultra-Terrain vehicle, those were transported to the reef building site On Saturday, volunteers and staff will turn those bags of shell into three brand new reefs that will help protect the beach from storms, erosion and rising sea levels (stuff environmentalists refer to as adaptation and resiliency), while also providing habitat (places to live) for fish and other marine creatures. The Shell-a-Bration will be a picnic-style event, so please bring blankets and chairs. In order to ensure we provide adequate food and drink, we ask that attendees please RSVP.  On Thursday, July 25, at 10 a.m. the American Littoral Society and supporters used a parade of boats to carry the latest batch of oyster babies from our nursery in Ocean Gate, NJ to a reef site off Good Luck Point in Barnegat Bay.
"The oyster nursery and parade are part of the Littoral Society's Operation Oyster program, which aims to improve water quality in New Jersey's bays and estuaries, as well as improve coastal resiliency through re-establishing natural oyster reefs" said Capt. Al Modjeski, the Habitat Restoration Program Director for the Littoral Society. "This program not only restores a lost part of our coastal ecology, it directly engages the community in conservation through activities like the Parade of Boats." The Parade of Boats will also be a celebration of the expansion of the Littoral Society's work in Barnegat Bay, through a $1 million Water Quality Restoration Grant from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. That grant is part of $10 million grant program from the state aimed at improving Barnegat Bay.  It was Christmas in May, as a bevy of volunteers did their bit to help begin restoration of an eroded shoreline at Slade Dale Sanctuary in Point Pleasant, NJ.
Now it's Mother Nature's turn to play her role in the process, under the watchful eye of the American Littoral Society. A first-of-its-kind project for New Jersey, the restoration work involves using recycled Christmas trees placed in branchbox breakwaters and tree vanes to re-establish the shoreline of a salt marsh along Beaverdam Creek. The wetlands have eroded approximately 300 feet over the past century. "You could smell Christmas in the air," said Capt. Al Modjeski, Habitat Restoration Director for the American Littoral Society, recalling the May 11 workday. "But placing the trees only sets the stage for the next phases of this project."  It has been nearly seven years since Hurricane Sandy made landfall in southeastern New Jersey, which is hard to forget given that signs of that devastating storm still linger around the state.
However, in that time the American Littoral Society and its partners were able to deal with the initial environmental damage along NJ’s Delaware Bayshore and begin restoring critical habitat for the horseshoe crab and shorebirds, such as the red knot. While those efforts have yielded some encouraging results, the Red Knot population remains near historic lows and much more work needs to be done to ensure it rebounds. Project partners include community and state leaders, leading global shorebird biologists and local contractors, with funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), William Penn Foundation, and the Dodge Foundation. Now the Littoral Society is preparing for the next stage of work to protect and restore the coast in that area with the signing of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' (USACE) 10-year regional permit for restoring beach and creating oyster reefs along the Delaware Bayshore of Cape May and Cumberland counties.  Operation Oyster officially launched on Friday, July 12 with a gathering at American Littoral Society HQ on Sandy Hook. Returning participants were welcomed back to the program, as were new volunteers, through a brief Oyster Wrangler training program. That was followed by refreshments as the sun descended over Sandy Hook Bay. Operation Oyster efforts in New Jersey involve projects in Delaware Bay, Barnegat Bay, and the Two Rivers area. The program includes the "Shuck It, Don’t Chuck It!" oyster shell recycling program; reef building; and research and monitoring of water quality and viability of the Navesink and Shrewsbury Rivers. The overarching goal of Operation Oyster is to re-oyster New Jersey's coastal waterways using natural materials. Oysters are nature's water filters and could help improve water quality in bays and estuaries if restored in adequate numbers. Oyster reefs also help protect the coast from storms and provide ecosystem that supports young fish and other marine creatures.  Before heading down the shore for Memorial Day, Carla Burlingame’s class from ExCel School is starting the transformation of a vacant lot in Bridgeton into a park with tree plantings, rain gardens, planter boxes.
Bumblebees and butterflies are expected to visit in droves, stopping for a drink in the students’ flowers, trees and garden. But this humble patch of wildflowers and spongy soil is more than a seasonal oasis for pollinators; it holds the key to keeping South Jersey’s drinking water clean and plentiful all year long. “Not only are they learning to take care of their environment and community, but how important it is to be an involved, active citizen.” says Burlingame. “A student recently cited these community green-up days as highlight of her 7th grade year. The trip taught her how important it is to take care of her community and how it’s everyone’s job.”  Prime Day begins Monday, July 15 at 9 a.m. and deals for you can add up to deals for the American Littoral Society if you buy through AmazonSmile after choosing the Society as your designated charity.
And AmazonSmile can benefit the Littoral Society whenever you Shop at Amazon, even if you aren't a Prime member. Best of all, it costs you nothing. AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. It includes the same products, same prices, same services. AmazonSmile simply allows you to give a gift to the American Littoral Society every time you make a purchase. |
Archives
September 2019
Categories
All
|
