 After months of delay due to supply chain issues, the work at Forked River Beach finally got underway in early November with the delivery of materials for building offshore reefs. Called HESCOs, these galvanized wire baskets will be put together by volunteers, then carried by barge to the reef site and filled with stone (to anchor them) and shell (to give oysters a home).
With the help of our new best friend and partner Aaron Ackley, who represents HESCO, the Littoral Society restoration team, along with staff from ReClam the Bay, immediately began learning the most efficient ways to build the HESCO arrays. What we learned was conveyed to more than 20 volunteers who attended training events on November 9. The Lacey Department of Public Works was also on hand as well and provided a trash and recycling can, has helped us with large trash removal, and also gave us 4 sawhorses and lumber which we made into the perfect side panel chicken wire attachment stations. Besides providing insight on how to best streamline assembly of the HESCOs, those initial training sessions also launched our volunteer work days, which will be focused on constructing enough baskets for seven, 200-foot long, double-rowed oyster reef segments.  FFAbove: WeLuvU Foundation volunteers with debris from Jamaica Bay shorelines at Broad Channel. Below: NY State Senator Joe Addabbo addresses volunteers from the WeLuvU Foundation.  Jamaica Bay's Sunset Cove received a thorough cleaning on Sunday, November 21, by an army of smiling volunteers from the WeLuvU Foundation. The group descended on Broad Channel to remove shoreline debris from the cove and adjacent American Ballfield park. Hosted by the American Littoral Society, the group removed 120 bags of plastics and other trash as well as weeds from the newly planted cove area. On hand was NY State Senator Joe Addabbo to welcome the group and thank them for all their hard work. Directing the operation were Alex Kanonik and Don Riepe from the Littoral Society. While one group cleaned the shorelines around American Ballfield, the other group pulled out mugwort and other weedy plants that were obstructing the view of the bay from Sunset Cove.   Great Turnout for Technology Transfer Workshop on Living Shorelines with RAE
On October 19 and 20, the Littoral Society collaborated with Restore America’s Estuaries, the Chesapeake Bay and New Jersey field offices of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the NJ Department of Environmental Protection for Service for the fifth Living Shorelines and Nature-Based Methods Tech Transfer Workshop. Held in Cape May, NJ, at the Grand Hotel, it was a hybrid event with both in person and virtual attendance. More than 380 people attended, including representatives from Korea, Ghana and Europe. This Year's workshop included field trips to local restoration projects, talks by local and national experts, as well as a chance to gather and share knowledge and experiences with peers. This workshop was geared for landowners and professionals, along with anyone working in the marketing, design, construction, or permitting of living shorelines and nature-based shoreline stabilization. Great Turnout for Technology Transfer Workshop on Living Shorelines with RAE
On October 19 and 20, the Littoral Society collaborated with Restore America’s Estuaries, the Chesapeake Bay and New Jersey field offices of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) , the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the NJ Department of Environmental Protection for Service for the fifth Living Shorelines and Nature-Based Methods Tech Transfer Workshop. Held in Cape May, NJ, at the Grand Hotel, it was a hybrid event with both in person and virtual attendance. More than 380 people attended, including representatives from Korea, Ghana and Europe. This Year's workshop included field trips to local restoration projects, talks by local and national experts, as well as a chance to gather and share knowledge and experiences with peers. This workshop was geared for landowners and professionals, along with anyone working in the marketing, design, construction, or permitting of living shorelines and nature-based shoreline stabilization. The Society co-hosted and played a major role. Littoral Society Executive Director Tim Dillingham gave opening remarks, while Capt. Al Modjeski and the Habitat Restoration Program team made presentations at breakout sessions and led a popular field trip to our restoration projects on the Delaware Bay. Our work and partnerships with the USFWS and others was repeatedly recognized and highlighted.  Most people don’t realize it but raptors migrate in good numbers along the Rockaway peninsula this time of year. On Sunday, October 17 more than 120 people attended the Raptorama Festival, an annual event at the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, which celebrates the fall transit of birds of prey through the greater New York City area.
Bobby Horvath, a fireman who rescues and rehabilitates raptors and other wildlife, brought 20 disabled raptors to show them ‘up close and personal’ to the delight of children (of all ages) in the crowd. Attending birds included a Bald Eagle, Golden Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Barn Owl, Kestrel, and Augie, the very tame and beautiful Eurasian Eagle Owl. Volunteer Dennis Guiney and Littoral Society Northeast Chapter Director Don Riepe were on hand to talk to people about each raptor’s biology and behavior. |
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