Beach Plantings and Cleanups Highlight Education Program

 
During April and early May, the American Littoral Society Education program hosted five beach plantings and clean ups. As part of those events, more than 8,000 native species were planted on beaches in Monmouth County, NJ and 70 pounds of trash were removed. This work involved volunteers from a number of corporations and students from area schools.

In addition to helping plant beaches in Perth Amboy and Bradley Beach, corporate volunteers also learned about the importance of living sustainably and avoiding using single use plastic items, as well as what it means to make coastal communities more resilient.

Monmouth County students got involved through the Littoral Society’s “Beach Grasses in Classes” program. In addition to hearing about the importance of dunes in their community, their classroom presentations focused on native and invasive grasses, how to stabilize a dune, and general beach ecology.

Participating students then came out for a volunteer event in in Asbury Park, NJ on Sunday, April 23 (just after Earth Day) to plant their little culms of American beachgrass and other native grasses on bare spots along the dunes.
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Many thanks to the New Jersey Plant Materials Center in Cape May and Cicconi Farms in Jackson, NJ for providing plants used for these events.