 The end of the school year and start of summer is a great time to look back on a season of the Littoral Society's Close Encounters field trips for students, scouts and recreation groups. The Littoral Society's interactive field trips on Sandy Hook use nature as a classroom, and are not only exciting for students, but also members of our staff and volunteers. Everyone gets the chance to experience the breathtaking coastal environment, with each outing being different from the rest! Our Close Encounters field trip is designed to give students of all ages the opportunity to engage with nature in an enriching and educational manner. By learning about local species through hands-on interactions, students are able to appreciate the amazing ecosystems that surround them and create memories they’ll remember forever.  During our Close Encounter field trips this season, we have taken students seining in the Raritan bay, where we caught a range of aquatic animals. Some species we saw were Atlantic silversides, pipefish, hermit crabs, mud snails, blue crabs and more. We even caught a young pufferfish, so you never know what the net could pull up next! Students also participate in an interactive horseshoe crab discovery activity and a scavenger hunt to find local mollusks on the beach. Our field trips partly overlap with horseshoe crab mating season, giving students the opportunity to see these incredible creatures crawling along our shoreline. Interacting with horseshoe crabs is fascinating for students of all ages and encourages them to overcome any initial doubts or fears about the 450 million year old species. If you are interested in booking a Close Encounter field trip with us, there is plenty of time left this summer to do so! Our programs run from May to September, and we are able to host any size group of students with accommodations. You can learn more about them on our website. Please email our Education Coordinator, Audrey Litto to book your next Close Encounter field trip on Sandy Hook. Special thanks to Live Love Inspire Photography for some of these great photos! By Stella Mueller, American Littoral Society Education Program Intern Comments are closed.
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