Wild, Wet, and Windy Student Summits Bring Students to the Coast

On Thursday, October 3 over 300 students and teachers from middle schools in southern New Jersey gathered at Island Beach State Park for COA’s Annual Fall Student Summit. Students experienced hands-on marine environmental education by participating in interactive roundtable stations and
field activities.

Student interacting with a live horseshoe crab at one of the round table educational activities

Students participated in hands-on roundtable stations, which included learning about diamondback terrapins and horseshoe crabs, invertebrates, pollution sources using a model of a community, learning the lethal effects of litter on the marine environment, and seaside landscapes. Students from the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science (MATES), a public marine science high school located in Stafford Township, NJ, served as peer teachers at the roundtable activities. Students also participated in weather-modified field activities, which were led by educators from Island Beach State Park, Jenkinson’s Aquairum, ReClam The Bay, and Friends of Island Beach State Park.

EnviroScape non-point source pollution presentation at one of the Summit’s interactive roundtables

The 2019 Student Summits were made possible by donations from The OceanFirst Foundation and from Eloise and John Pound in memory of Anne Inman Webster.

On October 17th, COA partnered with the Natural Resources Protective Association (NRPA) to host the Staten Island Student Summit at Gateway National Recreation Area’s Great Kills Park.  Nearly 200 students and teachers attended six environmental “flash” learning stations and participated in one of six field trips.  The students and teachers braved gale force winds that followed an overnight nor’easter and learned about marine debris, nonpoint source pollution, stormwater runoff, horseshoe crabs, oysters, freshwater marshes, fishing, scuba diving, and navigation.  Student also learned about seining and local marine life, took a nature walk, and conducted a beach cleanup. 

Kathy Garofalo of Great Kills Park welcomes the students to the Summit

The stations and field trips were led by representatives from various organizations and agencies.  COA thanks NRPA, the staff and volunteers at the Great Kills Park, The Billion Oyster Project, Kayak Staten Island, Staten Island Sport Divers, and the NYC Parks Department for helping to educate the Summit participants.

NRPA’s Jim Scarcella teaches students about horseshoe crabs at one of the six flash learning stations.