|  The
Location
Our home base in Smyrna,
Delaware, allows us unlimited access to the Delaware Bay and the surrounding
beaches.
The
Program
Each
year, at the high lunar tides of spring and early summer, thousands
of horseshoe crabs come ashore to spawn. Horseshoe crab spawning occurs
about the same time that migrating shorebirds stop in the Delaware Bay
region to rest and feed. It is the complex ecological interaction between
horseshoe crabs, shorebirds, and humans that forms the basis for our
exploration in the Delaware Bay. Using the Green Eggs & Sand four
module curriculum as a guide, students experience a day in the life
of “Thumper”, a conch fisherman who reduced his use of horseshoe crabs
as bait by as much as 75%. During their days and nights students are
challenged to identify banded shorebirds and accurately count spawning
crabs. This field immersion program is set up to compliment the existing
Green Eggs & Sand curriculum. Only teachers trained in this curriculum
may participate.
Important
Details
This three
day program can only be run in May and early June due to the spawning
season of the Horseshoe Crab. Only middle and high school teachers trained
in the Green Eggs & Sand curriculum may participate. The Green Eggs
& Sand curriculum is a joint initiative of teachers, scientists,
natural resource agencies, aquatic education specialists, and other
horseshoe crab resource stakeholders from Delaware, Maryland, and New
Jersey. If you are interested in learning more about the curriculum
and becoming a Green Eggs & Sand trained educator, please click
here for the 2005 workshop schedule.
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