New Jersey Audubon Island Explorers Groups 1 and 2

Explorer Group 1 was made up of 16 middle school children from Morris County. Many in this group were eager to jump right into their favorite activities such as fishing, or kayaking out to the “Bahamas.” This five day group started with a lot of team building and group activities where they learned about different aspects of the Barnegat Bay area, which were eventually tied together in our 8 mile kayak paddle out to the dike behind Barnegat Inlet. The weather for the 5 days that this group was out there for was nothing short of spectacular. The water was crystal clear and the wind was light, picking up slightly during the afternoons. This group remained energetic and enthusiastic the entire time they remained on the island.

Explorer Group 2 consisted of 14 slightly younger middle school children from the northwest region of New Jersey. Even though it was their first time on Sedge Island, they remained open and optimistic about the entire experience. Beginning their second day, the group piled into the kayaks to paddle out the 8 miles to the dike. With a steady pace, and a keen eye, they were able to observe and learn about a huge array of organisms living within the marshes, from the horseshoe crabs, to the various types of marsh grasses, to the quick diving peregrine falcon. Again, the weather could not have been nicer for this group, with only a little rain during the night.

With both Audubon groups, all of the students were required to research one organism that they observed during their stay, and design a field guide page for that plant or critter which was added to the Audubon Island Explorer field guide. This marvelous guide has been steadily growing with each Audubon group that has come out to the Sedges over the past four years. At the end of each group session, the children’s parents were invited out for lunch, and to see what their children have learned over the week. The kids expertly taught their parents about plants, kayaking, crabbing, birding, and many of the other animals that they observed. It was truly amazing how everything came together at the end for these kids.