Educators' Workshop Does
Intertidal Exploration
(And So Much More)
May 12th was not only Menunkatuck Audubon's
Birdathon, it was the day of our sixth annual
educator workshop, "Intertidal Exploration:
Field Techniques and Tricks of the Trade."
And for the sixth year in a row we had glorious
weather. It was a perfect day to spend at Hammonasset
Beach State Park and learn about the inner workings
of Long Island Sound and its inhabitants.
We began the day at 8:30am to take advantage
of a rather inconvenient low tide at 9am. Ten
participants assisted workshop leaders Heather
Crawford, Coastal Educator from the CT Sea Grant
Extension Program, and Diana Payne, Environmental
Educator from the Norwalk Maritime Aquarium,
in lugging their sampling equipment down to
the park's West Beach. A seine net, shovels,
sieves, tubing (for collecting soil and sand
samples), tape measures, buckets, waders, boots
and even a hula-hoop were carried down the beach
to our first stop.
There on the West Beach the low tide had revealed
a clue to the changing nature of the shoreline.
The receding waves had exposed a small area
of peat among the sand at the water's edge.
This area had once been marshland. Tides have
risen and sands have shifted and will continue
to do so. Lesson one.
While walking along a path through the dunes
Heather stressed that healthy dune ecosystems
help to protect the lands behind them. When
the smaller back dunes are destroyed by development,
the ecosystem is compromised for the plants
and animals that live among the dunes, as well
as those, including humans, that live behind
them. Lesson two.
Stopping at a saltmarsh restoration site within
the park we saw how the state's Department
of Environmental Protection was working to correct
past mistakes within the wetlands. Dredged fill
had been removed to restore this area of marsh
to its, hopefully, original state, allowing
the tides to flow freely into the marsh, and
creating shallow pools. Wading birds, like egrets
and herons, frequently feed in this area. Sometimes
we can right the wrongs. Lesson three. 
Numerous lessons followed over the course of
the day as we learned the natural history of
many of the Sound's inhabitants. We seined
for creatures just offshore, including amphipods
and sand shrimp; discovered a dead skate washed
up on the beach; used a minnow trap to observe
killifish in the tidal creek; found blue mussels,
Japanese shore crabs, periwinkles, a sponge
and beautiful seaweeds while exploring the rocky
intertidal zone. We watched comical fiddler
crabs in a channel in the salt marsh. We learned
to identify various salt marsh plants that have
adapted to a harsh life of salt, sun and water.
While visiting the marsh, Diana had us stand
in a circle. On the count of three half of us
jumped into the air to come down hard on the
marsh while the others stood still. Then we
reversed the procedure. Wow. The marsh trembles.
Now we understood why Heather and Diana had
instructed us to watch our footing - and why.
Heather had demonstrated a marsh rescue technique
using 5-gallon buckets. (If the marsh decided
to suck your feet down into its depths the buckets
are used to place your feet in once they're
extricated from the muck.)
Our main focus may have been directed toward
the inhabitants of the intertidal zone, but
we never forgot that the day was also Birdathon.
Song sparrows heartily sang from exposed perches
on dune vegetation while least terns visited
the sandy shore at low tide. Two killdeer frantically
displayed their "broken wings" as
they tried to lure us from their unseen nests
in the lawn. (We found one and, luckily, avoided
the other.) A glossy ibis gracefully glided
down into the marsh to feed and a group of oystercatchers
flew over the water. Ospreys flew to and from
their nest platforms as they tended to their
young.
Another outstanding workshop, another perfect
day at Hammonasset…
Note: Educational materials provided for our
workshop participants included a wonderful publication,
"Long Island Sound in a Jar" written
by Heather Crawford. Filled with fun and educational
hands-on activities for students, "Long
Island Sound in a Jar" provides educators
with innovative lessons that demonstrate our
connection to Long Island Sound and how our
actions impact it.
To order a copy, call the CT Sea Grant at UConn
in Groton, 860-405-9128.
Submitted by Cindi Kobak
Photos by Cindi Kobak
|
