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Views from theTower

NEWSLETTER

FALL 2025 | VOLUME 54 | NO. 3

The Collective Spirit of Environmental Education

by Brooke Knapick, Director of Educational Program Development Environmental Education Field Trip Program, we are expanding these hands-on, feet wet experiences to college-aged students. By the end of this immersive field experience, students are left with a deeper understanding of wetlands and/ or barrier beach ecology and these complex ecosystems.

What inspired you to teach environmental education? The answer to this question is as varied as the people answering it. For me, the answer is simple: I teach environmental education for a chance to observe the spark. The spark you see on a person’s face when you know they have made a genuine connection to their environment.

outdoor classroom environments in South Jersey. Each year, upwards of 16,500 children and young adults, from over 170 local schools and organizations participate in education programs. With each program, we reach into classrooms and homes in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Delaware, sharing the wonders of marine life with the local community.

In pursuit of the spark, I have created and led innovative environmental education programs at the Dunes Learning Center, Northern Illinois University’s Lorado Taft Field Campus, and the Indiana University, Purdue University Indianapolis Center for Earth and Environmental Science. Then life brought me here to The Wetlands Institute, where for nearly 13 years I have had the honor and privilege of stewarding a vision and refining a structure that ignites the spark in the children and adults.

All our Environmental Education Field Trip Programs emphasize hands-on learning and the scientific method. School groups visiting the Institute range in age from Kindergarten to High School, and experiences include exploring the unique ecosystem of the salt marsh, learning about the food web, examining the life and conservation efforts of the diamondback terrapin, visiting the beach, and discovering the characteristics of a wetland by performing different experiments. With our newly launched Undergraduate

The Institute offers one of the best

While a visit to the Institute is sure to be a memorable experience, our Traveling Environmental Education and Group Outreach Programs bring all that the Institute offers to schools, libraries, campgrounds, and local youth organizations across the tri-state area. After several years of dedicated effort, we are proud to now offer a full suite of Adult Outreach Programs that feature more in-depth content tailored to an adult-only audience. As we grow our in-person programs, our Virtual Wetlands Experience continues to inspire and foster a virtual connection to the natural world with more than 15,350 visitors since 2020.

We remain dedicated to our mission of teaching environmental education, enabling individuals to form a genuine connection with their environment. As we journey together toward the future, we remind ourselves, we teach environmental education for the chance to observe the spark. I hope you will join us in celebrating the nearly 55 years of the spark here at The Wetlands Institute and consider investing in the future of educational achievements yet to come.

wetlandsinstitute.org | 1075 Stone Harbor Blvd, Stone Harbor, NJ 08247 | 609.368.1211

A non-profit organization studying, preserving, and protecting wetlands and coastal ecosystems. Founded in 1969 by Herbert Mills, Executive Director of the World Wildlife Fund.

Deborah A. Hays, Chair James Donohue, Vice-Chair Hank Schellenger, Treasurer Annie Ulichney, Secretary Raymond Burke Timothy Jon Clay John Flynn William Hankowsky Margaret McAllister John Millar

Jeannie Morris Liz Thomas Jon Tullis Amy Welsh William Wermuth Francis J. White III

Staff Leadership

Dr. Lenore Tedesco, Executive Director Dr. Lisa Ferguson, Director of Research and Conservation Jim Frick, Director of Finance and Operations Brooke Knapick, Director of Educational Program Development

Research & Conservation

Julie Blum, Research Scientist Samantha Collins, Research Scientist Meghan Kolk, Conservation Scientist Bailey Sanders, Research & Conservation Coordinator Brian Williamson, Research Scientist

Education

Francesca Jacobs, Environmental Educator Abbygayle Liles, Aquarist/Environmental Educator Erin Rawls, Outreach Coordinator

Development & Communications Leah Satterfield, Development Associate

Finance

Terrie Campbell, Finance Administrator Christine Whaley, Finance Analyst

Administration

Mary Beth Ciccarone, Administrative Coordinator Kimberly Dmytro, Tidepool Shop Manager Michael Fridmann, Facilities Manager

Visit Us Hours: Starting September 20, open Saturday and Sunday 9:30 to 4:30.

Check our website for Holiday Hours.

General Admission: Members: Free.

Non-members: $12 Adults, $10 Children 4-12.

Views From the Tower is the quarterly newsletter of The Wetlands Institute and can also be found on our website.

Marsh Musings

by Dr. Lenore Tedesco, Executive Director

A season to celebrate How did that happen? Another summer in the books! They seem to go faster and faster, but the waiting time for summer to arrive seems to go slower. I’m not sure how that works. I hope it was as amazing for you as it was for all of us at The Wetlands Institute.

Summer is our high energy, everything is moving fast time, but when I pause to take a deep breath and reflect, I can honestly say we are having a great year – and all of you have had a role to play so far!

Our education and visitor programs have been extremely well attended, with the Summer Nature Program at capacity. This foundational program has proven to be a gateway to exploration and discovery that leads to multigenerational connections to the Institute. I am so proud of this program and the amazing staff that give so much to make it truly remarkable. The Luing Family Internship Program has just wrapped up, and we all benefited from the tireless efforts of this year’s undergraduates.

They contribute so much to the organization and in turn, learn so much about themselves and many chart a course for their future through the program. The staff teams that work with them invest so much, and they too receive so much. They are amazing.

Important moments of celebration came at our annual donor open

house at the end of June, when we celebrated and honored you.

It is truly a wonderful event where we get to thank each of you for your contributions that help drive our mission. At the end of July, we hosted our 11th annual Summer Celebration. We had a fun and exciting evening with live music and a lively silent and live auction.

It’s a night where we make new friends and enjoy time with longtime supporters. We had a recordbreaking night and are excited to continue to have positive impacts that drive lasting change. Thank you for celebrating with us.

As we slide into fall, our attentions and efforts shift to grant writing, reporting, and planning for the Institute’s future. Our planning efforts for our marsh campus and marsh projects are picking up dramatically and we are making great strides. We will continue to provide updates as our plans take shape. Stay in touch, and we hope to see you again soon.

Where Did The Oysters Go?

by Ray Burke, Wetlands Institute Trustee For me, one of the most interesting aspects of growing up on Jenkins Sound was the opportunity to learn about shellfish. My family particularly enjoyed harvesting the native oysters (Crassostrea virginica), which I found in brackish water at the intersection of Gravelly Run Creek and Jenkins Sound.

Oysters favor areas with this input of freshwater and grow best in brackish waters that are less salty. The area, known to locals as Shell Bay, contains the remains of heaps of discarded shells, referred to as shell middens, that were originally deposited by Lenape Native people who fished the area thousands of years before Europeans arrived. Much of these middens have been silted over in recent years, but they were still quite apparent when I was a child.

As kids, my brother, sister, and I would walk the area at low tide and collect live oysters, which we would relocate to our bed at Gravelly Run. In those days, the traditional period for oyster harvesting was any month with an “R” in it.

Over the years, the bed became quite extensive, but by the time I was a teen in the 1970s, there were growing threats from agriculture and housing development on the mainland and barrier islands that was creating bacterial contamination in the back bays, making the shellfish periodically unsafe for human consumption. Although the beds appeared to be healthy and water samples of the creek were not alarming, when I left for Lafayette College in 1971, most of the area was closed to shellfish harvesting.

As I headed home from school for winter break in 1974, I was expecting my mom might be able to make her oyster stew for the holidays. As I recall the later part of December that year had been unusually cold. There were signs of ice on the meadows visible from the Garden State Parkway.

On my arrival home, I immediately hiked across the marsh to inspect the oyster bed and it was gone!

Hardly a trace of the bed remained.

There was no oyster stew for me in the winter of

1974 because the cold snap had frozen the brackish water flowing across the oyster bed at low tide. As the tide rose, it lifted the oysters from the bed, which then floated away with the ice.

Today oysters are rare in the back bays in our area largely because the back bays have become less brackish. This is due in part to less fresh water flowing into the bay as a result of the development of the communities that border the bays but also because of rising sea level.

Author’s Note: The Wetlands Institute has actively researched and advocated for improvements in water quality and species preservation in our back bays. Today, many shellfish areas are once again open to legal harvesting especially hard clams.

Act Local, Think Global Wetlands Style

by Dr. Lenore Tedesco, Executive Director

Cape May County is a remarkable place. That simple statement barely scratches the surface of how important a place it is. Our location at the southern tip of New Jersey, on a narrow peninsula nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and Delaware Bay, boasts remarkable natural areas and an incredible diversity of wildlife and lies along one of the most incredible flyways in the world. The incredible foresight that preserved natural areas here, led notably by Wetlands Institute founder Herbert Mills, helped cement this place as globally significant. The Atlantic flyway is essentially a vast highway for migratory wildlife that connects them to breeding and wintering grounds that stretch from the high Arctic of Canada all the way to the southern tip of South America. For other species, this is their home. The rich marshes, beaches, and shallow bays are crucial for their wellbeing, whether they are passing through on their way elsewhere, coming here for the summer to breed, the winter for the milder climates, or year-round residents: this place is their lifeline. So, what happens here matters dramatically in the well-being and conservation of many species.

Many of these species face increasing threats and population decline. The Research and Conservation Department focuses on several of these important species, including diamondback terrapins, colonial beach nesting and wading birds, and American oystercatchers, supporting them through research, habitat protection, and threat mitigation. The work we do to understand their needs, habitat use, and response to both climate change and habitat restoration projects is making a difference far and wide. Our research scientists are members of important regional and national scientific steering committees and working groups, and bring their knowledge to bear to help guide conservation plans and practices nationally.

The Institute itself is a hub of activity for visiting scientists, professional workshops, webinars, technical resource manager trainings, and field trips so that everything we learn is quickly and effectively translated to guide best conservation practices. Implementing best conservation practices locally is then another pillar in our work to drive global change – change that ripples out from our roots, far and wide.

wetlandsinstitute.org

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Luing Family Internship Program Educators Leading the Way

by Brooke Knapick, Director of Educational Program Development leave a lasting impact on The Wetlands Institute and we hope you’ll stop by to see their education initiatives in action.

This year’s Luing Family Internship Program Environmental Education Interns spent 12 weeks leading public education programs, while immersing themselves in the unique environment of the surrounding salt marsh and barrier islands.

They worked hard and through it all developed skills needed to continue their careers in environmental education. Each year, interns are asked to develop and implement an education project of their choosing that is personally and/ or institutionally beneficial. The deliverables from their projects

Wiley Koskinen (Goucher College) directed and produced a Why You Should Care participatory video documentary that showcases part of the work done at The Wetlands Institute, and how young adults can contribute to conservation efforts. Specifically, it highlights the research and conservation work of the Coastal Conservation and Research Program Interns as well as the Environmental Education Interns and their various public programs. Alyssa Margerum (Kutztown University) created a tide tank in the Secrets of the Salt Marsh Aquarium that will fluctuate in water level to show what it looks like during high versus low tide, along with a series of posters discussing the biological and chemical

differences between high and low tide as well as the impact climate change has on the tide. For younger audiences to explore this concept, there is an interactive bitmoji space on the Virtual Wetlands Experience.

Aubrey Smith (Montclair State University) updated the Plankton Creature Feature to expand the meroplankton section, adding slides on crabs, horseshoe crabs, fish, and sea stars plus the addition of a short interactive quiz, updated speaker notes and enhanced educational materials featuring life cycle diagrams for highlighted species.

Meet the Coast Conservation Research Interns

by Bailey Sanders, Research and Conservation Coordinator

This summer, five Coastal Conservation Research Program interns brought their energy, curiosity, and dedication to advancing our understanding of coastal ecosystems. Throughout the season, they participated in long-term monitoring of diamondback terrapins and coastal birds, conducted independent research, honed field and lab skills, and formed lasting connections.

We were especially fortunate to welcome back a second-year

wetlandsinstitute.org

intern who helped mentor new participants and enrich our collective efforts.

determining optimal elevations for vegetation that supports nesting wildlife.

Returning intern Mary Castellani explored the foraging patterns of American Oystercatchers on Delaware Bay beaches and Atlantic coastal marshes. She also documented human disturbances at foraging sites, which can help inform restoration planning and disturbance thresholds in key foraging areas during the breeding season.

Kristen Kallok studied the habitat use and home range of eastern box turtles on The Wetlands Institute property. Her project sheds light on how small habitat fragments may contribute to the species’ survival in areas impacted by human development.

Katelyn Seay analyzed vegetation succession and zonation trends of six focal plant species (Spartina patens, Iva frutescens, Juncus gerardii, Phragmites australis, Baccharis halimifolia, and Distichlis spicata) on elevated nesting habitat at Ring Island. Her findings offer valuable insight into marsh restoration practices, particularly in

Sarah Davidson investigated the environmental factors influencing diamondback terrapin nest site selection at TWI. Her work supports future efforts to restore, replicate, and protect suitable nesting habitats.

Joey Brace examined repeat nesting behavior in diamondback terrapins at TWI from 2020 to 2025, helping us build a clearer picture of nesting patterns and site fidelity over time.

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T H E 1 1 T H A N NBENEFITTING UAL

Hosted by

Thanks to everyone who helped make this event a success!

- Platinum Sponsors THE DILLER FAMILY AND FOUNDATION

BILL & ROSEMARY HANKOWSKY

HIGH HOPES FARM

LARRY L. LUING FAMILY FOUNDATION

THE MEZZANOTTE FAMILY

ANNIE & DREW ULICHNEY

WARD FAMILY FOUNDATION

- Gold Sponsors GLENMEDE

ICONA AVALON

ERIC & SUSAN WISEMAN

- Silver Sponsors Archer & Greiner P.C. Avalon Flooring Burke Subaru Hays Sheet Metal

The Mottola Group PSEG RJ Soens Group / Compass RE Seven Mile Times

John & Amy Swanson Jon Tullis Washington Inn

- Bronze Sponsors AKRF

D.L. Miner

Jeffrey H. and Lee Alderton At the Shore Atlantic Capes Fisheries

James J. Donohue & Carol A. Mager Hafetz & Associates Halliday Financial

Rockwell Development Group Scarborough Marine Group Hank & Julie Schellenger Schultz & Williams

Avalon Home and Land Owners Assn.

Lois & Barry Hamilton Deborah & Michael Hays Lucky Bones Lund’s Fisheries

ShopRite of Hunterdon County Sturdy Bank Lenore Tedesco & Nancy Fribley Thomas/Boyd Communications

Painting by Pearce PMI Saltwater PM Pools & Spas RBC Wealth Management / The Boland Investment Group

Amy & Philip Welsh Westside Meats Vicki Wilkinson & Phyllis Beidler Laura Wilson & Mark Menting

Brandywine Developers, Inc. Brown & Brown Insurance Ray & Ellen Burke Drs. Timothy & Rosemary Clay Closets & Blinds by Satori Cold Spring Fish and Supply Co. Concentus Wealth Advisors CrossCountry Mortgage, LLC

For a complete list of sponsors visit wetlandsinstitute.org/sc2025

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Autumn Happenings As the salt marsh grasses fade from green to brown, The Wetlands Institute is open daily from September 2-21, 2025. Unless otherwise stated, all activities are free with admission and occur onsite at The Wetlands Institute. For more information, visit wetlandsinstitute.org/events.

Salt Marsh Safari 11AM & 2PM

Daily

Watch our award-winning film, Secrets of the Salt Marsh, then join us for an interpretive marsh walk along our elevated walkway and onto the dock overlooking Scotch Bonnet creek!

Creature Feature 12:30PM

Monday and Friday

During this live animal presentation, get up close and personal with turtles, fish, crabs, sea stars and urchins, mollusks, horseshoe crabs, or the popular animals of Finding Nemo.

Aquarium Feeding 12:30PM

Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday

Help us feed the local marine life! We will open up feeding three times each week so you can see the burrfish eating crabs and the horseshoe crab gobbling shrimp.

Tidepool Shop The summer season may be winding down but look up in wonder overhead and in the sandy flats, marsh edges and shorelines where migrating birds pause to feed and the last of the late summer blooms prepare for sleep. The seasons may change but the story of conservation, vital research and education goes on year ‘round, and you can forward this story to friends near and far with these delightful cards. Share a migratory moment you witnessed with a loved one, and create a moment of connection and inspiration.

These cards are made of recycled papers and soy based inks, right here in the USA. A portion of all sales in The Tidepool Shop support our coastal habitat education programs and groundbreaking research and ongoing conservation projects.

Thank you and see you soon!

Catch o’ the Day Wednesday 12:30PM Get your feet wet (or wear waders!) as you discover what swims in the back bays. Help us drag a seine net through the water to find crabs, shrimp, fish and more.

Seashell Sunday 12:30PM

Sunday

Seashells at the seashore! Join us to learn all about seashells, how to collect them without harming the environment, and touch an assortment of live mollusks and cool artifacts.

Winter hours and activities start new September 22, 2025. Starting then, The Wetlands Institute will only be open on hours Saturday and Sunday. Please check our website calendar for programming updates as we transition from autumn to winter hours.

1075 Stone Harbor Blvd.

Stone Harbor, NJ 08247-1424

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A non-profit organization studying, preserving, and protecting wetlands and coastal ecosystems

As a conservation organization, we have a special responsibility to address the global challenges of climate change and sustainability.

We are committed to minimizing environmental impacts in all aspects of our operations. Visit our website at wetlandsinstitute.org/about-us/ sustainability/ for more on our sustainability initiatives.

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Views from theTower

The Wetlands Institute’s

Call 609.368.1211 or stop in to buy tickets.

Drawing: December 10, 2025 at The Wetlands Institute

Only 240 tickets being sold... Get yours today! *$12,000 if all 240 tickets are sold. No substitution of the offered prize may be made. Winner does not need to be present to win. Must be 18 years of age or older to participate. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call toll-free 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537). Net proceeds will be used to further environmental education and conservation programs at The Wetlands Institute. RA# 08-25 481-5-25895 Middle Township.