Audubon New York's annual 'Share the Shore' student sign initiative gives elementary students the opportunity to learn about and help protect coastal birds and their habitats.
Educators from the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center teach students about the conservation needs of threatened, beach-nesting birds like the Piping Plover. The students receieve in-class lessons and are able to put their newfound knowledge to work by creating informative signs. The signs speak to Audubon's 'Share the Shore' messaging, which encourages beach-goers to give nesting birds space, not litter, and obey “no pets” or leash laws.”
As part of a friendly contest, Audubon New York staff select the 30 winning drawings, which are printed onto weather-resistant signage and installed on the beach.
In 2019, 241 fourth grade students from Drexel Avenue Elementary School (Westbury, NY) and the James H. Vernon School (Oyster Bay, NY) participated in the shorebird conservation program. These young conservationists’ designs are informative and colorful works of art! The signs are now on display near nesting Piping Plovers and Least Terns at Sunken Meadow State Park, a Long Island Sound Stewardship Area. See more of the students designs below!
Thank you to all of the students and teachers who participated in this program and thank you to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Long Island Sound Futures Fund for supporting our important conservation work on the Sound.
