Audubon New York education and conservation staff work with local elementary schools to create beach-nesting bird signs using children’s artwork. Students learn about our local beach-nesting bird species, their habitats, and conservation needs. Then, the students participate in our annual sign design contests by creating unique and informative works of art that encourage beach-goers to “share the shore” with birds. Each year, our staff select a subset of the designs and print them onto weather-resistant signs that are installed at local beaches to alert beach-goers of nesting areas.
In 2017, over 250 fourth grade students learned about beach-nesting birds and submitted sign designs. In partnership with the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, a subset of the designs were showcased at Sunken Meadow State Park, a Long Island Sound Stewardship Area. Here are examples of the wonderful designs created by students from James H. Vernon School in Oyster Bay, NY and Drexel Avenue Elementary School in Westbury, NY in 2017.
Thank you to all of the students and teachers whom participated in this program and thank you to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for supporting this important work.
