Education and Outreach
Education is the cornerstone of RCTB. We need to inform the public about the problems that the bay is suffering from. But we want to carry a message of hope by telling people about the causes of the problems and what they can do to improve things and enjoy the estuary. Our outreach is through education.
Education and Outreach
Education is the cornerstone of RCTB. We need to inform the public about the problems that the bay is suffering from. But we want to carry a message of hope by telling people about the causes of the problems and what they can do to improve things and enjoy the estuary. Our outreach is through education.
The approach is to conserve and improve the estuary through shellfish-related, sustainable, and resilient stewardship projects. We employ an interactive three-step process:
1) hands-on education for our members and volunteers,
2) establishing programs to stimulate the action of members and the public, and
3) sharing our knowledge with other organizations and the public through various educational venues and community events.
Activities include growing shellfish (primarily clams and oysters) in the wild and in upwellers, experimenting with growing techniques, habitat creation, and shoreline stabilization. We reach out to the community to elevate understanding, promote participation and work with local municipalities and organizations to develop living shorelines solutions.
We want to reach kids, parents, RCTB members and teachers. We go where the people are:
- Community events
- RCTB Clam nurseries
- Parks, museums, libraries
- Public school classrooms
Community events offer RCTB volunteers the opportunity to reach out to the public, provide some education, raise funds and sell RCTB merchandise. Some of the venues where RCTB participated include the Artisan Market in Beach Haven, the Beach Plum Festival, the Surf City Farmers Market, Lavallette Founders Day, the New Jersey Maritime Museum, the Surf City Bay Beach, Chowderfest and Shellabration. Our members were able to share our message with over 10,000 attendees at these and other events. Learn More….
RCTB uses a system of land-based nurseries, called upwellers, to grow hard clams and oysters. An upweller is a shellfish nursery. Shellfish are raised in a series of silos suspended in a tank that uses flowing baywater as the primary method for supplying food, nutrients and oxygen. Silos have a screen bottom that allows the water to flow upward through the silo and then back out to the bay. Our members maintain the upwellers and are happy to tell people about what theta are doing. Learn More…
Shellfish in the Classroom is an education program for Elementary through High School students run by ReClam the Bay volunteers who are graduates of the Rutgers University Coastal Stewardship Class which is the core or the Barnegat Bay Shellfish Restoration Program. The goal of the program is to raise student awareness about the environmental problems of the Barnegat Bay Watershed and the actions they can take to improve it. Contact Deb Licato-Meiman
