On Sunday, May 25th, from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, members of the Roslyn Branch of AYLUS volunteered at Jones Beach State Park in partnership with the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation, Long Island Region Environmental Education Office. The Audubon Society is a nonprofit organization that works to protect birds and their natural habitats. One of their biggest efforts at Jones Beach is to protect the nesting areas of piping plovers, a small, endangered shorebird that lays its eggs directly in the sand. Memorial Day weekend’s Air Show brings large crowds to the beach, which can accidentally harm the birds or their nests, so our help was especially important.
Our job was to stand at our assigned stations near the fenced-off areas where the plovers nest and make sure people didn’t enter them. Most visitors were understanding, especially when we explained that there were tiny eggs in the sand that could easily be stepped on. Others were playing sports with balls near the fenced-off areas, so we took time to explain why this could endanger the offspring of piping plovers. Some people asked us questions about the birds, and we shared what we had learned. It was a little tiring being out in the sun for hours, but we took turns resting and made sure our area was covered at all times.
One problem was that at times, it was a little hard to get people to listen and some people ignored the fences, but we stayed calm and polite. We learned how to speak clearly and respectfully, and how to handle small conflicts in a peaceful way. The experience taught us how important even small actions can be when it comes to protecting wildlife.
By the end of the day, we knew our work had helped make the beach safer for the piping plovers and their chicks.
Reporter: Leo Zheng
Members who participated include:
Leo Zheng (6 hours), Zihan Wang (6 hours), Kacie Li (6 hours), Letao Tao (6 hours), Leah Chan (6 hours), Philip Chan (6 hours), Melody Zheng (6 hours), Ethan Lin (11th Grade) (6 hours), Ethan Lin (12th Grade) (6 hours), Jasmin Lin (6 hours), Shinree Zhang (6 hours), Jinrui Lei (6 hours), YiYang Lei (6 hours), Hunter Chen (6 hours), Izabelle Gu (6 hours), Lyann Lin (6 hours), Maxim Li (6 hours), Lawrence Song (6 hours), Ryan Lin (6 hours), Joanna Huang (6 hours), Jasmine Wang (6 hours), Joy Zou (6 hours), Lerine Zhang (6 hours), Jolina Wu (6 hours), Gordon Lin (6 hours), Hyun Chavez (6 hours), Justin Li (6 hours), Phillip Wu (6 hours), Sophia Chen (6 hours)