On Saturday May 25th, the Great Neck branch made their annual visit to Jones Beach to protect the Piping Plover eggs during the Memorial Day Airshow. Volunteers came at 9 AM in the morning until 4 PM after the show to protect this endangered bird species. The piping plover has been deemed endangered since 1986 but has continued to stay on the endangered species list due to habitat loss and human disturbances. Because these birds live near coastal areas along beaches, shoreline development, predation from domesticated and wild animals, climate change, and plastic pollution have posed significant threats on these threatened birds. Piping plovers lay eggs in May and June. They hatch their sand – colored eggs right on the beach, which makes it incredibly important for visitors to respect and be aware of regulations – such as fenced areas for their eggs – to help take part in preserving this species.
Memorial Day weekend is extremely busy with events such as the airshow. In order to protect these eggs and prevent disturbances during this time, volunteers worked to make sure that no visitor crossed fenced and flagged areas during the airshow. We set up tents and umbrellas in front of the fence surrounding the sandbank to prevent people and permitting anything unwanted – such as plastic and toys – from entering this area. Our efforts as volunteers have the potential to save the lives of multiple Piping Plovers and contribute to their conservation.
Reported by: Rebecca Xu
Voluteers who participated: Rebecca Xu (7 hours), Serena Chen (7 hours), Brandon Li (7 hours), Haoyang Sun (7 hours), Zhaoyu Liu (7 hours), Jason Huang (5 hours), Alivia You (7 hours) Carrie Zhang (7 hours), Jayden Liu (7 hours), Brian Zhang (7 hours), Chloe Wang (7 hours), Isla Zeng (7 hours), Jason Zeng (7 hours), Anhang Lu (7 hours), Linzi Yeung (7 hours), Elaine Zhang (7 hours), Ian Tong (7 hours), Darren Qu (7 hours), Ivy Li (7 hours), Kevin Zhang (7 hours), Sabrina Yang (7 hours), Crystal Chen (7 hours), Siwoo Song (7 hours), Austin Wang (5 hours), Melody Fan (5 hours), Zoe Xia (5 hours), Zimo Wang (5.5 hours)