On June 24, CWF staff and PSEG Foundation representatives logged onto Zoom to celebrate the winners of the 2021 Species on the Edge 2.0 Social Media contest. Viewers watched as CWF Executive Director David Wheeler and Wildlife Biologist Ethan Gilardi congratulated the winners, with special comments made by CWF Board of Trustees President Steve Neumann and PSEG Environmental Policy Manager Russell Furnari.
Winners had time to speak about their inspirations, aspirations, and love of wildlife while accepting their awards. Whether they plan to continue onto a career in wildlife conservation/education or not, we are incredibly proud of this group of talented high schoolers.
CWF would like to wish them the best of luck on their future endeavors!
Click on the embedded video above to watch the ceremony on the CWF YouTube Channel.
Gallery:
2021 Species on the Edge 2.0 Social Media Contest Winners
What is Species on the Edge 2.0?
The fun and educational Species on the Edge 2.0 Social Media Contest capitalizes on high school students’ expertise with social media platforms and provides them with the opportunity to showcase their talent, creativity, and love of nature.
Students create their own original content (for example: video, text, photograph, computer graphic) or utilize existing Conserve Wildlife Foundation content to create a series of posts focusing on one of New Jersey’s vulnerable species that CWF helps protect.
An overturned horseshoe crab in the tide. Photo by Miguel Martinez and Joseph Bierman.
South Jersey Climate News recently took a deep dive into the relationship between horseshoe crabs and shorebirds on the Delaware Bay, and how global climate change has impacted this already delicate bond between species.
CWF biologist Larissa Smith was interviewed for the piece, providing context about what we are doing to help the horseshoe crabs and shorebirds through the Shorebird Stewards Program.
The article does a wonderful job explaining the precarious position NJ’s summer shorebirds find themselves in, detailing their arduous migration from South America to New Jersey to the Arctic and back, as well as explaining how and why our shorebirds and horseshoe crabs find themselves in peril.
Follow the link below to also find a video of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Employee and volunteer Shorebird Steward Ariel Poirier, who shares some of her experiences with the program and explains what it means to be a Shorebird Steward.
The blog Green Philly interviewed Conserve Wildlife Foundation executive director David Wheeler for this profile on CWF’s work protecting and restoring at-risk wildlife species across New Jersey and beyond.
Wheeler notes, “The project that is really inspiring is our work in Delaware Bay at the mouth of the Delaware River, dividing Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. This estuary holds one of the largest gatherings on the East Coast of migratory shorebirds and horseshoe crabs. These shorebirds fly from as far away as Tierra del Fuego and come to this region in massive numbers to feast on horseshoe crab eggs, which is an ancient creature that has swum before the dinosaurs and has survived five mass extinctions. They then head up to the Arctic for a hemisphere-wide migration, and Delaware Bay is the centerpiece of that.
“Horseshoe crabs have been declining severely, so shorebirds have also been declining severely. Our scientists and teams of volunteers have helped to stabilize these populations and prevent further decline. This is not only tremendously valuable to the ecosystem built around horseshoe crabs because it feeds fish, Diamondback Terrapins, and birds. Horseshoe crabs also provide something called lysate through their blood, which is the single way to test vaccines for a toxin, including the COVID vaccine. It’s such an amazing story and it all comes back to this prehistoric creature.”
The Associated Press released a video story exploring how the rise in popularity of live streaming bald eagle nest cameras has revealed the diversity of personalities and behaviors of the U.S. national symbol.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation executive director David Wheeler and New Jersey Eagle Project volunteer Kevin Buynie are featured.
Banded red knot feeds on the shoreline. Photo by Kevin Knutsen
The number of red knots that visited the Delaware Bay this spring to rest and refuel on their long-distance migration from South America to the Arctic was the lowest recorded since counts began in 1982. The baywide counts, by Conserve Wildlife Foundation and our partners, which include the New Jersey and Delaware shorelines, resulted in only 6,880 red knots, roughly a third of what was counted last year, and less than a quarter of the population in the previous two years. In the early 1980s, when counts first began, almost 100,000 red knots migrated through the Delaware Bay. With recent numbers that were already below the level that would ensure survival, this latest decline makes the rufa red knot subspecies even more vulnerable and pushes it closer to extinction.
The extreme decline is thought to be caused by a poor breeding season in 2020. Last spring, unusually low water temperatures in the Bay delayed the horseshoe crab spawn until early June. When the red knots arrived in May, the horseshoe crab eggs were not available, and so they moved on with their migration without gaining the weight needed to finish the journey. The horseshoe crab eggs are an essential food source for these birds that need to double their weight before continuing their northbound journey. Without the eggs to refuel on, it is likely that 40 percent of the birds died before reaching the Arctic, diminishing the breeding population. Numbers of other migratory shorebirds that stop in the Delaware Bay, such as ruddy turnstones, sanderlings and semipalmated sandpipers also showed declines this year.
Another factor that may have contributed to the low numbers was adverse weather conditions in the Caribbean, making it more difficult for the birds to migrate north. The good news is that the horseshoe crab spawn was on time this year, and there were plenty of eggs available for the migrants that stopped to refuel. With such a long migration, there are so many factors that have to line up for a successful breeding season. We cannot control the weather conditions or the water temperatures, but one thing wildlife biologists want to ensure is that there are enough horseshoe crabs in the Bay to sustain the birds for the long term.
Thank You to Everyone Who Participated in the 2021 Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest
Congratulations to the hundreds of the hardworking and creative 5th grade students who advocated for an endangered or threatened species from New Jersey through an art piece and essay. You have inspired everyone at Conserve Wildlife Foundation with your enthusiasm for protecting our cherished wildlife.
2021 Species on the Edge Art & EssayWinners & Runners Up
Atlantic County First Place – Natasha Iliadis (Belhaven Middle School) Second Place – Daisy Turner (Belhaven Middle School)
Bergen County First Place – Sara Stern (Highland Elementary School) Second Place – Kate D’Ambrosio (Ho-Ho-Kus Public School)
Burlington County First Place – Jace Beierschmitt (Bobby’s Run School) Second Place – Samantha DeBarberie (Eleanor Rush Intermediate)
Camden County First Place – Heidi Jacobs (Haddonfield Friends School)
Cape May County First Place – Zoey Heany (West Cape May Elementary School) Second Place – Victoria Laurenzi (West Cape May Elementary School)
Essex County First Place – Selena Inahuazo (Ann Street School) Second Place – Sabina Moreira (Ann Street School)
Gloucester County First Place – Avelin Wells (J. Mason Tomlin Elementary School) Second Place – Seamus McGinty (J. Mason Tomlin Elementary School)
Hudson County First Place – Arnav Chavan (Beloved Community Charter School) Second Place – Alzahraa Hanafy (Sara M. Gilmore Academy)
Hunterdon County First Place – Jocelyn Boothe (Woodglen Middle School) Second Place – Leah Soucy (Holland Brook School)
Mercer County First Place – Gillian Appelget (Village Elementary School) Second Place – Zachary Phelan (Chapin School)
Middlesex County First Place – Saish Koul (Woodbrook Elementary School) Second Place – Aahana Hegde (Woodbrook Elementary School)
Monmouth County First Place – Vivienne Hoffman (Maple Place Middle School) Second Place – Gwen Wolfe (Maple Place Middle School)
Morris County First Place – Elizabeth Cheeran (Stonybrook Elementary School) Second Place – Samantha Quinn (Chester M. Stephens Elementary School)
Ocean County First Place – Lindsey Jamieson (Ocean Road Elementary School) Second Place – McKenna Millar (Nellie F. Bennett Elementary School)
Salem County First Place – Avamarie Lahr (Creativity CoLaboratory Charter School) Second Place – Madalyn Oliveri (Creativity CoLaboratory Charter School)
Somerset County First Place – Vanessa Castro (Stony Brook Elementary School) Second Place – Maya Rebimbas (Mt. Horeb School)
Sussex County First Place – Emma McEvilly (Sandyston-Walpack Consolidated School) Second Place – Angelina Sampson (Wantage Elementary School)
Union County First Place – Avni Toolsidas (Thomas P. Hughes Elementary School) Second Place – Alyson Sayre (Thomas P. Hughes Elementary School)
Warren County First Place – Alexandra Rucker (Allamuchy Township School) Second Place – Corinne Apor (Allamuchy Township School)
Thank you to our generous Species on the Edge Art & Essay Sponsors:
Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Delaware Bay Shorebird Stewards will be on Restricted access beaches in Cape May and Cumberland Counties from May 15th through the 31st. We will be educating beach goers about the horseshoe crabs and shorebirds.
Plan a visit to the bay in May to witness this spectacular wildlife phenomena!
Thank You to Everyone Who Participated in the2021 Species on the Edge 2.0 Social Media Contest.
We at The Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey would like to congratulate everyone who took part in this year’s contest on their hard work and creativity!
It was a delight for us to see the variety of ways you all were able to get the word out about New Jersey’s wildlife and the work we all can do to protect it. Your posts generated thousands of “likes” and views while spreading the positive message of wildlife conservation.
And after much deliberation, we are excited to announce our winners for the2021 Species On The Edge 2.0 Social Media Contest!
First Place Winner
Bennett Davenport
Moorestown, NJ
@TheBudgetMuseum
Bennett’s nature documentary approach to Species on the Edge with his show, The Budget Museum, brought a unique and engaging energy to this year’s contest. His fully produced videos about NJ’s ospreys showed a great deal of talent and hard work, while also grabbing viewer’s attention with humor and creativity. With a clear dedication and care for wildlife education, we hope to see Bennett continue his efforts to educate us about animals, both modern and prehistoric.
We’re so glad to name Bennett’s campaign this year’s winner for Species on the Edge 2.0.
Congratulations Bennett, and job well done!
Second Place
Anvitha Nekkanti
Parsippany, NJ
@ProtectThePipingPlovers
Anvitha’s series of posts about the piping plover were jam-packed with information and featured adorable artwork of the beach nesting birds and other shore fairing species. Her use of infographics, videos, and games made her posts a real multimedia extravaganza.
Third Place
Kaitlyn Chang
Fort Lee, NJ
@Kai_W_C
Kaityn’s digital painting timelapses of bobcats were breathtaking to watch and incredibly informative. Her passion and hard work made this series of posts a joy to watch and we’re excited to see where her artistic career takes her!
Runner-Up
Kayla Cotter
Manalapan, NJ
@BronzeCopperButterfly
Kayla’s series of posts were overflowing with info and drew a lot of attention. She utilized the platform to its fullest, making use of video, slides, hashtags, and games to spread the word about the bronze copper butterfly.
Congratulations to Bennett, Anvitha, Kaitlyn, and Kayla!
And thank you to all of our participants for putting your creativity to work to help New Jersey’s rare and imperiled wildlife.We hope you enjoyed getting to know some of these rare species better and hope you will stay involved in conservation.
A special thank you to contest sponsor PSEG Foundation.
Stockton University’s Vivarium Animal Lab is currently caring for 1,108 northern diamondback terrapin hatchlings recovered by volunteers from storm drains.
Each spring, these young turtles emerge from their winter dens and make their way across roads in order to reach their summer wetland habitat. While roads are dangerous in their own right, the young terrapins are faced with another obstacle once they make the perilous journey across the blacktop: the curb.
A curb is a veritable cliff to a young terrapin, who may struggle to surmount the concrete roadblock. In their struggle, these tiny hatchlings can find themselves slipping through the grate of a roadside storm drain.
Thankfully, local Good Samaritans have been using nets to recover the trapped turtles, which are then ferried to Galloway, NJ for treatment and housing at Stockton University.
These turtles will spend the next year at the Vivarium building up their strength before being released back into the wild.
Hundreds of rescued terrapins are receiving care at the #StocktonU vivarium. They will be released into the wild with a head start. https://t.co/BV9lU6vOzK
This year marks the long expected return of Brood X, the periodical cicadas found in New Jersey and other northern states. Also know as The Great Eastern Brood, these cicadas emerge from the ground every 17 years in order to molt their skin and emerge into their adult forms to attract mates with their signature droning “BUZZ.” Once eggs are laid, the adult die off, leaving their young to hatch and burrow into the ground where they’ll wait another 17 years to start the process all over again.
The brood emerging this year first burrowed into the ground in 2004, making this species of cicada one of the longest lived insect species!
Not everyone is excited to have these large insects, which can number in the billions, buzzing about, but they’re a favorite snack of an unlikely New Jersey resident: COPPERHEADS.
Many species of wildlife take advantage of these cicada swarms by eating the insects and their shed skin, which serve as a rich source of easy protein. However, you might not have thought snakes like NJ’s copperhead would get in on the party, too!
Tom Davis of patch.com recently wrote about this interesting phenomenon, citing CWF’s wildlife guide!
Check out his article to learn more about Brood X, the cicada lifecycle, and how an unlikely reptile takes advantage of this 17 year phenomenon.
