News and Events
The Marine Studies Enrichment Program
a service of
Western Suffolk BOCES
In this intensive, five-day residential environmental education program, selected students in grades 9 through 12 explore and investigate various marine habitats of Long Island's East End. During the week, from morning until night, students participate in discussions, lectures, and activities to study marine ecology, invertebrate zoology, marine mammals and fish, algae, seaside plants and birds, mariculture and Long Island's maritime history.
The teaching staff enhances ecological concepts learned in the classroom with daily field excursions to marine habitats for hands-on investigations. Evening activities include the identification of organisms collected in transect studies, the graphing of the habitat and species zonation, and an appreciation of the adaptations of the organisms. Each week culminates with both an exciting fishing program and bay investigation on ShinnecockBay.
The BOCES Marine Studies Enrichment Program operates its seasonal field station at Camp DeWolfe in Wading River, NY. The camp's wooded acres overlook beautiful Long Island Sound. Its facilities include a dining hall that also serves as the classroom/laboratory, and cabins for students and staff.
This residential experience offers students the opportunity to live in a small, closely knit, academic community that helps them become more independent and self-reliant, while engaging in hands-on, scientific studies
July and August (typically Monday through Friday).
(1: 10 students)
To enrich each student's experience in marine studies, Western Suffolk BOCES provides an experienced, talented team of educators to lead each group. In addition, our staff works with the professional teaching staff from the participating school districts to facilitate their involvement in the program. An Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) is in residence 24 hours a day, and accompanies the students on all field trips. Our food service manager provides all meals and snacks while in camp, as well as, in the field.
The subscription fee for this year's program is given on the commitment forms accompanying the Western Suffolk BOCES Shared Services Guide (available upon request). The New York State Education Department recognizes the BOCES Marine Studies Enrichment Program as a regional shared service, and as such, school districts are eligible for financial reimbursement.
The fee includes:
CONTACT
Mr. Douglas Schmid
WS BOCES
Outdoor Environmental Education Program
810 Meadow Road
Smithtown, NY 11787
631-360-3652
The population of Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina) on Long Island has seriously declined with the spread of urbanization. However, isolated populations do exist, and one such population can be found within the boundaries of Caleb Smith State Park Preserve. In order to help the species, a monitoring program has been started at the Outdoor Learning Laboratory. Over 30 turtles, including some new hatchlings, are being monitored.
The strength of this monitoring program is its successful integration of students, teachers and the NYS Learning Standards with good conservation practices. Students from visiting classes
Goals of the study:
- Capture turtles within Caleb Smith State Park Preserve; measure, tag, and release.
- Try to recapture tagged turtles to understand their habits.
- Determine food, water, shelter, nesting and hibernating locations within the Park.
- Visiting classes to use tracking technology to find and observe tagged turtles.
- Help students meet the NYS Standards.
- Make conservation work accessible to anyone interested in helping.
- Enhance the Park management plan.
What Can You Do?
- If you see a Box Turtle with an orange tag, please report the following:
- The Number (example "E-41")
- The location of the turtle within the Park.
There's more!
Participating classes can conduct more detailed studies of turtle habitat and their behavior.
Sign up as a Box Turtle Volunteer!
Biodiversity, the variety of species on our planet and their interactions, is a hot topic of concern in biology. Every year our staff joins forces with local naturalists, researchers and the public to conduct a 24 hour inventory of the plant and animal species found within Caleb Smith State Park Preserve. Dozens of volunteers take to the woods and ponds to count species ranging from aquatic insects to birds to mushrooms. This year's work brings the total number of species recorded to over 900. The data is used by NYS Parks for future planning and also to publicize the biodiversity to be found right here on Long Island.
Anyone wishing to help in next year's effort can contact Eric Powers at 631-360-3652.
Western Suffolk BOCES and
The Nature Conservancy
Restore Shellfish, Improve Water Quality,
and Advance Education
The Outdoor Environmental Education Program has now partnered with The Nature Conservancy to engage high school students in a Hard Clam marine conservation project on Long Island. The partnership, which will advance education, will also help restore Long Island's depleted shellfish population in hopes of improving water quality in The Great South Bay. Hard Clams and other shellfish play a very important role in the bays - filtering water and serving as a critical link in the food web. Without them, water quality suffers and the entire ecosystem is affected. Restoring native shellfish populations is an important part of The Nature Conservancy's marine conservation work on Long Island.
This new relationship was kicked off on October 3rd, when students from Bayport-Blue Point High School retrieved 100,000 Hard Clams from nursery rafts floating in Stony Brook Harbor. These hatchery-raised seed clams, 6mm in length in May, were cared for over the summer by students from Kings Park High School, who participated in the BOCES Mariculture program during the last school year. The clams were sieved from the sandy substrate in the rafts, and then released into the Nature Conservancy's 13,000 acre underwater holdings in The Great South Bay.
"This program provides students with a year-long curriculum that teaches about Long Island's rich maritime history, local shellfisheries, Hard Clam biology and physiology, mariculture, and the health of our local bays. It is an opportunity to get outdoors and participate in a meaningful, large-scale restoration project", said Dan Stenzler, the Outdoor Environmental Education Program's instructor for this project.
"This new partnership with BOCES will provide a great opportunity for students to learn and hopefully become good stewards of Long Island's marine environment, while significantly contributing to our Hard Clam restoration efforts," said Carl LoBue, Marine Reserve Specialist for The Nature Conservancy. "We look forward to sponsoring students from the Harborfields High shcool, the recipient of our mini-grant for this Hard Clam mariculture program for this school year".
Environmental Aides
The Sunken Meadow and Connetquot River Outdoor Learning Labs are looking for Environmental Aides. Duties include clean-up and set-up for programs, and maintaining the Outdoor Learning Lab. Animal care experience is helpful but not necessary. The schedule of part-time afternoons during the week is perfect for high school or college students and retirees. The Sunken Meadow facility is located in Kings Park and the Connetquot River site is in Oakdale. Contact Michelle Weiss at 631-269-4343 for more information.
SCOPE is looking for volunteers at all three Outdoor Learning Labs to help with a variety of projects including our box tortoise and quail reintroduction efforts. Interested parties should call Douglas Schmid at 631-360-3652.