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Catch some hands-on fun the Wetlands Institute

By On Deck Staff

If it’s hands-on activity you’re looking for during the Wings ‘N Water Festival, Sept. 20 -21, the Wetlands Institute on Stone Harbor Boulevard has plenty.
You can venture into the marsh on foot for an eye-opening scavenger hunt, or Harbor Safari, or get your sea legs by floating into the Wetlands habitat aboard the Skimmer.
If you choose to be a landlubber, however, you can stay on shore to cheer for the black, yellow and chocolate Labradors, raised by Jeff and Barbara Hart of Canal Side Kennels. The dogs are trained to wade into the water to retrieve the Dusky Mallards who frequent the fresh water ponds near the Garden State Parkway every fall, and they may inspire you to learn to pull something from the water yourself.
If that’s the case, you can wrap your hands around a fishing rod. The salt water finally warmed up following an unseasonable cold patch, and the salt-water bass, blue fish and weak fish have begun to inhabit the back bays.
“The fish started biting in the last few weeks of August and are plentiful in mid-September,” says Kurt Schmidt, chair of the outdoor activities at the Festival’s Wetlands site. Schmidt is bringing an assortment of fishing rods for fly-casting, salt and freshwater enthusiasts.
“We’ve introduced many youngsters to the art of trout fishing at the Festival’s fly casting clinics, and I have the postcards from Montana, Oregon and Wyoming to prove it.”
There’s also kayaking tours, dune walks and a birdhouse making clinic (sponsored by Home Depot), as well. And if you are really looking for inspiration, you can duck under the tent at the Avalon Community Hall and learn the art of duck carving from Ken Schorr, a true master, whose work has sold for as much as $1million.
For a truly priceless experience, don’t forget to stop by the Institute Dock at 12:30 on Saturday or Sunday. That’s when you can get hands on a baby terrapin and return it to its home in the bay.

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