Coast Day NJ Returns to Cape May for 11th Year

SCHELLENGER’S LANDING — For the 11th year running, the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium (NJSGC) and the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) Office of Maritime Resources will co-host Coast Day NJ: A Celebration of the Sea on Sun., Oct. 10 at the Lobster House Restaurant Dock and the New Jersey Audubon Society Nature Center of Cape May from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Parking, admission and all activities are free.
Coast Day NJ features family-oriented activities designed to educate visitors about New Jersey’s coastal environment and recognize the state’s rich maritime heritage. Coast Day NJ is a Governor’s Tourism Award – winning event recognized for its non-commercial, family-oriented focus and continues to attract more participants and visitors each year.
Activities will include hands-on marine science exhibits, demonstrations, eco-tours, crab races and more. Attendees can pull a seine in Cape May Harbor or meet coastal researchers to find out the latest about the shore. The New Jersey Audubon Nature Center of Cape May will offer “Explore the Shore Eco-Tours“ throughout the day.
Take in a crab trap demonstration at the Wetlands Institute exhibit or touch a live sea creature. Event-goers will also have an opportunity to purchase tickets for the Super 50-50 Raffle benefiting the Stew Tweed Fisheries and Aquaculture Scholarship fund. Ticket sales for the super raffle began a year ago at Coast Day NJ 2009.
The drawing will take place at 3:30 p.m. and the winner need not be present.
Coast Day NJ event sponsors for 2010 include NJDOT Office of Maritime Resources, NOAA, Rutgers Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Boyton and Boyton, Excelon Nuclear, New York Shipping Association, Inc., Sun National Bank and Withum Smith and Brown.
This year the event will include a record number of exhibitors including the Cape May County Conservation Committee, Cape May County Beach Plum Association, NJ Audubon Nature Center of Cape May, NJ Div of Fish and Wildlife, NJ Sea Grant Extension, Marine Mammals Stranding Center, Mid Atlantic Center for the Arts, National Weather Service, Cape May County Chamber of Commerce, Cape May Maritime Museum,, MACOORA, The Wetlands Institute, Stevens Institute of Technology, Richard Stockton College of NJ, Tuckerton Seaport, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, NJ Lighthouse Society, AmeriCorps Watershed Ambassador Program, NJ Academy For Aquatic Sciences, Clean Ocean Action, Cape May National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware River Basin Commission, USGS NJ Water Science Center, Jacques Cousteau Nat’l Est. Reserve, and William Paterson University.
The New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium is an affiliation of colleges, universities and public sector groups dedicated to advancing greater knowledge of New Jersey’s marine and coastal environment. It meets its mission through innovative research, education and outreach designed to address and encourage coastal sustainability. For more information about Coast Day NJ visit the News and Events page on the NJSGC web site at njseagrant.org.