The State of the Shore Report was presented at the State of the Shore Media Event May 27 by Dr. Jon Miller, Coastal Processes Specialist. Click on the link to read the full report.
Other speakers included Acting Commissioner of NJDEP Shawn LaTourette, Coastal Resilience Specialist Dr. Tom Herrington, and Dr. Peter Rowe, Acting Executive Director of NJ Sea Grant Consortium.
In the summer of 2020, at the height of the pandemic, as well as the middle of beach season, New York Sea Grant and the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium developed and implemented a nine week social media campaign called “#BEachSAFEly”. The campaign was supported by a COVID-19 Rapid Response grant from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s National Sea Grant College Program.
While social distancing rules and limited public gathering limits were in place last summer due to the pandemic, outside public spaces remained open and beaches became one of the few places people could escape. Recognizing the need to develop and promote messages that would encourage people to continue enjoying the beach while remaining aware of both COVID-19 and water-related hazards, the NY and NJ Sea Grant programs developed a digital media campaign to reinforce beach safety and COVID-19 restrictions.
The nine bilingual (available in English and Spanish) illustrated messages, created by freelance designer Joel Davenport, not only focused on standard “ocean hazards” tips such as “Break the Grip of the Rip,” but also incorporated general safety and health concerns related to COVID-19. Other messages included: “Stay social, be distant”; “Don’t let your mask become marine debris!”; “Stay dry when waves are high”; and “Grab your sunscreen and sanitizer,” among others.
Over a nine week period between July and September, #BEachSAFEly posts reached more than 9,345 stakeholders and received 738 engagements on Facebook and 22,724 impressions and 653 engagements on Twitter. Overall, the average engagement rate for this campaign was almost 10 times higher than what is considered high engagement. In a virtual ceremony held in April, the #BEachSAFEly campaign was recognized for both its design and effectiveness of conveying valuable health and safety information, receiving a Folio Award from the Fair Media Council (FMC) for best “Social Media Public Awareness Campaign.”
This summer, NY and NJ Sea Grant will build on the success of this all-virtual campaign by making the messaging and images available through individual postcards and combined posters to distribute to beach communities, public venues, and other community organizations. Financial contributions to partially cover the costs for printing and dissemination of the postcards and posters has been provided by the Jersey Shore Partnership, the Northeast Shore & Beach Preservation Association and the Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute.
Keep an eye on our website for updated postcards and information.
New Jersey boasts some of the most picturesque beaches along the East Coast. NJSGC’s revamped “Favorite Beaches of the Jersey Shore” photo contest featuring all this beauty, has closed. 53 photos were entered and 24 finalists were selected. Now it’s time to vote for the 12 that will enhance our 2022 desktop calendars. Click on each photo to see the full version. And thanks to all the photographers who entered. Selection was not easy!
Click HERE to cast your vote! You can select up to three images. Voting ends June 30th. Winners will be announced July 3rd.
On Saturday, April 20 the Education Program was honored by the Central Jersey Club of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc. (CJC-NANBPWC) for these efforts with a Community Service Award at their 57th Annual Founders Day Celebration.
This virtual event celebrated the history and service of CJC-NANBPWC membership, awarded scholarships to outstanding high school seniors, and recognized community heroes who work to make a difference in the lives of local residents. The Education Department was acknowledged for providing hands-on STEAM- (science, technology, engineering, art and math) based marine and coastal science learning opportunities to minority and under-resourced students in grades 3-8 and for fostering understanding of and appreciation for the coastal environment in which the students live. These in-person programs consisted of after-school enrichment sessions and field trips to local beaches, as well as underwater robotics workshops at the Neptune Aquatic Center. This year’s efforts transitioned to a virtual format, with interaction taking place during class time, and provided “gamified” programs that supplemented schools’ science curricula. A career awareness component was added as well, thus giving students the opportunity to “meet” black and Hispanic scientists and introducing them as role models.
According to Diana Burich, Director of Education at NJSGC, “Our collaboration[with CJC-NANBPWC] is one that is not only part of New Jersey Sea Grant’s mission, but one that is close to our hearts as well. Our goal is to educate and inspire children with our ocean sciences programs, to ignite their sense of curiosity as they learn about the world around them, and to empower them to grow into the leaders that will be making decisions for us and for future generations. Together, we are working towards a STEM workforce that is more representative of our population, one that includes and embraces people of all colors, and one that is equipped to manage the environmental benefits and burdens that they are sure to face in the future.”
For more information on this and other partnership opportunities, contact Diana Burich, Director of Education.
The 5th Jersey Shore Junior Science Symposium (JSJSS) was held virtually on March 19, 2021 and hosted by Ocean County College. The virtual symposium included presentations of 10 student research papers, 6 posters and a guest speaker. The primary goal of the JSJSS is to promote research and experimentation in the sciences, engineering, and mathematics at the high school level, and to publicly recognize students for outstanding achievement. The event includes presentations from New Jersey high school students on their individual science research projects.
The NJSGC provides awards to the students with the Top Environmental Paper and Top Environmental Poster. At the 2021 Symposium, NJSGC presented a $300 award for the Top Environmental Paper to Lana Van Note, Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science, Stafford Township, NJ for her paper presentation on Comparing the Biodegradability of Petroleum-based Plastic with a Novel, Sustainable Bio-plastic Alternative and a $200 award for the Top Environmental Poster was presented to Cassandra Vongrej, Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science, Stafford Township, NJ for her poster on Land Based Seagrass (Zostera marina) Germination to Determine Optimal Plant Growth and as a Restoration Initiative.
As a member of the Executive Committee, the New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium proudly serves many JSJSS activities such as recruiting members to be Technical Paper Reviewers, Student Mentors, and Symposium Judge for Presentations and Poster Session. NJSGC’s Diana Burich and Jody Sackett served as volunteers.
Dr. Arye Janoff is the 2021 Knauss Fellow working with the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation.
He recently visited the Port of Baltimore along with officials from the US Army Corps of Engineers, the Port of Baltimore and Ports America Chesapeake. They visited the marine terminals and the dredge containment management facilities at Masonville and Cox Creek. Inflow from the Seagirt dredging project was in full operation at Masonville. During the visit the Ever Faith of Evergreen, a 12,000 TEU container ship called on the Port. He is pictured third from right with officials during the visit.
Arye was awarded the 2021 Syvitski Student Modeler award for his submission “From Coastal Retreat to Seaward Growth: Emergent Behaviors from Paired Community Beach Nourishment Choices.”
Secaucus has posted signage next to the rain garden that is being used to pilot-test the technology for Dr. Dibyendu Sarkar’s project funded by NJSGC. The research is entitled “Greening the Grey Infrastructure: Green Adsorbent Media for Catch Basin Inserts to Remove Stormwater Pollutants.”
Dr. Thomas Herrington, NJSGC’s Coastal Community Resilience Specialist, who is also the Associate Director of the Urban Coast Institute, has been named the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Marine Environmental Engineering.
Herrington has served for four years as a member of the publication’s editorial board, which currently includes representatives of American universities and military agencies as well as research institutions in Canada, China, Denmark, Greece, India and the Netherlands. His term as editor will extend through 2024.
The journal’s scope includes scientific and engineering disciplines addressing complex environmental problems in ocean and estuary waters and inland seas. Topics covered in past issues have included coastal and ocean processes, marine waste disposal, habitat enhancement and creation, fisheries management, dredging, beach erosion and management, and computer modeling, among many others. Herrington said he looks forward to expanding the publication’s range in upcoming issues.
“The journal is unique in both its interdisciplinary nature and its focus on applied science and engineering,” he said. “It will continue to publish articles that articulate practical solutions to real-world environmental problems, but broaden the content to include emerging areas of marine environmental engineering required for future sustainability and resilience to climate change impacts, including natural carbon sequestration and the use of natural and nature-based features, living shorelines, and ecosystem adaptations for coastal restorations, adaption, and resilience.”
The journal was launched in 1993 and is published by the Old City Publishing, based in Philadelphia.
Become a leader, become a Green Infrastructure Champion with the Water Resources Program at Rutgers NJAES! The next program will be offered virtually. Please click here to view the full 2021 schedule, and learn more about the program here.
Green Infrastructure Champions are key players in implementing green infrastructure as a stormwater management approach town by town. Green Infrastructure Champions will be able to:
Here is what we can offer:
**A minimum of five (5) workshops is required for certification.**
The next Educator Town Hall will be held March 2, 2021.
