Increase Education, Outreach,
and Stewardship

Academic institutions can be highly effective conduits of information on the South Shore estuary. Of the 124 public school districts on Long Island responsible for primary and secondary level education, nearly half (60) are located in whole or part within the Reserve and serve a major portion of the approximately 423,000 school age children on Long Island. Teachers have many sources of information at their disposal, and a number of nature centers and museums in the Reserve offer field programs for school groups. Yet elementary, middle and high school teachers face various constraints in trying to raise student consciousness about the environment outside their classrooms.

People in the Reserve learn about their environment from a variety of sources: newspapers, magazines, television and radio, as well as from numerous public and private organizations, many of which are represented on the South Shore Estuary Reserve Council. Many organizations on Long Island are moving beyond education and outreach activities and are striving to motivate individuals to become active stewards of their environment. At the community level, local governments and neighborhood, civic and environmental groups are bringing citizens together in collective efforts to improve the environment.

The South Shore Estuary Reserve Comprehensive Management Plan identifies recommendations to strengthen the mechanisms for raising awareness and understanding of the South Shore estuary; to nurture awareness and understanding on the part of young people through formal education activities that focus on the South Shore estuary; to increase public awareness and understanding through outreach activities geared to general and specific audiences; and to encourage people of all ages to become stewards of the estuary.

MORE INFORMATION

Stewardship Opportunities Page

Educational Resources Directory